Blueberry Lemon Pierogi
You probably only need to take one glance at the above photo to guess what’s been on my mind lately. More likely than not, it’s the same thing that you have been thinking about. The scenes coming out of Ukraine are horrifying. And while I realize making pierogi will never solve this conflict (or any conflict really), for me cooking is meditative. Cooking allows me to calm my mind and just be.
So a couple of weeks ago I decided to create a blueberry lemon pierogi.
I wanted to create a pierogi that incorporated the colors blue and yellow. Blue was easy: blueberries are pretty common in sweet pierogi. For yellow, I decided to bring back my dough that is make with corn flour and corn meal combined with all-purpose flour. The addition of the corn meal and corn flour make the dough a bit sweeter which compliments the filling.
To kick the whole thing up a notch I added a blueberry lemon curd to the filling. The tartness of the lemon compliments the soft sweetness of the blueberry (and another good way to add to the blue and yellow theme). I used this simple recipe from Spruce Eats. But if you want to save time you could also use a store-bought lemon curd, blueberry jam or preserve.
Check out the recipe below and let me know what you think.
Blueberry Lemon Pierogi
Ingredients:
For the filling:
About 1 cup of fresh blueberries
Blueberry lemon curd (I used this recipe from the Spruce Eats. But you can also substitute blueberry jam or lemon curd).
For the dough:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup corn flour
2 tbs corn meal
1 egg
2 table spoons or Greek yogurt
1/3 cup warm water
For serving (optional):
Extra blueberries
Extra blueberry lemon curd
Powdered sugar
To Do:
Filling:
Make the blueberry lemon curd and set aside to cool. This can be made a few days in advance and stored in the fridge. As I mentioned above, you can also use a store-bought lemon curd or a blueberry jam or preserve as a substitute.
Place blueberry lemon curd in one bowl and fresh blueberries in a second bowl. Set aside until ready to fill pierogi.
Dough:
Mix together the all-purpose flour, corn meal and corn flour. Make a well in flour and add egg, greek yogurt, water, and salt. Gradually mix together. It will be quite crumbly at first. Add more water as you go. Knead until it forms a dough ball (about the consistency of play dough). Cover the dough with the bowl or plastic wrap and let rest for about 15 minutes.
Using a pasta roller, start with a #8 and fold the dough through 4 or 5 times. Switch to a #7 and fold through 2 times. (If you don’t have a pasta roller, a rolling pin will work.) Continue this process until the dough is thin enough (about an 1/8 of an inch). We recommend stopping once you get to the #3 or #4 setting.
Assemble:
Use a circle cookie cutter or glass cup to cut out 2-3 inch rounds. Put circle of dough in the palm of your hand. Place 6-8 blueberries in center of dough and top with about 1 tablespoon of blueberry lemon curd. Be careful not to overfill or it will seep out the edges and you won’t get a good seal. Wet one side of pierogi with water. This helps to “glue” the sides together. Carefully stretch the edges and bring them together. Note this dough is a bit more fragile than the typical pierogi dough, so be patient with it. Pinch until you have a good seal. Trim excess edges if needed.
Cook:
Place pierogi in boiling water. Once they rise to the top continue to cook for 2-3 minutes and then remove with slotted spoon. Gently dry off the pierogi.
To give the pierogi a bit more of a robust flavor, I recommend sautéing them in brown butter. To do so, heat butter in a thick-bottomed pan until it starts to brown. Watch for brown specs and a nutty aroma. Place pierogi in pan and lightly sauté on each side.
Serve with extra blueberry lemon curd, blueberries and powdered sugar.
