Plum, Blueberry, Balsamic Pierogi
Although I’ve been making pierogi for years, I am a newbie when it comes to the sweet pierogi. They were always a mystery to me.
My first encounter with sweet pierogi occurred years ago during my family’s annual Christmas pierogi party. My cousin had the bright idea of filling the leftover dough with store-bought pie filling. We also threw some food coloring into the dough for fun and so that we could tell the savory and sweet pierogi apart after they were cooked. It was a fun experiment, but they needed work and I think we ended up throwing the majority away.
Flash forward a few years. I was living in Seattle and psyched to learn the city had an annual Pierogi Fest. What I didn’t realize was how excited the rest of the city was about pierogi. We literally waited 3 hours in line to get a plate of pierogi. But it was worth it. And even better, I tried - for the first time - a legit sweet pierogi. And this time it was really good.
And that was it. I knew I had to try and make my own.
So here we are. For my first attempt I didn’t want to stray too far from the classic sweet pierogi. Blueberries seem to be the most popular traditional fruit filling, but I wanted to give it my own twist. For that, I looked to one of my favorite pies, the Blueberry, Plum, Balsamic Pie from Sister Pie (Check out their cookbook if you haven’t already).
Modifying the filling for the pierogi was easy. Tweaking the dough recipe and cooking technique was a bit more of a challenge. I tried a variety of cooking techniques: baking, just boiling, boiling and pan frying, boiling and pan frying with brown sugar…. I ate a lot of pierogi during this process. A lot. But it was worth it.
The final product has a sweet jammy filling with chucks of fresh plum and blueberry. It’s wrapped in a thin dough with a lightly caramelized crust, topped with a delightful spiced sour cream.
Give it a try and let me know what you think!
RECIPE: Plum, Blueberry, Balsamic Pierogi
Ingredients:
For the filling:
2 tablespoons turbindo sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon balsamic
Pinch of salt and pepper
1 1/4 cups fresh plum, sliced
1 1/4 cups blueberry
2 tablespoons tapioca flour
For the dough:
2.5-3 cups flour
1 egg
1/3 cup warm water
2 tablespoons sour cream (or Greek yogurt)
1 1ablespoon sugar
Lemon zest
1 tablespoon softened butter
Pinch of Salt
Spiced sour cream
½ cup sour cream
1.5 tablespoons powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla
Lemon zest
To Do:
Filling:
In a large bowl, combine the turbino sugar, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, black pepper, and salt. Whisk until the mixture forms a wet paste. Fold in blueberries and plums. Add tapioca starch and toss with your hands or spatula until thoroughly mixed.
Once mixed, transfer to medium pot and heat at medium, until the mixture starts to bubble. Turn down and cook for another 3-5 minutes until mixture starts to form a jammy texture.
Take off of heat and allow to cool while you make the dough.
Mix together spiced sour cream - sour cream, powdered sugar, vanilla and lemon zest. Cover and refrigerate.
Dough:
In a medium bowl or on a countertop, mix flour, egg, sour cream, water, salt, lemon zest, and butter. Add more water as you go, if needed. Knead until it forms a dough ball, about the consistency of play-dough. The dough will likely seem quite dry as you start kneading, but keep going until you are able to form a ball. Cover the dough with the bowl and let rest for about 15 minutes.
Using a pasta roller or a rolling pin, roll the dough until it is about 1/8 inch. If you are using a pasta roller, start with a larger (wider) setting and run the dough through multiple times, gradually decreasing to thinner settings.
Assemble:
Use a circle cookie cutter or glass cup to cut out 2-3 inch rounds. Put circle of dough into pierogi crimper and fill with about 1 tsp. of potato filling (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 before pinching shut. 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.
Heat butter and about a tablespoon of brown sugar in a medium frying pan. Once butter/sugar is warm and begins to bubble, place pierogi in the pan. Allow each side to lightly crisp up. Be care not to overhead butter/sugar as it can burn. Serve warm with dollop of spiced sour cream.
NOTES: Pierogi can be frozen (either raw or after boiling) and stored in the freezer for up to three months. Freeze in a single layer on a wax paper lined cookie tray. Once frozen, transfer to freezer bags. On day of party, thaw and sauté in butter and onions and enjoy!
