is it raining? do you want to not leave your house and have a romantic day with delicious starch? then it’s pierogi day! it’s time consuming but totally worth it. FACT: i ate these for 3 meals in a row.

this recipe makes a million (maybe 70?), so feel free to half it. if you are in for the long haul and have a lot of time though, i recommend making the full batch and freezing half.

i split the recipe and made half with plain potato filling and half with mushrooms and kale, both ways are delicious. i’ve tried different doughs, but this is my favourite yet. i got it from my boyfriend (and pierogi co-cook) who wrote it down while watching someone make it years ago on a scrap of paper which he has held onto ever since and dug out for the occasion.

THE FILLING

14 smallish yukon gold potatoes

3 onions, diced*

1/4 c. almond milk

lots of black pepper

5 cloves garlic, minced

salt to taste

olive oil

4 tbsp margarine

1 pkg daiya (optional but recommended)

1 bunch of kale, chopped fine

15 mushrooms, chopped fine

quarter potatoes and boil until cooked. drain.

while boiling, saute onions on medium low with a pinch of salt until caramelized. separately, saute mushrooms until browned the put aside.
mash potatoes with onion, garlic, margarine, milk, daiya, salt and pepper. take out 1/3 of potato mixture and transfer to another bowl. in this 2nd bowl, add mushrooms and chopped kale, stirring well.  now you have your two fillings.

* slice 3 extra onions into rings, and caramelize separately to eat with finished pierogies if that sounds like a thing you’d like.

THE DOUGH

1/2 c. vegan shortening or margarine

1 c. boiling water

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 c. warm water

5-6 cups flour +more for rolling out

combine boiling water and shortening. in a large mixing bowl mix dry ingredients. then mix everything until smooth, you can add more flour if it’s really runny but this does make a pretty wet dough. let sit for 20 minutes, covered in a damp cloth.

divide dough into two for easier handling (if you are low on counter space, divide into 4 and deal with it that way). on a well floured surface, roll out dough pretty thin, maybe 1/8 of an inch. as thin as you can get it while it retaining it’s structural integrity. add more flour to your surface and your  dough as you roll out. cut out circles as close together as you can with a large mason jar lid.

get a big pot of boiling, salted water going.

spoon filling into the centre of your dough circle (think heaped soupspoon, but you’ll get a handle for how much you can fit in depending on the stretch of your dough etc…i always go for the highest filling to dough ratio possible). make sure to not get filling around the edges of your dough or it won’t seal. use a bit of water to dampen the edges before you press them together to seal. then press well all the way around. drop into boiling water carefully, wait unil they float to the surface and the continue to boil for 3 minutes. remove with a slotted spoon and either **freeze, eat or get ready to saute them.

repeat until all dough and filling are used up! when i made this is worked out to almost the exact right amount of dough for the filling, i think there was one sad circle cut out that was left without potato (which on this scale, is pretty decent).

saute until browned on both sides and serve hot with sauerkraut, caramelized onions, chopped scallions and whatever kind of sour cream substitute you like!

** to freeze: after boiling and cooling, space them out on a baking sheet so that none are touching. freeze and then transfer to a bag or container (this way they don’t turn into one giant pierogi clump).

BACON BITS

(if you feel like really going all out on this pierogi feast. i’ve never made them before, and it just struck me that TVP might work, so this may get expanded on later…)

1 c. TVP granules

boiling water to rehydrate depending on pkg instructions (just over 1/3 c. usually)

1/3 c. braggs or tamari

2 tsp liquid smoke

1/2 tsp. brown sugar

1/8 c. oil

1 tbsp tomato paste

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar.

mix everything except the TVP, then add the TVP. spread on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350 for 10 minutes (stirring and watching they don’t burn). you can eat them like this or go the extra mile and give them a couple minutes in a hot frying pan with a couple tbsp of olive oil.