Category Archives: Ukrainian Recipes

Cabbage Rolls


Ingredients

  • 1 medium head cabbage
  • 1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice
  • 1.5# ground beef
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 (46 fluid ounce) can tomato juice

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 2 quart casserole dish.
  2. Steam the whole head of cabbage until it is al dente. Meanwhile, in a saucepan bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
  3. Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until translucent; stir into cooked rice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Brown ground beef, drain off grease and add to the rice mixture. 
  4. Cut the leaves off of the cabbage and cut the larger leaves in half. Spoon the rice/beef mixture into a leaf and roll tightly. Place rolls in prepared casserole dish, stacking in layers. Pour tomato juice over the rolls, using enough just to cover.
  5. Cover and bake in preheated oven for 2 hours.
  6. ** I like to add a bit of rinsed sauerkraut to the filling….

Pyrohy (ped-a-hey)


Dough:

1/4 lb of butter
2 eggs
3 c. warm water to melt butter
2 tsp. salt
8 c. flour

For filling: 

 leftover mashed potatoes and 1 c shredded sharp cheddar

Roll out dough to about 1/8-inch thickness on floured board and cut out rounds with biscuit cutter.  Take a heaping teaspoonful of the cooled potatoe mixture and put in center of dough you have cut out.  Fold the dough with the filling in half (it will look like a half moon).  Pinch dough together tightly to seal.  Make sure they are sealed tightly or they will come apart and filling will fall out during cooking.  Add water or egg wash if necessary for a tight seal.

When you have finished filling the dough cut outs, take a large kettle (5 or 6 quarts) and fill 1/2 full of water, add a bit of salt to the water.  Bring this to a boil; then drop about 20 Pyrohy into boiling water.  Stir carefully with wooden spoon to loosen any Pyrohy that may have stuck to the bottom of the kettle.  The water will stop boiling when you drop all the Pyrohy into the water, that is when you have to loosen them from the bottom. 

When the Pyrohy start boiling, they will float to the top.  Turn heat down and boil gently for about 8 minutes or cover and steam for 10-12 minutes.  Remove Pyrohy from boiling water and strain in colander.  Rinse slightly with cold water to prevent sticking. 

Melt 1/4 to 1/2 pound butter and pour over Pyrohy, then serve.  (I usually sautee’ onions in this butter for on top!)

**If you prefer, you can pan fry them instead of boiling…

***This is the recipe I’ve used most often.  I’m about to work up the ambition to make them again with 3 young helpers!

Sour Cream Pierogie Recipe


From near to far: sweet cheese, potato, mushro...

Image via Wikipedia

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups flour, plus extra for kneading and rolling dough
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup sour cream, plus extra to serve with the pierogi
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened and cut into small pieces
  • butter and onions for sauteing
  • ingredients for filling of your choice (potato & cheese filling recipe below)

Preparation:

Pierogi Dough
To prepare the pierogi dough, mix together the flour and salt. Beat the egg, then add all at once to the flour mixture. Add the 1/2 cup sour cream and the softened butter pieces and work until the dough loses most of its stickiness (about 5-7 minutes). You can use a food processor with a dough hook for this, but be careful not to overbeat. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes or overnight; the dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Each batch of dough makes about 12-15 pierogies, depending on size.
Prepare the Pierogies:  Roll the pierogi dough on a floured board or countertop until 1/8″ thick. Cut circles of dough (2″ for small pierogies and 3-3 1/2″ for large pierogies) with a cookie cutter or drinking glass. Place a small ball of filling (about a tablespoon) on each dough round and fold the dough over, forming a semi-circle. Press the edges together with the tines of a fork.

Boil the perogies a few at a time in a large pot of water. They are done when they float to the top (about 8-10 minutes). Rinse in cool water and let dry.

Saute chopped onions in butter in a large pan until onions are soft. Then add pierogies and pan fry until lightly crispy. Serve with a side of sour cream for a true Pittsburgh pierogi meal.

Homemade Pierogi Tips:

  1. If you are having a hard time getting the edges to stick together, you may have too much flour in the dough. Add a little water to help get a good seal. 
  2. If you don’t want to cook all of the pierogies right away, you can refrigerate them (uncooked) for several days or freeze them for up to several months. 
  3. You can fill pierogies with pretty much anything you want, though potato and cheese is the most common (recipe below). Sweet pierogies are often filled with a prune mixture.

Potato, Cheese & Onion Filling: Peel and boil 5 large potatoes until soft. Red potatoes are especially good for this. While the potatoes are boiling, finely chop 1 large onion and saute in butter until soft and translucent. Mash the potatoes with the sauted onions and 4-8oz of grated cheddar cheese (depending on how cheesy you want your pierogies), adding salt and pepper to taste. You can also add some fresh parsley, bacon bits, chives, or other enhancements if you desire. Let the potato mixture cool and then form into 1″ balls.