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the humble perogy – old world comfort food

Comforting flavours, versatility and deep nostalgic connections to family, culture and tradition are a difficult combination to beat. It’s part of what makes up real “comfort food”, evoking strong feelings of home and family. Perogies are Eastern European dumplings typically filled with a cheesy mashed potato filling, made from unleavened dough. They are boiled and often pan fried with butter and onions, offering a rich, satisfying flavour especially when topped with sour cream and onions. That’s the other part of what makes up real “comfort food” – it’s gotta be delicious. No matter which way you look at it, perogies are THE comfort food of north central Alberta. They can also be filled with meat or sauerkraut, or even fruit for a sweet variation, with the dough providing a soft, sometimes chewy exterior to the soft interior – whatever it happens to be.

After that, its all about personal preference, as perogies are as versatile as you want them to be. They’re incredibly filling, making it the perfect food for hungry kids, and convenient too, easily be made ahead and frozen for later use.
Some simply boil them, and some take the additional step of pan frying them with butter and onions. No matter how you cook them, they’re usually served with sour cream.

I am not a purist. I came to perogies the ‘gentile’ way – when I was a teenager they were introduced to our family by a relative – purchased frozen from the grocery store. Before long we were hooked. A few years later, I married a man with a Ukrainian step mother, and things like perogies and cabbage rolls were never the same in my world again. To be fair – Margaret Suelzle wasn’t a great cook of many other things, but when it came to her Ukrainian specialties she rocked. There wasn’t a festive dinner without homemade perogies and homemade cabbage rolls, and though I still purchased our perogies from the grocery store, we never said such things in her company.

Spelling

Perogy – perogi, perogies (both are plural so don’t stress about it). Pierogy, pierogi – all pronounced Pee-er-oh-gee. Since it’s native to so many different countries, and then considering the translation into English – spelling is pretty much anything you want it to be. In this blog, I’m gonna use them all, just because I can. No judging.

History of Perogies

Originally only served in the poorest of homes, pierogies required nothing more than the basic farm staples of flour and eggs, and whatever you had on hand for a filling (usually potatoes and onions). They’ve been iconic comfort food around Slavic tables since time immemorial. But just because no one can remember time without them, doesn’t mean they don’t have a history. Today, perogies are typically filled with some kind of potato combination, but they took root in Eastern Europe centuries before potatoes were brought from their native South America. Its perogy evolution.

It is believed that they were introduced in the late 13th century by the Venetian merchant, explorer and writer MARCO POLO who spent 24 years in China. When he returned, he brought fascinating stories of his adventures: the strange people he encountered and even stranger animals. And food! He documented many Chinese foods, introducing Europeans to the idea and variety of Asian cuisine, including spices like pepper, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg, foods like rice and sugar, as well as preparation methods like dumplings.

Easy to make and flexible about filling, dumplings became a staple food taking all sorts of forms as they filtered through Europe for the next three hundred years. Hungarian dumplings, German spaetzle, small round dumplings filled with minced meat from Russia, spiced meat-filled dumplings from Turkey, gnocchi and ravioli from Italy, and many others.

By the mid 16th century Spanish conquerors brought POTATOES to Europe from their native land of South America. As with most ‘new’ things they took a while to catch on, but when they did, potatoes became a staple all over Europe – especially in the cooler climates where they thrived. It was only a matter of time before some creative cook would find a way to marry the dumpling to the potato. No doubt that creative cook was somebody’s grandmother, as everybody knows the best perogies in the world are made by grammas.

So how did perogies come to Canada?

Though perogies aren’t originally Canadian, they are deeply ingrained in our culture, thanks to large waves of Polish and Ukrainian immigrants. The first Ukrainian settlers arrived in central Alberta in 1891, followed by thousands more before the first world war. With them they brought traditional foods and recipes which were perfectly suited to their new world – as it so closely resembled the climate they left behind. For many today, perogies have become iconic as a ‘Canadian food’, especially among the Ukrainian and Polish populations of the prairies.

The versatility of perogies is endless, with fillings ranging from the savoury potato, sauerkraut and meat, to the sweeter dessert perogies filled with fruit or sweet cheese.

Verna’s mother was an excellent cook – and in this regard, Verna is just like her, always known for her cooking. She raised her 6 kids on traditional favourites like perogies and cabbage rolls, and to this day no festive meal is complete without them.

Verna Zilinski grew up on a farm in the Ukrainian/Polish area of Boyle (160 km north of Edmonton) surrounded by aunts, uncles and cousins. Her mother was born in Ukraine, her father in Alberta. When she was an adolescent her family moved to Edmonton which had become the urban hub for many previous farming families.
– Did you know that the area east of Edmonton is the largest Ukrainian settlement outside of the Ukraine? 10% of Alberta’s population can trace their ancestry from these settlers.

Perogies are labour intensive, but easy, and CHEAP – definitely peasant food, made from whatever was abundant, which for Slavic people were: flour, potatoes and dairy (fresh cheese). Often times it was a simple cottage cheese that every homemaker could make relatively quickly. Verna’s Russian recipe filling below was likely very typical, but be flexible, there was a lot of variation – all depending on what the cook had on hand and their family experience. Cheddar cheese? Feta cheese? Ricotta / cottage cheese? Go for it. Develop your family’s favourite.

DOUGH recipe: makes 30+ perogies

Verna’s perogy dough
3 cups flour
pinch salt
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup oil
1 cup lukewarm water

directions:
1 Prepare dough by mixing everything in.
2 Knead by hand on lightly floured board until smooth and elastic (5-10 minutes).
3 Return to bowl and cover with damp cloth to sit and rest for about 30 minutes.
4. When the dough springs back from a gentle poke, then you’re good to go.
5. Divide the dough into two, and begin rolling out first half (same thickness as you would a pie pastry 1/8 inch or 6 millimetres).
While the second piece of dough is sitting, keep it covered so it doesn’t dry out.
Roll half the dough out being careful to not roll too thin.
Using biscuit cutter, or a large rimmed glass, cut dough.
You can use the scraps to reroll once again but remember, the more you work the dough the tougher it will get.

filling recipe

Verna’s Perogy Filling:
1 pound cooked, peeled potatoes mashed
3/4 pound dry cottage cheese
1 egg
1 medium onion, finely chopped and sauteed in butter
salt + pepper
1/2 cup mellted cup butter
Mash potatoes, mash in cottage cheese till well blended
Add egg, sauteed onion, salt + pepper.

Mash potatoes, mash in cottage cheese till well blended
Add egg, sauteed onion, salt + pepper.

Roll the dough out to a pie crust thickness (see above), and cut – using biscuit cutter or large mouth glass. Using a heaping tablespoon of the COOLED filling, fold the dough over into a half moon shape and pinch the edges firmly to seal. Go back and crimp again to ensure you’ve got a good tight seal with no air inside.
Set aside on a lightly floured surface. If you’re planning to freeze them, set them on a lightly floured tea towel. Once frozen it’s a lot easier to remove them from the tray this way.  

how to fill and seal perogies

Bring large pot of water to boil.  Add a teaspoon salt.  
When boiling, drop perogies into water.  Stir gently while adding so they don’t stick to the bottom. 
Don’t over crowd, you can do a second batch if needed.

Gently boil till perogies float, stirring from time to time.  Continue cooking another two or three minutes till tender.  
Remove to a serving dish with a slotted spoon.  
You can drizzle melted butter over top to prevent sticking.  
Cook another batch if needed.  

To Serve
I like them with sour cream and chopped fresh chives or green onions. 
Dan is not a fan of sour cream.  He likes his perogies with butter and sauteed chopped onions.  
Many also like to serve with bacon bits, or cooked sausage.  

Suggested fillings:
mashed potato and cottage cheese
mashed potato and shredded cheddar
sauerkraut
sauerkraut and mushrooms

Dessert Perogies

filling: 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries + 1/2 cup sugar + 2 T flour
use remaining blueberries to add a little water and simmer a few minutes to make a sauce
when all are cooked, pour 1/2 cup melted butter over top and sprinkle with 2 T sugar
serve with blueberry sauce and sour cream

For sweeter dessert perogies use fruit or mild cheese. Blueberries, saskatoons, currants, dried apricots, fig and apple sauce, mozzarella cheese or a favourite cheese that goes well with fruit. What do you have on hand?

Remember the humble beginnings of perogies, and the gentle people who made them. Don’t make this more difficult than it needs to be.

Perogies have kept their status as an inexpensive family meal, but they’re also a very popular side dish that can be pretty fancy if you want. If you’re creative, go all the way with it. If you’re a purist and must stick to your gramma’s original recipe, then rock on. It’s a whole new world out there. And in the spirit of the people who depended on them, use what you have.

Enjoy

Warmly,


Cindy Suelzle

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will the real Borsch or Borscht please stand up?

In preparing to write this article – and at the same time, preparing to teach a workshop in our community garden – on Homemade Borscht, I asked a lotta friends to tell me about their Borsch. Every lover of borsch has “their” variation. There are so many different variations that its hard to know what someone else is talking about when they use the word, and how they can all be called the same name! Some people insist on a brothy soup, some people prefer a thicker version. Some use meat broth, some feel that an authentic borsch must be meatless. Some use a cream at the end to cut the acid. Some do not.

Food is part of culture and identity – whether it be in a family, a community, a region, a religious group, or an entire country. Food can be shared and can unite people in the sharing. While there may be regional differences, people from all over eastern Europe are familiar with “Borsch” or “Borscht”. Ukrainian, Polish, German, Romanian, Croatian, Georgian, Russian and others all have their ‘authentic’ versions, but the general consensus is that the dish originated in Ukraine.

People move, and food travels with them. Food moves more easily as long as it moves horizontally (east-west) where climates remain similar. Food is an important part of tradition and memories, and being able to keep favourite dishes a part of one’s life is valuable in adjusting to the many changes that come with a new life in a new country. One cannot over estimate the importance of the food people have been raised with, and families can be quite rigid about not messing with ‘gramma’s recipe’.

In the last part of the 19th century a general exodus from Eastern Europe into western Europe, Australia and North American began in earnest for those seeking a better life. Dan’s family came from Germany, some spending a generation in Poland before coming to Canada. My ancestors came from Denmark, Sweden, England, Wales, Scotland and France. It is always difficult to move to another part of the world, but the travails of immigrants in those days were intense, including breaking land and homesteading. There was much hardship. Both Dan and I feel a deep debt of gratitude for their sacrifices – which made it possible for us to be born here, in this land of plenty and relative safety. And yes, there are still a residue of favourite family dishes among them which have lasted long enough to be part of our family’s heritage.

Let’s get the spelling out of the way first. Borsch or Borscht? The ‘T’ comes from the Yiddish transliteration into English since it seems that the dish was introduced to the west by Jewish refugees fleeing Eastern Europe. So both spellings are equally correct, and no wonder there are so many recipe versions of it. Jewish refugees to the US. Ukrainian refugees to western Canada. Polish, German and Russian refugees throughout the western world. They had one thing in common – the food they all grew in their home countries: root crops, cabbage and dill. These vegetables grew equally well in North American soil and climate (especially in the northern parts) so it was natural that the dish would be reproduced here. Every part of it was something the average farm in the northern hemisphere could produce at home. The ingredients were cheap, plentiful and dependable. The soup was hearty, nutritious and satisfying. How could it lose?

Does Borsch had to be red?
In a word – ‘no’. I’ve seen ‘green borsch’, but that’s blasphemous so I’m not gonna talk about that other than to say it is generally a spinach soup – so where it gets off referring to itself as ‘borsch’ is a mystery. Borst IS red. In my mind, beets make borsch RED. If you don’t like beets, don’t make borsch. If you make borsch without beets, you made soup. Might be a good soup, but find a new name, because “borsch” is red. There. Glad we got that settled.

So what is IN borsch?
Keep in mind that traditionally borsch is a peasant soup. A good ol’ downhome, country folk hearty beet soup. So that means it had the foods that were easy to come by.
Potatoes. Onions and garlic. Carrots. Cabbage. Maybe celery for some. Maybe kale for some. In later years, as it traveled west – peppers and tomatoes; a hundred years ago, tomatoes were not so plentiful in north eastern Europe among farm folk. BEETS. Vinegar. Dill. Sometimes meat, sometimes not – depending on availability. Sometimes sour cream.

So how do you find out which type of borsch you prefer?
Well, there are no shortcuts. You have to try a few to narrow it down.
Personally, I like a borsch with lots in it. I’m okay with a more brothy base, but I rarely make it that way, because Dan prefers a thicker soup. So I make my brothy soup, then when its nearly ready, I take about 1/4 of it and puree it in the blender. Adding the pureed portion back to the pot makes it thicker and more substantial, and my family prefers it that way.
You do you. Make it a few different ways – but keep the basics in place.

What are the basics?
BEETS. Added near the end to keep the colour beautiful.
Onions and garlic.
Other root vegetables like potatoes and carrots. Don’t hesitate to add parsnips if you have them.
Cabbage. Of course.
Some sort of acid – lemon juice of vinegar. In the spirit of authenticity I do not use lemon juice because I am pretty sure no Ukrainian Baba had lemons in her kitchen. The acid is said to keep the red vibrant, and who am I to question wisdom of the ages? Maybe it does, but I like the flavour enhancement anyway. Its not the same without it.
Broth. The kind is completely up to you. Beef broth, chicken broth, vegetable broth, water. Whatever you have on hand. I generally use chicken broth or chicken bouillon – simply because it’s light and flavourful.
Tomatoes or tomato paste. A relatively ‘new’ (but welcome) addition as Ukrainians wouldn’t have had access to tomatoes on the prairies a hundred years ago.
Dill. Other than the onions and garlic, dill is the primary seasoning. Don’t add it too soon though because its a delicate flavour and you might lose some of it’s beauty.

How to make it

1. precook your beets
There are many ways to precook your beets, but the easiest is to clean them then place in a covered roasting pan or wrap them in tin foil, and roast in a 400 degree oven for about an hour. Test for tenderness every 15 minutes after 45 minutes. The timing is going to completely depend on how big your beets are – could be an hour, could be more. When you can insert a fork easily, they’re done. Remove from heat and when slightly cooled, peel.

2. Chop your onions and garlic and sauté in oil of your choice over medium heat till translucent. Stir frequently to prevent scorching, while dicing fresh potatoes.
*hint: yes, you can add your onions and garlic to the broth mix at the same time as everything else. I prefer to saute mine first as I think it adds to the flavour and I like a more caramelized texture, also it glazes the pot – adding a roasted taste.

IF, you’re going to add meat, either precook it or add it to your onions at this point to brown.

3. Add potatoes to pot and sauté with the onions for a few minutes. Add salt and pepper at this point. Add broth or water, stir well and bring to a boil while you’re chopping cabbage and carrots.

4. Add chopped or sliced cabbage – it seems people have strong opinions on which is best. You do you. (Personally I prefer chunks to slices in a soup.) Stir and add carrots. Bring back to a boil, then reduce heat and gently simmer till all is tender. At this point, add additional Iate-summer vegetables as desired: parsnips or kale perhaps.

5. Add vinegar. Start with 1/2 cup, then add more later if you want. Easier to put more in than it is to remove so start with less and adjust as desired. You can use plain white vinegar. I like to use a flavoured vinegar, perhaps a basil or chive blossom vinegar.

6. Continue to add broth as needed to keep the soup gently simmering. Add tomatoes if desired. Adding tomatoes, tomato paste or tomato powder adds that familiar light acidy taste of tomatoes while improving the texture and colour. I never buy tomato paste – preferring tomato powder so that I have more control on how much I want to use with no waste. In this case however, I generally have a lot of fresh tomatoes in the late summer early fall – so I’ll choose my ripest tomatoes. Continue to cook until tomatoes are fully incorporated and lost their shapes.

7. When your vegetables are tender, add your peeled and chopped cooked beets. Stir well to incorporate colour and let sit for a few minutes. You could be done at this point, ready to add your dill and serve up a nice brothy soup. Or you could take one more step to thicken your soup as I do.

8. Ladle out two cups of soup into a blender, and puree. Pour back into your pot and stir well. If desired, ladle out two more cups and do the same thing, stirring back into the soup. This step is completely subjective. You’re looking for a texture, colour and consistency that you prefer. Remove from heat.

9. Add fresh, chopped dill weed (the green part) and stir well to incorporate. Lots of dill. What does that mean? How do I know? How much do you like dill? Maybe a cup? Maybe more or less. I add at least a cup, but easier to add more later than remove, so start slowly and taste along the way. .
Adjust salt and pepper as desired and remove from heat.
At this point you can add some sour cream to the pot, or save that for individuals to add to their own bowls.

10. I always save the sour cream to be added to individual bowls at the table with additional fresh dill, because I like sour cream and Dan prefers without.

So much of what your borsch is going to look like will depend on individual tastes. There’s no point in making it a specific way if your family prefers something different.
For instance, I know people who add caraway seed to their soup at the simmering stage. Caraway is the one spice that I do not like, so that’s never been a consideration of mine. But its worth trying different things from time to time – you never know how it might add to your over all dish.

Serve with fresh bread or buns. Some nice fresh sourdough served alongside is amazing. Or some nice dark rye bread.

I’ll provide a sample recipe with suggested amounts below for beginners to have some ideas of where to start.

Borsch is a meal in itself, especially served with bread. But serving it alongside a plate of perogies, cabbage rolls and kubasa would be the perfect winter meal.

recipe for 6-8 servings
1- 2 medium onion diced
2-3 cloves garlic minced
1 large potato diced
3-4 cups chopped fresh cabbage
6 cups broth or water
¾ tsp salt and ¾ tsp pepper
4 carrots peeled and chopped into nice big pieces
*nice big handful of fresh kale chopped – if you’ve got it on hand
1/2 cup – 1 cup chopped fresh dill (reserve some to use at the table)
fresh sour cream
for directions, refer to numbered instructions above

Pour remaining soup into jars to refrigerate or to give away.
That’s a wonderful thing about soup, its a great gift for someone who could use a meal tonight, or its easy for them to pull out of the fridge tomorrow.

Enjoy!

Cindy