Sauerkraut Pirogge

We have an English pub here in old town that has Pierogi on their menu. They fill them with a creamy potato filling and serve them topped with grilled onions and a dollop of sour cream. They are so, so good!!! But since everything has been shut down, I haven’t had the chance to get a Pierogi fix in much too long! What’s a girl to do? Make them at home of course.

I’m not gonna lie, making these dumplings is a process. This is not a quick weeknight kinda meal. It’s not that they are difficult to make, it just takes some time. It took me just over 2 hours to make 60 dumplings. That may seem like a long time, but I have a few dozen in the freezer for another day that I can cook up quickly. They are just so darn delicious and well worth the time and effort to make them every time you get a craving for some!

Some will argue that Pierogi are Polish in origin, but you can find a variation of similar dumplings in most Eastern European countries. In Germany they are called Pirogge. Both my parents grew up in Germany and my mother cooked many meals that included sauerkraut. So instead of the more common potato filling you may expect, this recipe has a sharp, tangy sauerkraut filling instead, and it’s utterly delicious!

The sharp, tangy filling wrapped in a tender dough, topped with sweet grilled onions and creamy sour cream combine together in a flavorful delight for your tastebuds.

Go grab a glass of wine and gather together the ingredients so we can get started!

Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a saucepan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot add 1 diced onion and cook until soft and translucent.

While onion cooks, drain a 6 1/2 ounce can of sliced mushrooms. Chop mushrooms into small pieces. Add to the onions in the pan.

Drain a jar of sauerkraut and chop it into small pieces.

Add chopped sauerkraut to the onions and mushrooms in the sauce pan. Stir to combine.

Add about a teaspoon of course ground pepper and stir everything together.

Cover and simmer mixture over very low heat for 45 minutes until mixture is soft, stirring frequently. Add a teaspoon of water if mixture gets too dry and starts to stick to the bottom of the pan. Keep an eye on this so it doesn’t burn.

Using an emersion blender, puree the mixture until you have a fairly smooth paste.

Add 1 tablespoon breadcrumbs, 1 generous teaspoon paprika, and stir in additional pepper. Be generous with the pepper, the filling should be tangy and sharp. 

Season with salt if needed. Be sure to taste the filling, it may not need any salt, since sauerkraut is fairly salty.

Set aside filling and allow it to cool completely.

While the filling cools down, it’s time to get started on the dough.

In a large bowl, whisk together, 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons sour cream and 1 cup milk.

Add 3 1/2 cups of flour and 1 teaspoon salt to the liquid ingredients, stir together with a rubber spatula until a dough starts to form and begins coming together.

Flour your hands and knead the dough in the bowl until you have a soft smooth dough. This will only take a couple of minutes. You can add additional flour, a tablespoon at a time if the dough is too sticky to easily work with. Use as little flour as possible; adding a lot of flour will result in a tougher dough. Place ball of dough on a well floured work surface.

Now we get to the fun part! Assembling the dumplings.

Divide dough into smaller pieces. I cut the dough into 4 chunks. It makes it easier to roll it out and work with smaller pieces.

On a well floured surface roll out the dough to about an ⅛ of an inch in thickness.

Cut out rounds, using a round cookie cutter or a well floured glass or teacup.

Place a teaspoonful of the cooled filling in the center of each circle of dough. 

Fold each circle of dough in half forming a ½ circle. Using your fingers, pinch the edges firmly together. Try not to trap air in the centers.

Place pirogges on a floured surface until ready to cook.

Gather together scraps of dough and roll it out again to make more dumplings. I was able to make 60 dumplings with almost no excess filling or leftover dough.

TIP: Place uncooked Pirogge on a cookie sheet in a single layer and place them in the freezer. Once they are frozen place them in a ziplock bag for longer freezer storage. When you get a hankering for Pirogge, just drop a few frozen dumplings in a pot of boiling water to cook them.

While you are forming the dumplings, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a teaspoon of olive oil to the water. This will help prevent the dumplings from sticking together as they cook.

Gently place Pirogges into boiling water one by one. Stir gently with a wooden spoon to prevent them from sticking together. Cook Pirogges in small batches of 10-15 at a time.

Once pierogi float to the top, (after about 5-10 minutes) cook for an additional 5 minutes. 

Remove cooked pierogi from the pot with a slotted spoon.

While Pirogges are cooking, dice ½ an onion and sauté in olive oil until onions are soft and richly browned.

To serve, top Pirogges with grilled onions and sour cream.

Time to dig in!!!

I hope your decide to give this recipe a try. A couple hours of work will result in tender flavorful morsels of goodness, plus you will have plenty to freeze and enjoy later on.

Did You Make This?

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