50+ Lifestyles

Pierogi

Pierogi are filled dumplings of Eastern European origin. They are made by wrapping pockets of unleavened dough around a sweet or savory filling and cooking them in boiling water. Pierogi are often semi-circular but triangle and rectangle ones can also be found. Fillings include potatoes, sauerkraut, ground meats, cheese and fruits.

Potato Pierogi

Dough:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour plus some additional for kneading
• 1 cup water 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 large egg 1 teaspoon salt

Potato filling:

• 1 1/2 pounds of russet (baking) potatoes
• 6 ounces (2 1/4 cups) coarsely grated white Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Onion topping:

• 1 medium onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
• 1 stick unsalted butter

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Dough:

Put flour in a large shallow bowl and make a well in center. Add water, egg, oil, and salt to well and carefully beat together with a fork without incorporating flour. Continue stirring with a wooden spoon, gradually incorporating flour, until a soft dough forms. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead, dusting with flour as needed to keep dough from sticking, until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes (dough will be very soft). Invert a bowl over dough and let stand at room temperature 1 hour.

Prepare filling while dough stands:

Peel potatoes and cut into 1-inch pieces. Cook potatoes in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain potatoes, then transfer to a bowl along with cheese, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and mash with a potato masher or a handheld electric mixer at low speed until smooth. When mashed potatoes are cool enough to handle, spoon out a rounded teaspoon and lightly roll into a ball between palms of your hands. Transfer ball to a plate and keep covered with plastic wrap while making 47 more balls in same manner.

Onion topping:

Cook onion in butter in a 4- to 5-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally (stir more frequently toward end of cooking), until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.

Form and cook pierogies:

Halve dough and roll out 1 half (keep remaining half under inverted bowl) on lightly floured surface (do not overflour surface or dough will slide instead of stretching) with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 15-inch round (1/8 inch thick), then cut out 24 rounds with lightly floured 2 1/2 inch cutter. Holding 1 round in palm of your hand, put 1 potato ball in center of round and close your hand to fold round in half, enclosing filling. Pinch edges together to seal completely. (If edges don’t adhere, brush them lightly with water, then seal; do not leave any gaps or pierogi may open during cooking.) Transfer pierogi to a lightly floured kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and cover with another towel. Form more pierogies in same manner.

Bring a 6- to 8-quart pot of salted water to a boil. Add half of pierogies, stirring once or twice to keep them from sticking together, and cook 5 minutes from time pierogies float to surface.

Transfer as cooked with a slotted spoon to onion topping and toss gently to coat. Cook remaining pierogies in same manner, transferring to onions. Reheat pierogies in onion topping over low heat, gently tossing to coat.

Ravioli

Ravioli are a type of Italian dumpling composed of a filling sealed between two layers of thin pasta dough served either in broth or a pasta sauce. They are usually square, though other forms are also used, including circular or semi-circular. Other related filled pastas are the ring-shaped tortellini or the larger tortelloni.

Four Cheese Ravioli

Ravioli are a type of Italian dumpling composed of a filling sealed between two layers of thin pasta dough served either in broth or a pasta sauce. They are usually square, though other forms are also used, including circular or semi-circular. Other related filled pastas are the ring-shaped tortellini or the larger tortelloni.

Dough:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour plus some additional for kneading
• 1/8 teaspoon salt 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 1/2 Tablespoons water

Cheese filling:

• 1 (8 ounce) container ricotta cheese 1/2 cup shredded provolone cheese
• 1 (4ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1 egg
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley

Pesto Alfredo Sauce:

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 Tablespoons prepared basil pesto sauce 1 (24 ounce) jar marinara sauce

Egg wash:

• 1 egg
• 1 Tablespoon water

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Dough:

Combine flour and salt in a large shallow bowl and make a well in center. Mix the water, 2 eggs, and oil, in a separate bowl. Now add half of egg mixture into well adding the flour to the mixture. Continue mixing adding more flour and the rest of the egg mixture. Knead to form a ball. Knead the dough until smooth, 8 to 10 minutes; add more flour if the dough is too sticky. Form the dough into a ball and wrap tightly with plastic. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Cheese filling:

Combine the ricotta cheese, cream cheese, mozzarella cheese, provolone cheese, egg, and parsley and mix well. Set the filling aside.

Sauces:

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the crushed garlic and pesto sauce and cook for one minute. Pour in the heavy cream, raise the heat to high, and bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the Parmesan cheese and stir until the cheese melts. Remove the pan from the heat and keep warm.

Meanwhile, in a separate sauce pan, warm the marinara sauce over medium-low heat.

Prepare and cook the ravioli:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a cooking sheet. In a small bowl, beat the egg with the tablespoon of water to make the egg wash.
Roll out the pasta dough into thin sheets – no thicker than a nickel. To assemble the ravioli, brush the egg wash over one of the sheets.

Drop the cheese mixture on the dough by teaspoonfuls about one inch apart. Cover the filling with th top sheet of pasta, pressing out the air from around each portion of filling. Press firmly around the filling to seal. Cut into squares with a knife or a pizza cutter. Check to make sure all edges are sealed.

Fill a large pot with slightly salted water and bring to a boil. Stir in the ravioli, returning to a boil. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally until the ravioli float to the top and the filling is hot (somewhere between 4 – 8 minutes) Remove with a slotted spoon and drain well.

Place the cooked ravioli on the greased sheet and bake in the preheated oven until brown, about 4 minutes.

Place the cooked ravioli in serving bowls and drizzle with the marinara sauce. Then top with pesto /Alfredo sauce.

Ella can be contacted at ellaweeza@yahoo.com or Ella – 50+ Lifestyles, 804 W Lombard Street, Davenport, IA, 52804