EEver wished for something to get all your loved ones together? Thirty minutes into my favorite recipe for pierogi, both fam and your pets will be circling the kitchen like hungry sharks!

– “Hey!” I said to my sister, surprised to see her at my parents’ house as she just bought a new apartment. “What brought you home?”

– “I wanted to see you!” She said with a mischievous smile.

– “You had no idea that I will be here! So you must have some alternative motive, spill it!” I teased her.

– “Haha!” she laughed. “I came to do the laundry.”

– “I knew it!”

– “There is nothing wrong with having a motive, girls,” my mom said. “Parents often need to use one to see their children more often. Speaking of which, I’m not sure you guys would visit that readily if not the Sunday dinner that is always waiting for you. That’s my motive to lure you home”. She said, smiling.

– “Ha! That’s a good one because it always works!” We laughed. “So what’s for dinner?!”

– “PIEROGI!”

Dumplings, pierogi, a dish with a thousand-year history, and no wonder as biting through their translucent skin to discover a splash of delicious condensed flavor is a pleasure one can never get tired. One of my favorites is pierogi with wild mushrooms and sauerkraut.

PPierogi With Wild Mushrooms And Sauerkraut Recipe

Stuffing:

1/4 cup dried mushrooms
2 cups sauerkraut – drained, rinsed, and finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 cup water
Salt and ground black pepper

Dough:

 4 cups all-purpose flour
-1 egg
1 cup lukewarm water
3 tablespoons melted butter

Put mushrooms into a saucepan and add a cup of water. Bring to simmer over low heat, cook until tender for about 10 minutes. Drain and then chop mushrooms, reserving the cooking liquid.

In a separate saucepan, heat olive oil and cook onion until translucent, around 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, sauerkraut and mix lightly. Season with salt and pepper, pour the cooking water from the mushrooms, simmer until liquid has evaporated – close to 20 minutes.

Transfer flour to a large bowl and make a well in the center. Crack an egg into the well. Add a little bit of warm water, and stir gently with your hands until dough forms. Add more water if needed. Knead until dough is soft and smooth.

Dust a work surface with flour. Cut off a portion of the dough and roll it out to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Fill each dough circle with 1 teaspoon of filling.

Fold dough over and seal edges. Cut out circles using a glass or a round pastry cutter. Repeat the process until all dough and filling is used.

Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot, add bay leaves and carefully slip in the pierogi. Cook them at a rolling boil for approx. 4 – 5 min. Remove with a slotted spoon and drizzle with melted butter. Serve with crème fraîche, parsley or chives, and fresh black pepper.

Call your loved ones to lure them for a Sunday dinner!