Let’s Talk Food: Ukrainian’s hearty fare has its finest moment in pierogis

When I grow up and get to be 90 years old I want to be just like Olga Hirshhorn. She recently had the greatest birthday celebration ever planned, surpassing Queen Elizabeth, who celebrates for a month. Olga was feted at three parties marking this milestone, including one at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington.

Here in Naples, her friends, Sandy and Joe Clausen, Susan Morgan and Joe Scott organized a party at their club and invited 30 or so of Olga’s nearest and dearest. The talented and creative staff at the club, led by executive chef Philippe Rosset, conjured up a Ukrainian menu in honor of Olga’s heritage. The food reflected Olga’s personality and her character…hearty, straightforward, zesty and totally satisfying.

Ukrainian food is a complex mélange of Eastern Europe cuisines. The Russians, Poles Yugoslavians, Czechs and Hungarians share the traditional foods that were developed centuries ago. Ingredients are native to the region and include cabbage, pork, local cheeses, sausages and fish.

Soup is an important part of the Ukrainian diet, with borscht the all-time favorite. The deep scarlet borscht at Mrs. Hirshhorn’s birthday dinner was brightened up with dollops of sour cream, another favored condiment in the Ukrainian diet.

Often found on Ukrainian tables is “yuska”, which is similar to the Russian fish soup, “uha”, and a zesty “rosolnyk”, a tart soup made with pickles. Another soup enhanced with sour cream is “kapusniak”, a rich and hearty broth make with pork, pork fat and sauerkraut.

The main course at the party, pork, was tender, delicious and the leading viand surrounded by typical Ukrainian vegetables and the real star of the meal: “pierogis.” This revered member of the dumpling family almost floats off the dinner plate. The flaky dough is stuffed with cheese and other ingredients and is then steamed to perfection.

This diva dumpling is so popular that there is a “Pierogi Pocket” based on the popularity of the dish. This national pocket spans cities and towns throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, New York, southern New England and parts of the mid-Atlantic region. The concentration in the Northeast and Midwest is due to the influx of Eastern European immigrants.

Folks in Pittsburgh have the distinction of consuming 11 times more pierogis than the population of any other city or hamlet in the entire country. Just a short way down the road from Pittsburgh is the small town of Shenandoah, Pa. The settlement came into being in 1833 and would remain undiscovered and obscure until 1952. Ted Twardzik, inspired by his mother Mary’s peerless pierogis, began to market them as Mrs. T’s Pierogis and now have thousands of enthusiastic customers all over the country. Naturally, the natives in Shenandoah consider their town the pieriogi capital of the world.

Ukrainian desserts do not lend themselves well to an all-American birthday party. Our birthday girl, Olga Hirshhorn, is strictly a carrot cake maven. So instead of fried curd fritters, jellied fruits, sweet fried dough and various tortes, guests ended the meal with a sweet that any Ukrainian would have eaten with relish and gratitude — a glorious, candlelit carrot cake.

Surely, dear reader, we have convinced you that life cannot go on without partaking of generous helpings of pierogis. Here is just one recipe among hundreds. There also are various spellings for the dish. But the result is all the same: delicious.

Pieriogi

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt or to taste

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, softened

Milk

2 eggs

½ cup vegetable oil

½ cup (1 stick) butter

Sour cream, browned chopped onion or maple syrup

Filling (recipe below)

Preparation

■ To make the dough: In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; cut in the softened butter with a pastry blender until coarse crumbs form. In a small bowl, beat the eggs slightly and transfer to a measuring cup. Add enough milk to make 1 cup. Pour over the crumbs and, by hand, stir until a stiff ball forms.

■ Transfer the dough to a lightly floured board and knead for about 3 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour if necessary. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 15 to 30 minutes. When the dough has rested, divide into 3 parts and roll out each portion as thin as a pie crust, about 1/8-inch thick. Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter, cut out circles of dough.

■ Place 1 to 2 tablespoons of filling. Moisten the edges with water, fold each round over to form a half-circle and seal the edges with the tines of a fork. Be sure the seal is firm.

■ Cook the pierogis in a large stock pot, half full of rapidly boiling salted water, two at a time. After 2 or 3 minutes they will float to the top; remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a rack set over a jelly roll pan. When cooled, remove the pierogis to greased wax paper in single layer since stacking them will result in sticky dumplings.

■ In a large, heavy skillet, combine ½ cup butter and vegetable oil over medium heat. When the butter is melted, sauté the pierogis on both sides, turning once, until golden brown and crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove and serve immediately, topping with sour cream, browned chopped onion or maple syrup (take your choice). Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Pierogi filling

Ingredients

1 pound farmers cheese or very well-drained cottage cheese, large or small curd

2 egg yolks

1 tablespoon softened butter

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup golden raisins

1 cup sour cream

Preparation

■ Place cheese in colander lined with cheesecloth and rinse under running water. Bring the ends of the cloth together and wring out the excess water. Set aside.

■ In a large mixer bowl, beat the egg yolks until pale yellow. Add butter, cheese, 2 tablespoon of the sugar, vanilla and salt and continue beating for 3 more minutes on low speed. Stir in the raisins and spoon onto the pierogi dough and cook as directed above. In a small bowl combine the sour cream and the remaining ¼ cup sugar. Serve with the sautéed pierogis.

Note: Pierogis may be frozen before they are sautéed and then thawed and sautéed.

Ask Doris

Q: I’d like a recipe for custard made with rum.

— Luciana

A: This is a basic recipe is for custard and may be used with many other flavorings.

Rum custard

Ingredients

¾ cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups whole milk or, for a richer custard, 2 cups half-and-half

2 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ to ½ cup rum (to taste)

Preparation

■ In the top of a double boiler combine sugar, flour and salt; add milk and blend thoroughly. Cook over boiling water until thickened, stirring constantly. Continue to stir and cook slowly for 15 additional minutes.

■ Remove from heat and beat in the egg yolks very gradually. Return to heat and cook on low for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

■ Remove from heat and add the vanilla and the rum. Serves 8.

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Doris Reynolds is the author of “When Peacocks Were Roasted and Mullet Was Fried” and “Let’s Talk Food.” They are available for sale in the lobby of the Naples Daily News. Also available is a 4-part DVD, “A Walk Down Memory Lane with Doris Reynolds.” For comments and information regarding today’s column, contact Doris Reynolds at foodlvr25@aol.com.

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