I'm Polish but don't like most traditional Polish food except for Kielbasa and Kraut and Pierogi. I'm lucky enough to have a family recipe that was passed down for at least 10 generations. It's really simple and cheap but labor intensive.
Fillings:
Potato and Cheese:
5lbs potatos boiled as if you were making simple mashed potatos, but add nothing but salt. Mash them and add a 1lb of your favorite shredded cheese. I like to mix yellow cheddar and munster. Mix until blended. You can also mix in some diced and sauteed onions if you like, but drain all the oil off first. Put the mixture in the fridge overnight or at least 4 hours.
Kraut:
Freeze about 4 strips of bacon and dice it as small as you can (food processor works also). Brown them in a large pan.
Add 1/2 a large onion or a whole small one, pureed or minced finely.
Add two large bags of kraut drained and rinsed into a food processor with enough water added to have it puree/mince well. Add it to the onion and bacon in the pan. Add two tablespoons of brown sugar, 1tsp salt, 1/2tspn black pepper. Simmer on low- medium heat for 30-40 minutes covered until soft. Put in a fine strainer and get all the liquid out by pushing on it with a bowl, then chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Dough:
Mix in a bowl:
4 eggs
1tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
..until blended then slow add...
4.25 cups of sifted all purpose flour
I really like the kitchenaid dough hook by the time you start adding flour.
Set each batch of dough on a flour'd countertop with a bowl over the top to keep it from drying out. You can make all your dough before filling any. You'll need about 4 batches of dough for 5lbs pototo filling and at least 3 batches for the kraut.
Roll out the dough 1/2 batch at a time to about 3/16" thick. Cut out circles with a 3 inch diameter glass. Remove the waste dough, ball it up and add it back under the bowl to keep it from drying out. Put about a tablespoon of filling in the middle of the sticky side of the circle (the part that was down on the counter/table), fold it over to make a half circle and pinch the edges between two fingers until completely sealed. Be sure not to get the filling on the sealing edges, it won't close. Set them aside on a table with a tablecloth and leave them to dry for a few hours.
Once dry, drop them in salted boiling water and boil for 3 minutes after they start floating. Dip in melted butter and either brown them in a pan for immediate eating or put them in a freezer bag.
Fillings:
Potato and Cheese:
5lbs potatos boiled as if you were making simple mashed potatos, but add nothing but salt. Mash them and add a 1lb of your favorite shredded cheese. I like to mix yellow cheddar and munster. Mix until blended. You can also mix in some diced and sauteed onions if you like, but drain all the oil off first. Put the mixture in the fridge overnight or at least 4 hours.
Kraut:
Freeze about 4 strips of bacon and dice it as small as you can (food processor works also). Brown them in a large pan.
Add 1/2 a large onion or a whole small one, pureed or minced finely.
Add two large bags of kraut drained and rinsed into a food processor with enough water added to have it puree/mince well. Add it to the onion and bacon in the pan. Add two tablespoons of brown sugar, 1tsp salt, 1/2tspn black pepper. Simmer on low- medium heat for 30-40 minutes covered until soft. Put in a fine strainer and get all the liquid out by pushing on it with a bowl, then chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Dough:
Mix in a bowl:
4 eggs
1tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
..until blended then slow add...
4.25 cups of sifted all purpose flour
I really like the kitchenaid dough hook by the time you start adding flour.
Set each batch of dough on a flour'd countertop with a bowl over the top to keep it from drying out. You can make all your dough before filling any. You'll need about 4 batches of dough for 5lbs pototo filling and at least 3 batches for the kraut.
Roll out the dough 1/2 batch at a time to about 3/16" thick. Cut out circles with a 3 inch diameter glass. Remove the waste dough, ball it up and add it back under the bowl to keep it from drying out. Put about a tablespoon of filling in the middle of the sticky side of the circle (the part that was down on the counter/table), fold it over to make a half circle and pinch the edges between two fingers until completely sealed. Be sure not to get the filling on the sealing edges, it won't close. Set them aside on a table with a tablecloth and leave them to dry for a few hours.
Once dry, drop them in salted boiling water and boil for 3 minutes after they start floating. Dip in melted butter and either brown them in a pan for immediate eating or put them in a freezer bag.