Pink Pierogi

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Pierogi coloured with beet juice make a beautiful addition to your holiday table. Or make them with your favourite plain pierogi dough. Either way, this spinach, potato and feta filling will become your new favourite.

Prep Time: 1 1/2 hrs

Cook time: 1 hr

Yield: approx. 40 pierogi

Ingredients

Pink dough

• 600g all-purpose flour (4 3/4 cups + 1 tbsp)

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 50g butter or vegetable oil

• 200 ml beetroot juice or water (3/4 cup + 1.5 tbsp)

• 200 ml water (3/4 cup + 1.5 tbsp)

Filling

• 2 large onions

• 2 tbsp frying oil

• 4 cloves garlic

• 500g fresh spinach

• 200g feta cheese

• 500g / 1.1 lbs potatoes

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• 1/3 tsp nutmeg

• salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

Make filling

1. Boil the potatoes in a pot of salted water, until soft enough to mash. Drain and mash the potatoes, transfer to a large bowl, set aside to cool.

2. Dice the onions and finely chop the garlic.

3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the onion, cook over medium-low heat until translucent.

4. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for another minute. Add the content of the pan to the potatoes.

5. Spinach: if using baby spinach – just wash the leaves. If you have larger and thicker leaves – you need to wash them and cut off the hard stems. Add the spinach to the hot pan, cook until wilted. Lightly squeeze out the water, chop it finely, add to the potatoes and onion.

6. Crumble the feta cheese over the filling.

7. Season the filling with salt, freshly grounded black pepper, oregano and nutmeg. Mix together until well combined. Make sure that the filling is not too dry (in that case you can add a little water).

Make the dough

1. If you're making the dough by hand, you should wear gloves.

2. Sift the flour and salt together into a large mixing bowl.

3. In a small saucepan warm the beetroot juice and water. When they are very warm (but not boiling) take the pot off the heat and add the butter, stir until melted, then pour into the flour.

4. Mix with a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment (or by hand) for about 5 minutes or until the dough is soft and elastic.

5. Cover the bowl with cling film, set aside and leave to rest for 30 min, or longer if needed.

Fold the pierogi

1. Form the dough into small balls weighing approx. 25-30g each. Pass each ball through a pasta bike to roll into a flat circle, or roll with a rolling pin. Doing this one by one takes longer but you won't end up with bits and pieces of dough.

2. Place about a teaspoon of filling on one side of your circle of dough, then fold the edges together to create a semi-circular dumpling, pressing the edges together to seal. Tap a few drops of water on the dough to help it stick together if needed. Do not leave any gaps or pierogi may open during cooking. If the dough sticks to your hands, sprinkle it gently with flour. Repeat with remaining dough. Place the pierogi apart on a towel sprinkled with flour.

3. Enjoy them right away, or freeze your pierogi in a single layer on a cookie sheet. When totally frozen, put them in a freezer bag. You can boil them straight out of the freezer.

Cook the pierogi:

1. Bring a large pot of slightly salted water to a boil. Drop in the pierogi a few at a time, depending on the size of your pot. When they float to the water surface cook them for 2 minutes then remove from the water with a slotted spoon.

2. I recommend frying them lightly in butter after boiling.

Zhuzh it up!

• Serve pierogi with crispy bacon and fried onions, with a side of sour cream.

• Other excellent ways to enjoy pierogi include alongside sour kraut, sausage or schnitzel.

• If you prefer a plain, uncoloured dough, like the ones in the photo, I like this recipe from natashaskitchen.com

This amazing Pink Pierogi with spinach, potato and feta cheese filling recipe was found on everyday-delicious.com