pierogi grzybowe - mushroom Pierogi

This is the first time I have made pierogi since my mother died a few years back. Making pierogi is one of the happiest memories I have of my dear babcia (my grandmother) and my mother. We usually favoured a sweet cheese pierogi, but there are many different varieties and fillings.  This one is a good one for Lent (which is starting soon) as it contains no meat - but is so tasty you don't miss that at all!

Pierogi Dough

1 egg yolk

Pierogi grzybowe - lightly refried the next day

2 cups of white flour, sifted

1/2 cup water

Mix the flour with the egg yolk and water, and mix together. Knead until it is a smooth dough that doesn't stick to your fingers. Pop it into a container, cover with plastic, and leave in fridge until ready to use.

Mushroom Filling

450g fresh mushrooms, finely chopped

olive oil for frying (add in 1tsp of butter for a hint of extra flavour)

1 medium-sized onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons breadcrumbs

1 tablespoon parsley, chopped

lightly saute the onion until translucent. Add the mushrooms and cook gently for 10-15 minutes until all the moisture has been sweated off. Stir breadcrumbs and parsley through the mushrooms.

Assembly & Cooking

Look at all that mushroomy goodness!

Roll out walnut sized pieces of dough into circles, place a spoonful of mushroom filling in the centre. Fold the dough over, and crimp to close. The dough should be elastic enough to stretch easily over the filling.

You can make the pieces as small as desired (little dumplings for soup) or larger ones.  

Drop the pierogi into boiling salted water. They are cooked when they float to the top. Pierogi can be eaten straight from the pot, re-fried or baked the next day, or added to soups (if you make little dumplings!).

 

Raspberry Jam - in the Microwave!

Yep. Jam. In the microwave. This is a sure-fire recipe to make berry jam. I've made blueberry, strawberry, and raspberry jam this way. I'm guessing you could probably do stone fruits this way as well but I haven't tried it. It is most useful for small batches where you don't want to go to all the trouble of stove-top jam. Make sure you use a container that is large for the amount of fruit - so the fruit comes no more than 1/3 of the way up the side - as the jam will boil vigourously.

Raspberry Jam

200g of raspberries
100g of sugar

(or any amount - just the same ratio ie twice the amount of fruit to sugat).

Put in a microwave safe container. Microwave on high for 5 mins. Give it a stir. Test for jell point and then microwave for 1 minute at a time until jell point is reached. Pour into a warm clean jar and cool.

I have to admit, I usually just microwave for 7 minutes and it usually works out fine without testing - but if you want to be absolutely positive it will work test it.

Jell point testing - put a dish in the freezer. To test for setting put a small dollop of the hot liquid on the plate. Leave in freezer for 40 seconds until it is cool and then push at it with your finger. If it leaves wrinkles on the surface of the jam, it is ready.

Peach Jam

The last of the peaches in the box I bought at the local farmers markets were getting very ripe - time to make jam! Making jam from stonefruit like cherries, peaches, and apricots, is quite easy to do. I never use pectin or jamsetting agents and the resulting jam is usually quite luscious. It isn't as "jelly"-like as that found in supermarkets, but it is thick and spreadable and - well - jammy! I quite like that soft gummy lusciousness of home-made real jam. Real jam also has no preservatives, additives, or artificial colours. It always beggars my belief that most jams produced in Australia have preservatives in them. Home-made jam can last for ages. I've had it sitting there unopened for a year without any problems at all. I've also bought imported French jams that contain no preservatives... anyway, I shall just shake my head and end my ranting!

Walnut sourdough with home made peach jam!

Peach Jam
1 part sugar
2 parts peaches (or you can substitute other stone fruit, or a mix of stone fruit, if you wish)
1/2 lemon per kilo of peaches

I realise that what I have given you is a ratio, rather than a recipe! A lot of other recipes call for a 1:1 ratio of fruit to sugar, but I've always thought that leaves you with an overly sweet jam. As it is, I think the ratio with the overripe peaches is a tad too sweet - but that is just my taste!

Place sugar and sliced peaches into a pot. Heat slowly so the peaches release their juices and dissovle the sugar. Squeeze in the lemon. Heat on medium heat until gently bubbling. Cook for about 20 minutes and then start testing for the jell point (see below). Test every 5 minutes until jell point is reached. Then take off the heat. Pour into clean warm glass jars, top with lids, (you can also get plastic wrappers and elastic band jam sets in the supermarkets). I then wrap them with teatowels so they don't cool too rapidly & crack the glass. Once they are cool place them in fridge or cool dark pantry. Once opened, of course, refridgerate.

Jell point testing - put a dish in the freezer. To test for setting put a small dollop of the hot liquid on the plate. Leave in freezer for 40 seconds until it is cool and then push at it with your finger. If it leaves wrinkles on the surface of the jam, it is ready.

buraczki ze smietana (Beets with sour cream)

This is great served either warm or chilled. I personally love the little hits of dill and pepper against the sweet creamy beet. Some recipes add horseradish to taste, and this adds a lovely sharpness and bite to it which makes it a spicy side to meat dishes. Personally, I like it creamy, with a hint of lemon to add just a hint of acidity.

buraczki ze smietana

4 beetroots
3/4 cup of sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
juice of 1/2 lemon
a couple of fronds of dill to stir through (reserve some for garnish)

Cook the beets in boiling water until just done. Cool until able to be handled, then peel and grate them.
Stir the sour cream through (and horseradish if you are using it), season to taste. Sprinkle with dill, squeeze the lemon juice over, and stir till combined. Garnish with extra dill. Serve warm, or chill in the fridge for 2 hours if you are wanting to serve cold.

Peach tart

This is a little fruit tart that is quick to whip up and pretty forgiving on quantities. Basically you are making a very thick batter, pouring that into a pie dish, and covering it with fruit slices. This makes a dryish sort of biscuity base, which is quite nice but I think needs something to help it along. If you use fruit from a tin I suggest that you pour some of the tinned juices over the tart when it comes out of the oven. You can also make the optional syrup and pour that over the hot tart - gets very sweet and sticky. You can also use any other type of fruit on top - whatever takes your fancy!

Peach tart
3/4 cup plain flour
3/4 cup of almond meal
75g butter
5 tbs sugar (or to taste)
1/3 cup milk - (or enough to make a thick batter)
2 eggs
1 tin peaches or 2 large ripe peaches

Cream the butter and sugar. Whisk in the eggs. Add in the flour, almond meal, and milk and combine till it forms a thick batter. Pour into the bottom of a pie dish. Arrange slices of fruit around the top. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Cook at 180 degrees for 30 mins or until the cake has set.

optional syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water


Bring the water to a boil.. Dissolve the sugar into the boiling water, stirring constantly. Pour some over the hot tart when it comes out of the oven.

Zupa Grzybowa (Mushroom Soup)

If you google the web for Zupa Grzybowa you'll find that there are probably as many recipes for this yummy soup as there are Polish cooks. Some start off by cooking a roux which will later thicken the soup. Others thicken at the end with a clever combo of sour-cream and flour. Some add barley. All would probably agree that the best mushrooms for that are those that are grown in Poland... but I really have no access to them fresh or dried, so I can't comment! The addition of dried porcini, however, does add a lovely depth of flavour to it. Perhaps one day I will be able to use Polish mushrooms - if so, I'll tell you what they are like. :)

I'm giving you my version which does not use a roux, and is usually not thickened at the end. It freezes well at that point. You can thicken it with sour cream and flour if you wish when re-heating - instructions will be given below. Or you can simply serve with some sour cream on the table for people to add to their liking.

You can very easily make this soup either vegetarian or vegan by using vegetable stock and omitting the sour cream

Zupa Grzybowa

500g mixed fresh mushrooms
100g dried porcini (or if you happen to be able to get dried Polish mushrooms give them a whirl!) - soak these for about an hour before use.
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 litres good quality vegetable or beef stock - use the fresh kind, not one made up from stock powder!
1 cup pearl barley (optional)

cook onions in olive oil until translucent. Add in fresh mushrooms, dried mushrooms, and the water the mushroms were soaking in (run through a sieve to catch any grit). Stir through. Pour in the stock, add in 1 cup of rinsed pearl barley. Put a lid on it and cook at a medium-slow heat for about an hour. If using the pearl barley make sure you cook it long enough so it is soft - the hour usually suffices.


for thickening...
2tbs cornflour
2 cups of sour cream
mix the cornflour and sour cream together. Whisk in a wee bit of the hot soup to loosen it and bring it to the same temp as the soup (so it doesn't curdle when added). Pour into the soup, whisking until it comes to a boil.

Delicious served with toasted sourdough.

As the Polish say smacznego! or Bon apetit!