“Elizabeth, this towel is for clean hands; this one, for cleaning,” my grandmother says. “Barbara, you start the dough.” Those who have the day free come early. Others stop by, tackle a task for an hour or two or however long they have, and leave. Pierogi take many steps, and, contrary to the adage, there are never too many cooks in the kitchen.
The dough must be elastic. Sometimes it takes two people to roll it flat. Circles are cut using an old-fashioned (cocktail) glass and then gently stretched, using two hands.
The rest of the rules: Use a spoon to fill with stuffing and a fork to pinch closed. Do not overstuff. The dumplings go into a large pot of salted boiling water. Stir constantly to avoid sticking. Cook for 10 minutes or until every one of the pierogi has risen to the surface. (If one ruptures and its contents dance in the water, dump out the water and boil a new pot for the next batch.) Ladle the pierogi out one at a time and lay them in a colander. Transfer to a clean dish towel or a bed of paper towels to rest; they need to dry thoroughly. If they are to be eaten right away, saute with a pat of butter until lightly browned on both sides. If not, place them in a plastic bag, each layer separated by wax paper, and freeze until Christmas Eve.
It has been 15 years since any member of our family has eaten a pierogi made by Pappy, and it probably will be another 15 before we get the recipe right. I don’t mean to be elegiac, merely honest. Our pierogi are delicious, but they’re always missing something. It could be the stuffing, or it could be the dough.
One thing is for certain: The Polish word “pierogi” is plural, and its singular equivalent, pierog, is not used. They say that’s because pierogi are always served in multiples. But I believe it’s something more. If there is one thing today’s pierogi have in common with Pappy’s, it is that the crucial ingredient is a large family singing a chorus of approval for a job everyone at the table knows is arduous. And that’s something, I’m sure, Pappy would be proud of.
RECIPES:
Family-Style Pierogi
McNamara is an assistant editor at Prevention magazine. She lives in Arlington.
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