Butternut Squash Pierogies

Dough recipe from King Arthur Flour

As previously stated, this is not a traditional recipe. I made it with scraps from my fridge, and you can definitely do the same if you’ve reached the “experimental dumpling filling” stage of quarantine. If you haven’t, you could just do a more traditional filling of potatoes and cheese – you’ll need one cup mashed potatoes and one cup shredded cheddar cheese. Mix them together while the potatoes are still warm and add salt and pepper to taste.

Also, because I can’t be tossing out dough scraps willy-nilly right now, I cut these into squares instead of circles and folded them into triangles. It’s faster, and it wastes less dough – a trick my mom taught me, courtesy of her Ukrainian aunts.

Ingredients

Dough

• 2 cups Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup sour cream or full fat Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup butter, room temperature

Filling

• About 1 pound butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 2 cloves garlic, still in their skins
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 ounces goat cheese
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Make the dough: Mix flour and salt together in a large bowl. Mix in the egg
2. Add the sour cream or yogurt and the butter. Mix with a spoon and then with the tips of your fingers until you have a soft, sticky dough.
3. Divide dough in half, wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days
4. Make the filling: Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
5. Spread the squash and garlic on a sheet pan, and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.
6. Roast for 30-40 minutes until tender, tossing once or twice during cooking. Let cool slightly.
7. Peel and chop roasted garlic cloves.
8. Add roasted squash, roasted garlic, sage, goat cheese and lemon juice to a medium bowl. Stir together and mash slightly with a fork until it comes together, but isn’t a totally homogeneous paste. There should still be some streaks of goat cheese and chunks of squash. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
9. Assemble the pierogies: Roll one half of the dough out on a lightly floured surface to 1/8″ thick. Cut into 3-4″ squares. Drop about 2 teaspoons of filing into each square.
10. One by one, brush the edges of each square with a little water and pinch it closed around the filling.
11. The formed pierogies can be frozen, or you can cook them right away. To cook them – either fresh or frozen – bring a salted pot of water to boil. Drop the pierogies in the boiling water and wait until they float to the top. This will only take a couple minutes if they’re fresh – a few more if they’re frozen. Once they float, remove them with a slotted spoon.
12. To finish (if you’re fancy), melt a tablespoon of butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Cook the pierogies for a minute or two on each side until golden brown.
13. Serve with caramelized onions, sour cream or cottage cheese and apple sauce.