Pierogi Ruskie: recipe for vegetarian Polish pierogi

Russian pierogi (pierogi ruskie) is a traditional Polish dish. Pirogi are filled dumplings made of a pasta dough with potatoes and layered cheese (alternatively, drained cottage cheese works as well). The traditional stuffing is popular and famous all over the country. Serve the pierogi ruskie directly after boiling or sauteing with fried onions and sour cream. Delicious!

Pleasure on holiday or even in between

Since pierogi ruski are vegetarian, they are usually served on Fridays or at Christmas. In Poland, no meat is eaten on Christmas Eve, so pierogies are a perfect fit. The traditional pierogi ruskie with a filling of potatoes, pepper, flour and layered cheese is served with fried onions in butter and sour cream.

The pierogi is a main course and is served exactly like this. In my recipe for Polish pirogi I will present this traditional variant, you can of course use another filling as well. It goes well with a green salad in season.

Polish cuisine and its pierogi

Pirogi are an integral part of Polish cuisine, the filling of which has now undergone many variations. So, pierogi made of delicious dough with filling can also be served as appetizer, main course and even sweet as dessert, depending on the filling.

Polish cuisine is a hearty cuisine that has been influenced by its eastern neighbors, but also by Central European cuisine as well as Scandinavian food culture. This is the origin of the very typical polish cuisine. Poland is a country of meat eaters, even though the traditional Polish pierogi recipe is vegetarian, Poland is known for its high consumption of meat.

This is how pierogi ruski (Russian pierogi) get their name

Pierogi Ruskie come from eastern Poland, more precisely from the borderland (Kresy) with Lithuania. These areas also received the name of the Ruthenian Territories or Wild Field. This area belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, then to Poland-Lithuania, then to Poland until 1939, when it was occupied by Russia. In the meantime, these territories have become part of the states of Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine.

The special thing about pierogi is that they originated in the border areas and then made their way to many Slavic countries and can even be found in Finland. I'm sure you've tried one or another form of pierogi and dumplings, as they can now be found in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, the Baltic States, Finland and even Central Asia.

The recipe for Pierogi Ruskie

But now to my polish pirogi recipe. Even if the production of the dough and the filling is quite laborious, it is worth it. In the past, making pierogi was a communal work, where everyone had his task.

As you will see in my Polish pierogi recipe, you must first make the dough, and then fill it by hand. When the pierogi is ready, the dumpling is boiled for a few minutes in hot water with salt and then fried in oil. The work is worth it, because pierogi can also be prepared and frozen.