Recipes

Recipe: Grandma Anastasia’s Pork and Sausage Perogies

Chef Jonathan Chovancek updates his grandmother's traditional Ukrainian recipe.

By Western Living /
Photo by John Sherlock

Recipe by Chef Jonathan Chovancek

This is a recipe I have renamed for my great-grandmother Anastasia Yunick, who immigrated to Canada with her husband, Anton, from the village of Tsekaniv in Western Ukraine. I have adapted it to include a spicy chorizo in the filling, as that is what I love to eat€”and, as I am definitely not a traditionalist, I love what the spice does in this recipe.

Ingredients

Filling

1 kg russet potatoes

1 cup ground pork

1 cup ground chorizo sausage

1 small onion, finely minced

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

Bay leaf

3 cloves garlic, whole

Salt, to taste

Lemon juice. to taste

Dough

1 cup sour cream

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp sea salt

Credit: Photo by John Sherlock

Boil potatoes in their skins with fresh bay leaf and garlic until cooked. Drain and peel. Allow to steam out for 10 minutes, then put through a ricer.

Sauté onion and two meat minces together. Add vinegar to deglaze, then cook down until meat is cooked through and tender. Add a little water if it gets too dry. Add potato mixture and gently stir together. Season with salt and a little lemon juice. Let cool.

To make the dough, use a stand mixer or a wooden spoon to combine ingredients. Hand knead for 5€“10 minutes to develop gluten structure. Allow to rest 1 hour or overnight, refrigerated.

Roll out dough into 3-mm sheets using a floured pasta roller or rolling pin. Use a 12-cm round pastry cutter or the rim of a small bowl to cut into rounds. Place 1½ tbsp of filling in the centre of each round and pull one side over the top to create a cute little dumpling. Be creative with your shaping€”I like to have a flat bottom and a crimped top. Use the back of a fork to press and decorate the round edge. Use a little water to provide the seal.

Steam perogies in a bamboo steamer or poach in salted water for 8€“10 minutes. Drain. Sauté in brown butter, basil, red onion and fresh tomatoes.

Makes 10€“12 medium perogies.

ANOTHER COZY RECIPE: Salt-Baked Winter Vegetables

This story was originally published on March 16, 2020.

Western Living

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