Photo by Bethany Fehlinger
Since I went vegan more than four years ago, I don’t get to enjoy the childhood favorite foods from summer bazaars in northeast Pennsylvania: haluski, potato pancakes and pierogies. These dishes are easily veganized, but pierogies can be the most time-intensive.
This past week I had a craving, so I made the time and had these beautiful, doughy pieces of art for dinner.
The set-up that I found most helpful included a clean kitchen counter and doing the filling prep the day before. This made the rolling, cutting, scooping and pinching easy.
This time of year brings in potatoes, onions and kale. I combined these three elements for my filling, and then used vegan best-selling cookbook author Isa Moskowitz’s recipe for the dough.
On a cool, fall Sunday, spend some time with the kids in the kitchen and make these great dumplings that will last all week.
Purple potato and kale pierogies with caramelized onions
For onions:
- 3 small onions
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
For filling:
- 4 medium potatoes
- 1 cup of shredded kale
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup of soy milk
- 2 tablespoons Earth Balance butter
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
For dough:
- 3 Tablespoons canola oil
- 1 cup warm water
- 3 cups all purpose flour (plus a little extra for sprinkling)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
Recipe:
The night before:
- Chop onions into half-moons, place in a medium pan with the oil, and heat until sizzling loud.
- Then lower the heat and cook for 30 to 40 minutes on low until the onions are a beautiful, caramel color.
- Place in a container in the fridge for the next day.
- Peel, cube and boil potatoes in a large pot of water.
- Meanwhile, shred the kale with your fingers, add to a small pan with the oil and saute for about 5 minutes.
- When potatoes are done, drain and place in a large bowl and add kale, milk, butter and spices. Whip with a hand mixer until smooth. Add more milk if the mixture seems stiff.
- Stir in a little bit of the caramelized onions to the mixture, but reserve the rest for topping the pierogies.
- Let it cool, and then place in the fridge until the next day (or move on and prepare the dough.)
For the dough:
The next day or immediately after preparing the filling, follow the directions for the pierogi dough from Isa’s Post Punk Kitchen blog. If you are making the dough right after the filling, make sure the filling is cooled completely before adding to the dough circles.
I did not boil these immediately but stored them in the fridge overnight. That was a mistake, as the dough stuck to the bottom, and sometimes the top and bottom, of the wax paper on the baking sheet to store. Softly boil until they float or for four minutes or saute in butter for about four minutes after all the pierogies are finished being assembled, and then cool and store, either in the fridge or freezer.
To reheat, I would recommend sauteing instead of reboiling. Heat the onions and top the pierogies with them.
What is your favorite dish that reminds you of childhood? Did you recreate it vegetarian or vegan?
Share a dish with me at bfehlinger@ydr.com.
