Ukrainian Christmas
I must admit, I’ve always been kind of envious of anyone that can associate with a particular ethnic identity. I was raised by a single mother, the offspring of a Scotsman and Ukrainian woman, but sadly, my grandfather died long before I had the opportunity for him to introduce me to good Scotch, and although I called my grandmother “baba” growing up, there really isn’t a lot that was passed on to me that is distinctly Ukrainian in culture. Aside from a distinctly Ukrainian name, it is almost as though baba herself has forgotten that she is a Ukrainian woman! I do have a single memory of baba showing me how to make pysanky (Ukrainian easter eggs), and eating the occasional meal of cabbage rolls, but that’s basically all that I have retained of Ukrainian culture – the food.
In our family, Ukrainian Christmas is a fading tradition, one that my mother uses as a punchline for tardy gifts. I’m okay with that, but what I did not want to forget is the tradition of making perogies. At the time I did not understand why, but once a year in the winter, someone would go across the street from baba’s house, at the Ukrainian church in our town, and procure a bunch of handmade perogies from the old ladies there. January 7 was Ukrainian Christmas, and this year, mostly just because I was reminded of its existence, I decided to celebrate by making perogies with my wife. In addition, I also whipped up a dish of barley and cabbage, roasted beets, peas and purchased a caraway rye bread and paczki from Wawel, and we feasted with our friends before my Canadian traditions took over and we watched the hockey game.
The perogy is a testament to the ingenuity of the poor. What do you do when you have nothing to eat but potatoes? Why, you make potatoes stuffed with potatoes, of course. The texture of a freshly made perogy will always trump one plopped into boiling water from a freezer, the supple potato dumpling barely encasing a pillowy filling. While I chose to do a very basic perogy, there are of course many variations involving bacon, cheese and even dessert items, like cherries.
- 1 pound russet (or other starchy) potatoes, peeled
- 1/2 cup whole milk, warm
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 1/2 small onion, minced
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- (optional) a small bunch fresh dill, finely chopped
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup whole milk, warm
- 1 teaspoon salt
- (approximately) 2 cups all purpose flour
- Place the potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water. Add a generous amount of salt, bring to a boil over high heat and cook until potatoes are very tender.
- Drain the potatoes thoroughly and allow them to cool slightly at room temperature. This not only makes them more managable, but allows more moisture to evaporate from their surface, resulting in a better dough and filling.
- Pass the potatoes through a food mill or mash them to a fine consistency, adding the warmed milk and melted butter. Reserve a generous half cup of the mashed potatoes to make the dough.
- Meanwhile, over medium-low heat, cook the minced onion in the vegetable oil until translucent. Add this to the mashed potatoes, along with the dill, if using, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Reserve this at room temperature as your filling.
- To make the dough, take your reserved half cup of mashed potatoes and add to this an additional half cup of milk. Mix in the salt, and then continue incorporating flour until you have a soft, slightly sticky dough. Knead this on a lightly floured counter top until you have a smooth and cohesive mass, then divide it into two portions.
- To make the perogies, roll out a portion of the dough on a lightly floured surface until even and very thin, approximately 1/8″. Using the rim of a pint glass, jar or similar-sized pastry cutter, slice the dough into rounds. You can reroll the remaining scrap dough and cut again if you want to, but the resulting perogies will be denser than the original batch.
- Fill the center of each circle with approximately a teaspoon of the mashed potato filling. Moisten the edges of half of the circle with water, then fold it over, encasing the filling and creating a half moon shape. Gently seal the perogy with your fingers, then press it with a fork for certainty and presentation. Place it on a parchment lined baking sheet and repeat until the remaining dough has been used up.
- To cook, bring a large pot of water with a tablespoon of oil (to prevent sticking) to a boil. Add the perogies quickly, but individually, and cook until they float to the top, plus a minute. Retrieve them with a slotted spoon or “spider”, drain them of excess liquid and toss with melted butter. Alternatively, throw the boiled (and well-drained!) perogies in to a hot pan over medium heat with the melted butter, and fry on both sides to give them a crispy and delicious texture. Serve with crispy fried onions, bacon bits and sour cream.
This recipe yields approximately 18-24 perogies, depending on how thinly the dough is rolled out, the size of the cutter used, and moisture of the ingredients used to make it.