Recipe: Perogie Casserole

Uh oh…I almost hate to use this word, but this is a Deconstructed Perogie Casserole. The reason for the deconstruction? My dough wasn’t cooperating and I got tired of fighting with it, trying to roll it out.

 

Last night’s dinner: Deconstructed Perogie Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp or so of olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 batch of perogie dough (recipe posted below)
• 6-8 small red skinned potatoes, quartered
• handful dehydrated mushrooms, soaked in boiling hot water for about 30 minutes (keep the water!)
• 2 mild Italian sausages, casings removed
• 1/2 cup or so of frozen peas
• 1 tsp paprika
• salt and pepper, to taste
• plain yogurt or sour cream, and chives, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic until fragrant and lightly coloured. Add the potatoes and cook until they are starting to get soft.
2. Meanwhile, cut your perogie dough into gnocchi-like shapes. I did this by rolling my dough into ropes and then just cutting it into pieces. Place in a bowl and set aside for now.
3. Add your sausage meat to the potatoes in the skillet and cook, breaking up the sausage into small pieces. If you find things are sticking, add a couple spoonfuls of that mushroom water. You don’t want to lose any bits of flavour to the bottom of your pan. Season the meat mixture with paprika, salt, and pepper. Add your mushrooms in at this point. Allow this pan of deliciousness to cook while you get your perogie gnocchi cooked.
4. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil (I added my mushroom water to this pot). Add in the dough pieces (you may have to do this in batches), and cook until the pieces float to the top. Remove the cooked dough to a bowl, and allow to dry a bit.
5. Back to the meat mixture: add in about 1/2 cup of frozen peas. Allow to cook for a couple of minutes, and then add in the perogie gnocchi. Stir to combine.
6. To serve, dish into a bowl  and top with plain yogurt or sour cream, and chopped chives (if you want).

 

My cooked perogie dough gnocchi

 

And here’s the recipe I used for my perogie dough. I made the full batch a couple of months back, used half for proper perogies, and froze the rest. Maybe that’s why I had time rolling it out last night. Oh well.

 

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tbsp butter, melted

Directions:

1. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre, add the eggs and butter and mix to a dough.
2. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 2-3 minutes, until smooth. Wrap in clear film and leave to rest for 30 minutes.