Poland - Pierogi , mhhh..... delicious :)

Pierogi are a Polish dish, similar to dumplings.

Ingredients

For the dough:

500g/2 cups plain, all-purpose flour, plus more for floured surface

1 tablespoon icing sugar

1 egg + 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten together

250ml/one cup warm water, possibly a little more

For the filling:

500g fresh blueberries

To serve:

250ml/one cup double cream, lightly whipped

2 tablespoons icing sugar

A sprinkle of caster sugar or vanilla sugar

Instructions

To make the dough, sift the flour and icing sugar onto a large wooden board or clean surface. Make a well in the centre and pour in the eggs with a few tablespoons of the warm water. Using a knife, begin to mix together, adding a little more water a tablespoonful at a time. At first the dough will be quite soft and sticky. You can use your fingers to bring the dough together into a ball - just like making pasta.

Once the dough has come together, swiftly, but briefly, knead the dough on a floured surface for four-to-five minutes. The dough should become quite elastic. If it is too wet, add a little more flour. Put the ball of dough into a bowl and cover with a damp tea towel for an hour.

After an hour, sprinkle some more flour onto a board. Cut the dough into two pieces and begin rolling out until it is about 3mm thick.

Use an inverted glass tumbler, or similar, to cut 8cm circles out of the dough. Continue until all your dough is used up. Cover the circles with a damp tea towel until you are ready to start filling.

To fill, place a circle of dough into the palm of your hand and place three or four blueberries into the centre. Fold the dough over the filling, in half, to make a semi-circle that encloses the blueberries. Pinch the dough along the semi-circular edge with your thumb and finger so that the dough is well sealed. Lay the Pierogi in rows onto a board lightly dusted with flour and cover with a damp tea towel as you make the rest.

To cook the Pierogi, bring a large pan of water to the boil. Carefully drop the dumplings in one at a time (you can probably cook around eight in a standard pan). Keep the water at a gentle boil. The Pierogi are cooked when they float up to the top, usually after two-to-three minutes. Drain and set aside.

Serve the dumplings whilst still warm with a sprinkle of caster sugar or vanilla sugar over the top and a dollop or two of freshly whipped cream, sweetened with a tablespoon of icing sugar.

Notes

To re-heat, you can gently pan-fry the pierogi in butter. You can also freeze (laying them flat on a board) before cooking.