Pierogi

Polish pierogi ruskie ( ruthenian style pierogi ) draw on the culinary traditions of the former Polish eastern territories ( kresy )

The pierogi is a filled dumpling made from yeast, leaf or noodle dough, which is widely used in East-Central, Eastern European and Finnish cuisine . The type of production, fillings and names vary from region to region. Pierogi are a popular component of solid meals, but also food stalls , Poland Pierogarnia known as fast food available. They can be served as a starter , main course or dessert (with tea).

Origin and Distribution

The word pirogi probably goes back to the original Slavic * pirъ 'festival, feast' and can be found in all East and West Slavic languages ( Russian пирог, actually 'cake', Polish pieróg , Czech. And Slovak. Piroh ), but also in the Baltic- speaking area ( Lat. pīrāgs or diminutive pīrādziņš ). It has also been suggested that the word originally comes from Turkish (compare Börek ). However, according to the Slavist Max Vasmer , the observation that the word or even a comparable dish is missing in the South Slavic-speaking area removes the basis for this assumption . In German it is first documented as a loan word in 1612.

The main ingredients of the filling are minced meat , quark , white farmer's cheese, bacon , potatoes , mushrooms , white cabbage , spinach , sauerkraut or fruit . The Polish pierogi ruskie (“ Ruthenian pierogies”) contain a filling made from potatoes and quark. The dumplings often form a separate dish - for example, fried with glazed onions and sour cream .

Regional and national variations

Pierogies are common in Poland , the Czech Republic , Slovakia , the Ukraine , Belarus , Russia and other Slavic countries, as well as in Hungary , the Baltic States , Finland and Central Asia. Ukrainian and Mennonite immigrants made them a very popular dish in Canada , where they can be found in the freezer of every supermarket under the name of perogies with a variety of fillings. In Germany they are mainly known from the German Baltic cuisine, where they are also known as Kurlander Speckkuchen . German native speakers in Silesia also call them pirogues . In Russian means pirog (пирог) in general today cakes , and the derived diminutive piroshok (пирожок), which usually also with pie is translated, are baked, much larger, by hand (and without sauce, butter or sour cream to) This means eating, filled dumplings, which are eaten hot as well as cold in Russia as a snack and which came to the USA and Argentina as Bierock through Volga German immigrants . The Polish pierogi correspond to the vareniki or the slightly smaller pelmeni in the Ukraine, Russia and Belarus .

preparation

Pierogi are relatively complex to prepare, as they are filled and shaped by hand after the dough has been made manually or by machine. Therefore they are traditionally made in community work. The raw pierogi cook for a few minutes in boiling water, are fried in a pan with lard or baked in the oven. Similar to the Russian pelmeni , pierogies are sometimes served with fried onions and / or sour cream.

An Eastern Finnish variation is the Karelian pierogi (karjalanpiirakka) , a small dumpling pocket made of wafer-thin rye dough filled with barley porridge ( pearl barley ) - today, however, unsweetened rice pudding is mostly used. It is traditionally topped with egg butter or with sausage or cheese and served like bread. Dumplings with meat filling (lihapiirakka) are also widespread in Finland.