I love simple Polish food as much as I love simple Italian food. The
best Polish food that is simple and filling can be no other than
pieorgi... filled with potato and cheese, or just cheese, or meat and
even fruit. Yum!
Polish pierogi are usually boiled in salted water. Baked or even deep
fried pierogi are also popular. There exists tons of recipes both for
the stuffing and for the dough. During decades of communist regime,
Poles usually could only "enjoy" the more simple rural versions with
basic toppings.
Pierogi arrived on Polish territories in the 13th century
probably imported from the Far East via eastern neighbors such as
Kievian Rus (today's Ukraine). In the
past, pierogi were more popular in the eastern borderlands of Old Poland
than in the west.
Make no mistake! The name does not
indicate any Russian origin since such food is unknown there. Ruskie
pierogi arrived from a prewar region of Poland which is now part of the
Ukraine. Indeed, before 1945 Ukrainians used to call this particular
variety of pierogi ‘Polish pierogi’. It is likely that “pierogi ruskie”
were created by Poles living in Ukraine at the time.
We
like them boiled or boiled then fried in butter or in lard with bacon
bits to crisp up the edges... a pinch of paprika adds extra zest. Always
served with sour cream, what a brainy fast and frugal meal!
~ Tutti a Tavola!
* Source ~ 'Polish Food 101' [http://culture.pl/en/article/polish-food-101-pierogi]
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