During this time of uncertainty with no end in sight, we’re going to cook with all the ingredients we have. The normal, the random, and those forgotten impulse buys we made a month ago. This is quarantined cooking.

Some of us are unemployed or have been looking for new employment during quarantine. When you find a job you’re excited about and feel you’d be a great fit for, pouring everything into a cover letter and reaching out to your network is hard work — and tiresome. The time spent to make your candidacy standout is meticulous, but you receive a rejection email and your heart drops. I know this feeling all too well; I have been job searching for months now. After my most recent rejection email, I needed a break and turned the energy I would have used job searching that afternoon towards the kitchen. 

My grandma used to tell me that I had accomplished so much in such a short amount of time that it was ok for me to take a break. I took that sliver of advice and decided my energy was best spent at the moment to make pierogies, something my Central European grandma made often. I have always been fascinated with pierogies; the simple dough pockets filled with well seasoned meat and vegetables are delicious. Despite their simplicity, they were made with patience, love, and took time. This recipe is easy to execute, but isn’t quick. It’s a nice reminder to me that in our culture of instant gratification, great things come when you put in the time. That’s something I’m trying to embody with both my job search and plate of pierogies. 

The fillings for pierogies can be anything; just make sure there isn’t too much moisture in the filling or the dough will break. I like pierogies served with browned butter and caramelized onions on top, but others enjoy them with sour cream. If you are not cooking for a large amount of people, you can freeze the pierogies after you have assembled them. They will keep for a month frozen. —Justin Burke

Beef & Onion Pierogies

Ingredients

Dough
2 large eggs
½ cup whole milk
¼ cup sour cream
2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface

Filling
2 tablespoons olive oil
12 ounces ground beef
Salt, to taste
1 large onion, finely chopped
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup extra sharp cheddar

Assembly
Cornstarch, for dusting
All-purpose flour, for dusting
1 large egg, egg wash
Salt, to taste
1 stick unsalted butter, divided
Sour cream, for serving

Directions 

Dough

1. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, sour cream, salt, and ½ cup of water until combined. Add 3¾ cups flour and mix with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms. With your hands, knead the dough in the bowl until the dough starts to stick together. Remove the dough from the bowl onto a floured work surface and continue to knead, adding ¼ cup flour as needed if dough sticks to the surface, until smooth. Cover with a towel and let rest for 1–2 hours.

Filling

1. Heat oil using a skillet over medium heat. Add beef and season with salt. Using a wooden spoon, break the beef into small pieces and cook until meat is browned and cooked through, 5–8 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl with a slotted spoon.
2. Return skillet to medium heat. Add onions and red pepper flakes to the skillet and season with salt. Cook over medium heat until the onions are translucent and slightly browned, 8–10 minutes. Scrape into the bowl with beef and let cool. Add cheddar and mix to combine.

Assembly

1. Lightly dust 2 parchment-lined baking sheets with cornstarch and cover loosely with plastic.
2. Using a bench scraper or knife, divide dough into fourths. Place 1 piece of dough on a lightly floured surface. Dust remaining pieces with flour and cover with a towel. Roll out dough to a thickness of less than ⅛-inch, if dough is sticking to surface lightly flour. Punch out circles with a 3 ¼-inch round cutter. Gather dough scraps into a ball and set aside with other pieces of dough; keep covered.
3. Working with 1 round at a time, dip fingertips in egg wash and coat edges of round. Transfer about 1 tablespoon of filling to 1 side of the round. Grasp dough from the opposite side and pull up and over the filling, stretching slightly, pressing down to seal edges together and creating a semicircle. Crimp the rounded edge with a fork that has been dipped in flour. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet, placed underneath the plastic. Repeat with remaining dough, you should have about 50 pierogies total.
4. Using a large pot filled with salted water, bring to a boil. Working in batches, gently lower 6 pierogies into the boiling water with a slotted spoon. Cook until wrinkly, slightly translucent, and floating, about 2 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet over medium heat 1 tablespoon of butter just until it starts to brown. Using a slotted spoon, transfer pierogies directly from water to browned butter and cook, turning once, until golden brown and crisp on both sides. Transfer to a plate, drizzle with remaining butter in skillet, and season with salt. Repeat with remaining pierogies and butter. Serve with sour cream.

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