Lazy pierogi, vegan & gluten-free (leniwe pierogi)

This recipe involved talking a co-worker into helping me buy a meat grinder on Allegro, the Polish version of eBay. But your version doesn’t have to be so involved.

If homemade pierogi sound delicious but too time-consuming, this is the perfect recipe. After several tries, I finally mastered this one, and so happy that I got the hang of it!

The idea is simple. While pierogi are extremely tasty, to make both the dough and filling from scratch, and then to stuff them, it a long, labor-intensive process. Lazy pierogi is a shortcut: basically, you take both the dough and filling, blend them, and savor the result.

Lazy pierogi are one of several little dumplings popular in Poland. There’s also kluski (which are round, with a dimple in the center) and kopytka (which are diamond shaped.) They seem to all be variations of each other— but delicious variations of each other.

To make them gluten-free and vegan, there’s a few things to remember. One, buy good quality potatoes. Go to a farmer’s market if there’s one nearby and get fresh ones. Maybe get the kind you have to scrub the dirt off of. The flavor will be worth it.

Two, use good quality flavored tofu. I used garlic flavored and was very happy with the resulting flavor. In this recipe, the tofu will be standing in for twaróg, a type of soft, white cow’s cheese. Using plain tofu will result in pierogis that taste too much like soy. If you don’t like using flavored tofu, I suggest marinating the tofu in something tasty first.

The third trick is more complicated. Traditionally, to make pierogi, the stuffing is blended in a meat grinder. (Hence my buying one!) However, if you don’t want to buy one kitchen gizmo for one dish, I recommend using a potato masher on both the tofu and potatoes. Basically, you want the tofu in small enough pieces that it blends easily with the cooked potatoes. (Using your hands to blend everything also helps!)

The original recipe called for tapioca flour, which I couldn’t find in Wroclaw. I recommend avoiding millet flour, as my first batch tasted grainy when I used this one. If you’re curious what the rolling process looks like, I suggest watching this video. (Yes, it’s in Polish, but it’s pretty easy to follow what she’s doing.)

This recipe is adapted from the Polish cookbook Wegańskie wypieki i potrawy bez glutenu by Teresa Reimann. (Which I totally recommend, if only for the mouth-water photographs!)

Ingredients

1 lb potatoes

1 block tofu, drained (250 g)

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons of:

rice flour (white or brown works)

corn flour

potato flour

1. Scrub and peel the potatoes, and chop into cubes.

2. Add the potatoes to salted, boiling water and boil for 20-25 minutes or until tender.

3. When the potatoes are soft, drain and let cool.

4. While the potatoes are cooling, crumble the drained tofu with your hands and use a potato masher to finish the job.

5. When the potatoes are cool, mash thoroughly in a large mixing bowl.

6. When the potatoes are mashed, add the tofu, stir well, and mash everything again. (Note: steps 5-6 can be omitted if you have a meat grinder.)

7. When the tofu and potatoes are completely blended, add the flour, one spoon at a time, taking care to mix the flour in completely. Also, add salt and pepper at this point.

8. When the flours, potatoes and tofu and blended thoroughly, it’s time to start shaping the pierogi. Roll the dough into several orange-size balls, then roll into oblong tubes. Then, slice the rolls into slices.

9. When the pierogi are formed, drop them into boiling water for 1-2 minutes. (If you let them go too long, they fall apart.) Alternately, you can fry them.

10. Serve topped with sautéd onions, green onions, or vegan sour cream.