These Vibrant 2-Color Sweet Potato Pierogi feature two beautiful fillings seasoned with caramelized onions, butter and fresh rosemary. Whether you choose to finish these little dumplings cooked in boiling water or pan-fried until golden and crispy, they are delicious. Serve with grilled onions, crisp, thick-cut bacon and a little sour cream for a hearty meal.
This recipe yields a generous 32 – 36 pierogi – depending on how thin you roll the dough, but don’t let the yield dissuade you from making these dumplings. After boiling and cooling the pierogi, they can be packed in bundles and frozen for a quick, weeknight meal.
Jump to RecipePurple and traditional sweet potato are the heart of these Vibrant 2-Color Sweet Potato Pierogi
You may be used to seeing pierogi recipes that call for potato, cheese and sauerkraut fillings. Why not sweet potatoes? At their heart, pierogi are stuffed dumplings. Sweet or savory fillings are sealed in a simple dough and either boiled or fried. They come in a variety of sizes and styles – large, small ornately crimped or simply pressed.
These little dumplings are packed with goodness, even though they’re different from a traditional pierogi. Pierogi are like little presents just waiting to be opened. The filling is the gift, the surprise. I love these Vibrant 2-Color Sweet Potato Pierogi for their beautiful filling. A simple, savory filling of caramelized onions, fresh rosemary, salt and pepper and mashed sweet potatoes – either traditional or purple – are absolutely stunning when opened. Their sunset orange and deep purple colors pop beautifully against emerald green onions that have been seared until tender and sweet. They can be served as is for a vegetarian option or dressed up with thick-cut bacon crisps and a little sour cream.
Another one of my favorite “surprise pocket” dishes is this recipe for Easy Opening Day Michigan Pasties. These delicious hand pies are packed with savory goodness, and you won’t even care that they’re also meatless. This is another recipe that I will make in the fall and freeze the extras for future quick, mid-week meals.
A little effort, but definitely worth it
Although this recipe has a few more steps than most, it goes fairly quickly. The first thing you’ll need to do is cook your sweet potatoes until they are tender and easily mashed. I like to keep this step simple by poking a few holes in the skin of a sweet potato with a fork and utilizing the potato function on my microwave. In my microwave, this step takes about 5 minutes; however, since each microwave is a little different, check your manufacturer settings for the perfect cook time. Wrap the cooked sweet potatoes in foil and allow the steam to help release the skin from the potatoes. Remove and discard the skin, mash the potato and set aside.
We start by preparing the dough so it has time to rest while we are making the fillings. Melted butter is whisked into milk, egg and salt before adding the liquid mixture to the flour. A soft dough is formed and allowed to rest for 20 minutes while the fillings are being prepared.
When you’re ready to make the fillings, have your cups of mashed sweet potato (one cup of the orange and one cup of the purple, or two cups of one color if you choose to make only one variety). Saute the onions and rosemary in 2 Tbsp. of butter over medium heat until they are golden and caramelized. Next, the onions are folded into the sweet potatoes and seasoned with salt and pepper to taste. Your filling is now ready and the dumplings can be formed as shown above.
Cooking the pierogi is simple. We start by filling a 5-quart stock pot with water, seasoning with salt, and bringing the water to the boil. A slotted spoon is used to lower 4 -5 pierogi into the water at a time. The dumplings need space to move around, so don’t be tempted to over-fill the pot. After approximately 5 minutes, the pierogi will float to the top when they are ready. Transfer cooked dumplings to the prepared pan to cool. Continue the process until all the pierogi are cooked.
At this stage, the pierogi are ready to eat and are delicious drizzled with a little melted butter and fresh cracked pepper. I must confess, I’ve been known to eat a few while waiting for others to cool along the way.
However, if you’re looking to freeze some of these delicious dumplings for the future, lightly spray the tops of the cooked dumplings with cooking spray to prevent sticking in the pan. Place a piece of parchment paper between the layers of pierogi. Frozen pierogi will keep for up to 3 months in an airtight container.
My absolute favorite way to enjoy these tasty morsels is to serve them with seared green onions, bacon crisps and a side of sour cream for dipping, but how you finish these dumplings is really up to you. And although the bacon is a delicious accompaniment, these beauties can easily remain vegetarian without sacrificing flavor.
Vibrant 2-Color Sweet Potato Pierogi
Course: MainCuisine: Eastern EuropeanDifficulty: Intermediate10-12
servings1
hour30
minutes5
minutesThis recipe yields a generous 32 – 36 pierogi – depending on how thin you roll the dough. A serving is 3 pierogi.
Ingredients
- For the dough
1 cup skim milk
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
3 1/4 cups A.P. Flour, plus approximately 1/2 cup more for rolling out the dough
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
- For the filling – double the amount of filling if using only one color sweet potato.
1 cup cooked, mashed and cooled sweet potato (either orange or purple sweet potato)
1/2 tsp. fresh rosemary, minced1/2 cup white onion, diced fine
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
- Serving options
Additional melted butter for coating boiled pierogi
Sour cream for dipping
Crisp bacon crumbles, approximately 1 – 2 strips
Seared or grilled green onions.
Directions
- Prepare the dough
- Melt the butter in a microwave-safe container. Whisk in the milk, egg and salt. Set aside.
- In a 5 quart stand mixer or large food processor, combine the flour and liquid mixture. Combine over low speed until the dough comes together – leaving the sides of the bowl clean as it spins. Work the dough for approximately 3-5 minutes – until a smooth ball forms.
- Cover the dough and allow it to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.
- Prepare the filling
- Cook the sweet potatoes. Allow to cool and mash until smooth.
- In a medium-size saute pan, saute the onions and rosemary in 2 Tbsp. of butter over medium heat. Keep the onions moving until they are lightly golden and caramelized.
- Stir the onion mixture into the sweet potato mixture and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Roll and fill the pierogi
- Line a baking sheet with parchment. Lightly sprinkle flour across the paper to ensure finished piergo don’t stick together. Set aside.
- Divide the dough into four even pieces. Keep the unused portions of dough covered until you are ready to work with it so that it does not dry out.
- Generously flour your work surface. Roll the dough out to 2 centimeters thickness – a circle that is approximately 12-inches across. Using a 4-inch cutting circle, cut out the dough rounds. You should get approximately six circles per segment of dough. Set aside the dough scraps.
- Place approximately 2 tsp. of sweet potato filling in the center of each round. Using a pastry brush or the tip of your finger, lightly brush the edges of the circle with water. Fold the dough round over into a half-moon shape and pinch together at the ends. Crimp all around the half moon with a fork to ensure a tight seal.
- Place finished pierogi on the prepared baking pan in a single layer and continue the process until all four dough segments have been rolled out, cut and filled. Take any dough scraps and combine them together. Roll out for one final cutting and filling session. Discard any dough scraps afterwards.
- Cooking and finishing the pierogi
- Prepare a pan by spraying it lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Fill a 5-quart stock pot with water. Add a tablespoon of salt to the water and bring to the boil.
- When the water has reached the boil, use a slotted spoon to lower 4 -5 pierogi into the water. Gently boil the pierogi for approximately 5 minutes. The pierogi will float to the top when they are ready. Transfer cooked pierogi to the prepared pan to cool. Lightly spray the tops with cooking spray to prevent sticking. Continue the process until all the pierogi are cooked.
- If you intend to freeze the pierogi once they are cooled, lightly spray the tops with cooking spray to prevent sticking. Continue the process until all the pierogi are cooked.
- Frozen pierogi will keep for up to 3 months in an airtight container. To prevent sticking, place a piece of parchment paper between the layers of pierogi.
- Alternatively, pierogi are ready to eat immediately after boiling. Simply toss them in a little melted butter and serve. However, if you prefer them crispy, they can be pan-fried in a Tablespoon each of butter and olive oil until both sides are golden brown – approximately 5 minutes over medium heat.
- Finished pierogi are delicious served with crisp bacon crumbles, seared green onions and sour cream for dipping.
