Recently I asked my dad if we had any Polish recipes that were my grandmother’s. I am half Polish. Now that I’m finally learning how to cook, I think it’s time I embrace those roots by trying some authentic fare. Pierogi is a traditional Polish food.
And ever since moving to Cleveland two months ago I have been hearing even more about pierogi. According to The Plain Dealer, Cleveland ranks seventh in national sales of frozen pierogi — with locals eating 850,000 pounds of these stuffed dumplings each year. Cleveland, along with Toledo (my hometown) and Detroit rank high among cities with a large percentage of Polish-Americans.
While I would love to say I made my own pierogi — I haven’t yet. I bought the next best thing, locally made pierogi at a farmer’s market on Sunday.
I browned the cheese and potato-filled dumplings in a skillet and served them alongside some more butternut squash. And we had some “two buck chuck” White Zinfandel. A lovely Sunday dinner!
I’m hoping to try making a homemade placek soon, which is a traditional Polish coffee bread. While I don’t remember eating a lot of ethnic food growing up, this is one staple I remember and hope to recreate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Have you made foods that are unique to your ethnic heritage?
I’m pretty much the worst German ever. I hate cabbage, kraut, sausages…I guess I’ll just take the potatoes and the beer and call it a day!
Love me some pierogies! Sokolowski’s has some of the best in Cleveland if you get a chance to check it out.
My family is Croatian so we bake a lot of nutrolls during the holiday seasons. I don’t cook normally but working on perfecting my stuffed cabbage (sarma in croatian).
SO my grandmother makes these all the time – I have been eating them my whole life. Growing up, I thought everyone had Pierogies every night for dinner! She has handed the recipe down to me, and I have made them with her a few times. She sometimes puts saurkraut in them (with the potatoes)… YUMM
I can’t remember the last time I had a homemade pierogi. Yum!