PUMPKIN ROSEMARY PIEROGIES with Pan Seared Bosc Pears
This is my favorite recipe invention to date, and a delightful meal for the Fall.
The shell of this Pierogie is made using my whole wheat pasta recipe. You can also find it posted on my blog. http://bit.ly/u16hmO
Albeit time consuming, this recipe is totally worth it. If you complete it in bits and pieces, it will seem less over whelming. Take your time, and enjoy the process
There are 9 steps to making these Pierogies. I completed steps 1-5 in the morning, and the remaining steps as I was cooking dinner.
Step 1: Make Your Pasta Dough
Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup luke warn water
2 large eggs ,beaten and room temperature
Directions:
Beat two whole eggs and set them aside in a small bowl.
In a mixing bowl (preferably in a stand up mixer with a dough hook) combine the salt, egg, and water.
Slowly add the whole wheat flour until all of the flour is moist. Continue to mix until it becomes one solid mass.
Remove the dough and knead it until all of the ingredients take the form of a smooth ball of dough. The texture should be dense, but not dry. It will not bounce back to your touch since there is nothing in this dough to make it rise.
Set aside the dough for 10 minutes up to 1 hour, at room temperature in a covered bowl. It needs time to settle.
Step 2: Roll It Out
Use a rolling pin to roll the dough until it is about as thin as a piece of t-shirt fabric. It should be smooth to the touch and slightly tacky. TIP: I massage my hands with flavor infused olive oil and rub my hands along the dough as I'm working. This will help prevent it from sticking to your rolling pin without having to add more flour.
Step 3: Cut the Dough into 3" Circles
I don't own a pierogie cutter, so i use the rim of a small glass bowl to make a circular imprint in the dough, then use a regular sharply pointed paring knife to trace the circle i made. You will be able to peel away the dough surrounding your circles and use it later. I also lay them out on wax paper, so that they do not tear apart later when I am ready to fill them. You will Yield approx 50 circles.
Step 4: Make Your Filling
Step 5: Fill and Press Your Pierogies
Lay each circle down on your working surface. Place a large dollop of the filling into the center of each dough circle. Be sure to leave at least 1/2 inch between the edge of your circle and your filling, because the dough will need to stick to itself in order to close properly. You will need to now fold and press each pierogie to seal it closed. Fold the top of the circle down to the bottom of the circle and press. Use a fork to seal the semi-circle you have created. Press hard! you don't want to lose any filling while boiling!
Step 6: Boil Your Pierogies
Fill a large, deep pot, with water, and add a pinch of salt. Once your water has come to a rumbling boil, you may add your pierogies. The pierogies are dense, so they will fall to the bottom of the pot. Make sure you gently stir the pot to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot. But GENTLE is the key word here. They are very delicate. When each pierogie floats to the surface, it is done boiling and can be removed and set aside for frying.
Step 7: Fry Them!
In a large frying pan, pour approximately 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and start heating it over a medium flame. Mince some garlic and add this to the pan along with some rosemary leaves. This will flavor your oil, and in turn flavor the crispy coating of your pierogies.
Once the oil is hot you may add your pierogies. Watch them carefully as not to burn them. It will take approximately 3 minutes on each side for the pierogie to fry nicely. Turn them with a fork to fry the other side, and remove them to your serving plate.
Step 8: Pan Sear the Bosc Pears
This is my favorite part! You can choose any seasonal fruit like prunes, apples, or persimmon. Bring the heat down to its lowest setting and add fruit slices. until each side of the fruit is toasted. Sprinkle them with salt, and remove them to your serving plate. Drizzle the oil onto the pierogies, onto the fruit, or into a serving bowl for dipping. The oil will have a tremendous amount of flavor, and is even delicious if you dip some crusty bread into it.
Step 9: Serve with a rosemary sprig as garnish
This is my favorite recipe invention to date, and a delightful meal for the Fall.
The shell of this Pierogie is made using my whole wheat pasta recipe. You can also find it posted on my blog. http://bit.ly/u16hmO
Albeit time consuming, this recipe is totally worth it. If you complete it in bits and pieces, it will seem less over whelming. Take your time, and enjoy the process
There are 9 steps to making these Pierogies. I completed steps 1-5 in the morning, and the remaining steps as I was cooking dinner.
Step 1: Make Your Pasta Dough
Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup luke warn water
2 large eggs ,beaten and room temperature
Beat two whole eggs and set them aside in a small bowl.
In a mixing bowl (preferably in a stand up mixer with a dough hook) combine the salt, egg, and water.
Slowly add the whole wheat flour until all of the flour is moist. Continue to mix until it becomes one solid mass.
Remove the dough and knead it until all of the ingredients take the form of a smooth ball of dough. The texture should be dense, but not dry. It will not bounce back to your touch since there is nothing in this dough to make it rise.
Set aside the dough for 10 minutes up to 1 hour, at room temperature in a covered bowl. It needs time to settle.
Step 2: Roll It Out
Use a rolling pin to roll the dough until it is about as thin as a piece of t-shirt fabric. It should be smooth to the touch and slightly tacky. TIP: I massage my hands with flavor infused olive oil and rub my hands along the dough as I'm working. This will help prevent it from sticking to your rolling pin without having to add more flour.
I don't own a pierogie cutter, so i use the rim of a small glass bowl to make a circular imprint in the dough, then use a regular sharply pointed paring knife to trace the circle i made. You will be able to peel away the dough surrounding your circles and use it later. I also lay them out on wax paper, so that they do not tear apart later when I am ready to fill them. You will Yield approx 50 circles.
Step 4: Make Your Filling
- Ingredients
- Pumpkin, 1 can, unsweetened (approx 29 oz)
Ricotta Cheese, part skim milk, 2 cup
Sour Cream, reduced fat, 2 tbsp
Salt, .5 tsp
Pepper, black, .5 tsp
Allspice, .5 tsp
*Pumpkin Pie spice, .5 tsp
Ginger, ground, .5 tsp
Rosemary, .5 tsp
Garlic, 1 clove
*Onion powder, .5 tsp
Pepper, red or cayenne, .25 tsp
- Directions
- In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin with all of the seasonings. I use my standup mixer for this. Slowly add Ricotta while the mixer on, until all of the ingredients are folded together into a smooth texture.
You will need to remove some of the excess water from this mixture. To do this, you will need cheesecloth and a strainer.
Wet the cheesecloth, and squeeze out any excess water. Line the strainer with the cheesecloth leaving a lot of excess to lie over the edge of the strainer. Pour the mixture into the strainer. Then, lift the excess cheesecloth until you have created a sack, holding it over the strainer. When you squeeze the cheesecloth, you will notice a watery substance escaping from the bottom. This is good! You want the bulk of the filling to remain, but in a drier state.
Open up the sack and remove the contents with a spoon. Chill for half an hour in a separate bowl before you start to fill your pasta.
Serving Size: Makes approx 50 dollops of filling
Step 5: Fill and Press Your Pierogies
Lay each circle down on your working surface. Place a large dollop of the filling into the center of each dough circle. Be sure to leave at least 1/2 inch between the edge of your circle and your filling, because the dough will need to stick to itself in order to close properly. You will need to now fold and press each pierogie to seal it closed. Fold the top of the circle down to the bottom of the circle and press. Use a fork to seal the semi-circle you have created. Press hard! you don't want to lose any filling while boiling!
Step 6: Boil Your Pierogies
Fill a large, deep pot, with water, and add a pinch of salt. Once your water has come to a rumbling boil, you may add your pierogies. The pierogies are dense, so they will fall to the bottom of the pot. Make sure you gently stir the pot to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot. But GENTLE is the key word here. They are very delicate. When each pierogie floats to the surface, it is done boiling and can be removed and set aside for frying.
Step 7: Fry Them!
In a large frying pan, pour approximately 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and start heating it over a medium flame. Mince some garlic and add this to the pan along with some rosemary leaves. This will flavor your oil, and in turn flavor the crispy coating of your pierogies.
Once the oil is hot you may add your pierogies. Watch them carefully as not to burn them. It will take approximately 3 minutes on each side for the pierogie to fry nicely. Turn them with a fork to fry the other side, and remove them to your serving plate.
Step 8: Pan Sear the Bosc Pears
This is my favorite part! You can choose any seasonal fruit like prunes, apples, or persimmon. Bring the heat down to its lowest setting and add fruit slices. until each side of the fruit is toasted. Sprinkle them with salt, and remove them to your serving plate. Drizzle the oil onto the pierogies, onto the fruit, or into a serving bowl for dipping. The oil will have a tremendous amount of flavor, and is even delicious if you dip some crusty bread into it.
Step 9: Serve with a rosemary sprig as garnish
Bon AppeTWEET,
Stephanie
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