Sauerkraut Filled Varenyky – Suburbangrandma Recipe
Sauerkraut is basically pickled cabbage. You either like it, or hate it. I happen to love using sauerkraut in cooking and baking.
Not all sauerkraut tastes the same, so if you are not a big fan of it, maybe you should try different dishes prepared with this vegetable.
I used really tasty sauerkraut for this recipe….Bavarian style sauerkraut, which I purchased at Shoprite, my local grocery store.
It is so tasty, I can eat it just the way it is…right out of the jar…..has a slightly sweet taste..I highly recommend it.
I used it to prepare the filling for the varenyky (perogies) I will post today.
Doesn’t this filling look yummy.? Oh, it sure is…you would love it, even if you think you don’t like sauerkraut!
This recipe yields about 5 dozens of varenyky, but there was enough sauerkraut filling for only 3 dozens.
I used shredded apples with sugar and cinnamon, as the filling for the remaining dough. Those were served with melted butter with brown sugar…yum!
Ingredients
- Dough recipe:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup of whole milk
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp salt
- 24 oz Bavarian style Sauerkraut
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 small carrot, shredded
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 small potatoes, peeled,cubed, cooked (1/2 cup mashed potatoes)
Instructions
- It is best to prepare the filling before making the dough.
- Prepare filling, by cooking sauerkraut in enough water to cover it. Cook for 30 minutes. Drain water, and set aside to cool off. Saute onions in oil, or butter, until translucent, add shredded carrots, and saute until wilted. Set aside.
- Drain and mash cooked potatoes, flavoring them with black pepper and salt, to taste.
- Squeeze as much water out of the cabbage as possible, by cupping your hands and squeezing it.
- Chop the cabbage, so it's not stringy, then mix in the mashed potatoes, and onion/carrot mixture. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
- Filling is ready to use.
- Now prepare the dough.
- In a large bowl, place the flour, milk, egg, sour cream and salt. Mix with a spoon until sticky dough forms. If too thick, you can add little more milk, or water. It is always better to start with stickier dough in a bowl, and adjust with more flour once on the work area.
- Flour work surface, spoon the dough onto it and knead few minutes, adding as little flour as possible, so the dough does not become tough, but rather soft and silky.
- Place the dough in a plastic bag, cover with a tea towel and let it rest at least 15 minutes.
- Once your filling is ready, flour the work area, place 1/2 of the dough on it and roll it out thin, to less than 1/8 inch thickness. Use a biscuit cutter and cut out circles. Set them one by one on a floured tea towel. Fill each dough circle with about 1 tsp. of filling. Pinch sides together,
- Using a large pot, fill with salted water and bring it to boil. Add 1 Tbs. of oil. Drop about 12 varenky into boiling water. Stir gently with a wooden spoon, so they don't stick to the bottom of the pot. Once they come up to the top, boil gently until they get poofy looking (3 minutes or so). Remove with a slotted spoon into a colander. Rinse under cold water. Drain in a colander. Place on a plate to cool slightly. Sprinkle with butter and sauteed onions, and serve.
- If you want to freeze cooked varenyky, do not add onions, and make sure they are totally cooled off before packing for freezing.