Wide Open Table is a bi-monthly Montana Free Press column on all things food and cooking. Sign up for this newsletter here. Sign up Roughly 1-2% of Montana’s population can trace its roots to Poland. Not quite the numbers you see in the Midwest, which is where many Polish-speaking immigrants from Eastern Europe arrived in the late 19th and first half of the 20th century. In the early years of this migration, many Poles came to America in search of a home, since their own country was partitioned between Russia, Prussia and Austria. Later, two world wars rocked the region and left even more Poles without a home.  Those who came to Montana often ended up working in Butte’s mines or on the railroads, just after Montana became a state. If you visit the Granite Mountain Memorial in Butte — a tribute to the 163 miners who died in the Speculator Mine disaster of 1917 — you’ll see a Polish flag honoring miners of Polish descent who perished that day. Some rural agriculture communities around the state also saw small groups of Polish settlers.  One of these immigrants’ most famous culinary contributions is the humble pierogi, the Polish dumpling that also shows up in many forms, and under many names, in other Eastern European communities. It’s an incredibly approachable dish that lacks the pretentiousness of many filled pastas from Italy and the complexities of some Pacific Rim potstickers. But don’t let their simplicity fool you into thinking they aren’t every bit as satisfying as their dumpling cousins from other corners of the globe.  As with all dumplings, there are two essential parts: wrapper and filling. In researching pierogi, I’ve found variations that tell important stories about scarcity and resourcefulness. Pierogi were invented to use ingredients that were available, and that has differed greatly across different circumstances. Eventually, as populations became more settled and secure, families honed in on their own distinctive ways of making them.  Dough recipes for the wrapper were far more varied than I anticipated. Besides flour and eggs, I’ve seen water, milk, butter and/or oil included as well. I opted for a version that includes a bit of sour cream, which brings additional flavor and a supple texture to the equation. Once combined, this dough is much softer than homemade pasta. It’s more highly hydrated and is kneaded for just a few minutes to ensure the ingredients are combined, rather than working up the gluten levels for extra chewiness.  Fillings can vary from savory concoctions that feature potato, cheese, onion, cabbage or mushrooms all the way to sweet pierogi filled with fruit. Nothing is more satisfying to me than the carb-on-carb deliciousness of a soft dumpling wrapper and a hearty mashed potato interior. When I saw potato and cheese combos, I knew I had to transform a beloved classic — the loaded baked potato — into pierogi form with the inclusion of bacon and scallions. It does not disappoint.  Once the dumpling is constructed, cooking methods can differ slightly as well. Boiling them through is most common, but I was lured in with an optional second step — frying— to add deliciously crispy bits to the chewy edges. I fry my pierogi in drippings left over from the bacon bits I cook for the topping.  The final necessary element, no matter what part of the world your dumpling comes from, is toppings, dips or sauces. Sour cream is traditional for pierogi, and I didn’t alter that, since it fits right into the baked potato theme. Toss on those crispy bacon bits and a bit more scallion and it’s hard to imagine anything better.  Loaded Baked Potato Pierogi RecipeMakes approximately 25-30 pierogi Dough:2 cups all-purpose flour1/4 cup sour cream2 eggs2 tablespoons water Filling:1 pound russet potatoes2 oz. sharp cheddar cheese2 scallions2 tbsp butter1/4 cup heavy creamkosher salt and freshly cracked pepper Topping and dipping:3-4 strips of bacon, scallion, sour cream In a mixing bowl, add the flour and form a well in the middle. Add the eggs, a 1/4 cup of sour cream and two tablespoons of water to the center. Mix well with a fork until you can’t see any wet spots. Move any dough from the fork back into the bowl and use your hands to bring it all together. Knead until it forms a ball, which should take about two minutes. Cover the bowl with a towel to let the dough rest.  Peel the potatoes and cut them into 2-3-inch pieces. Fill a medium pot 3/4 full of cold water and add a hefty pinch of kosher salt. Add the potatoes to the pot and bring to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, lower the heat to a simmer. Cook the potatoes until they’re fork-tender, which will take about 15-20 minutes. Drain the water off the potatoes and use either a ricer or a potato masher to break them down until there are no lumps. Add two tablespoons of butter to melt while the potatoes are hot. Once the butter is melted, add 1/4 cup of heavy cream, a good pinch of kosher salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and mix. Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary. Allow the potatoes to cool to room temperature.  Dice your 2 ounces of sharp cheddar cheese into small cubes (about 1/8”-3/16”). I prefer this to shredding, as you’ll get nicer pockets of cheese in the final product, but using a large cheese grater is okay too. Finely chop the two scallions. Add the cheese and chopped scallion to the cooled potatoes and mix to distribute evenly.  Remove the dough from the bowl. If it feels a bit sticky, you can add some flour to the exterior. This is the time to roll out your dough to make wrappers between 1/16” and 1/8” thick. I like to use my pasta machine to get an even thickness. If you use a pasta machine, don’t take it down to the last setting, as that will be too thin. Using a rolling pin is fine.  You will be cutting circles between 2.5” and 3” in diameter. Most biscuit cutters are roughly this size, or you can use the top of a drinking glass with that diameter. Place the extra dough back in the bowl with a towel over it. You can re-roll it to use all of the filling.  Depending on the size of your circles, place no more than a tablespoon of filling on a wrapper. Bring the sides together into half-moons and pinch the edges shut. If you can’t easily close the wrapper over the filling, you’re using too much filling. If the edges don’t easily stay together once pinched, dip your finger in a bit of water and run it around half of the wrapper’s interior edge before sealing. Once it’s sealed, you can use the tines of a fork to press around the edges for extra insurance.  Fill a large pot 3/4 full of water and start to bring to a boil. In a large sauté pan, fry the bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon, but leave the grease in the pan. Chop the bacon into small bits and set aside for topping the pierogi. When the large pot of water comes to a boil, boil half of the pierogi. They are done about a minute after they start to float. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels or a clean kitchen towel to dry. Repeat with the rest of the pierogi when the water is boiling again.  Preheat the large sauté pan with the bacon grease on medium. You’ll need about 2 tablespoons of grease in the pan, so add a bit of oil or butter if you don’t have enough fat from the bacon. Add half of the pierogi to the pan and fry for about 1-2 minutes on each side until they’re a bit crispy and golden brown. Repeat with the other half, adding more fat as needed. Top with bacon bits and scallion and serve with a side of sour cream.  The post The humble Polish pierogi, transformed appeared first on Montana Free Press. ...read more read less