2019-09-01_Louisiana_Cookin

Louisiana Cookin’ | September/October 2019 88

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fork, and we tried many diff erent methods. We used

no dairy in it. We tried to do sour cream. And then I

realized years later that the trick was melted butter.

How do you experiment with pierogi fi llings?

Growing up, we always did potato and cheese. Or the

other option that we did was cooked-down sauerkraut.

We would cook it down for a long time in butter and

then all the sourness comes out. We also did dessert

pierogies. We did one with something called lekvar,

which is prune butter. It’s dehydrated prunes that you

reconstitute with water and then purée. So, you could

boil them, bake them, fry them. You can do all diff erent

things with them. So, I’ve just been trying to experiment

with them to see what other fi llings I can put inside.

What are some fi llings you’ve experimented with?

I’ve done farmer cheese, like a fresh cheese, which is

really delicious. I’ve also done ones with crawfi sh and

mashed potatoes. I’ve done them with apricot fi lling for

more of a dessert fl avor.

What inspired this recipe for Sweet Potato Pierogies?

I wanted to come up with a pierogi that could be

vegetarian but could also be fi lling during the fall

months when we’re craving all of those heavier dishes,

and the sweet potatoes are in their prime peak.

What fl avors pair well with sweet potatoes?

Well, I always think that anything with acid helps, so

that’s why I paired it with the greens, which have Abita

beer, cane vinegar, and apple cider vinegar. I think it

cuts through the sweetness. I also love sage with sweet

potatoes, or any hearty herb like rosemary or thyme.

I think that sweet ingredients such as candied pecans

and honey and brown sugar go with them as well.

What’s your process for coming up with new recipes?

It usually comes from the ingredients the farmer has,

and a lot of times, things that are growing at the same

time just naturally pair well together, like the greens

and the sweet potatoes. Or just certain fi sh that’s readily

available always seems to pair with the vegetables that

are available from the farmers.

Do you have any tips for making pierogies?

Yes, my number one tip is taking your time when you’re

sealing them and making sure that you go back and

re-pinch the edges. Th e last thing you want to do is

spend all that time making the fi lling and the dough only

to drop them in the water and fi nd they weren’t sealed

properly. Th ey just end up an empty piece of dough.

Is there any prep work you could do in advance?

You can do everything in advance. You can do the

dough two days before. You can do the fi lling two days

before. And once they’re made, boiled, cooled, and

covered in oil, you can actually freeze them individually

on a sheet pan in the freezer and put them in a

resealable plastic bag and pull them out as you need

them. You can also make them smaller and do little

passed hors d’oeuvres.

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