抖阴ap

Editor鈥檚 note: This is part of The Know鈥檚 series, Staff Favorites. Each week, we give our opinions on the best that Colorado has to offer for dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoor activities and more. (We鈥檒l also let you in on some hidden gems.)

It’s dumpling month at The Denver Post.

We are in the midst of determining who has the best dumplings in Denver in our food challenge bracket, and even visited a cafe to get a lesson in making them for the Lunar New Year in February.

But dumplings, of course, aren’t exclusive to Asia.聽Italy has its fair share, with tortellini, agnolotti, capunsei, gnocchi, canederli, turle, strangolapreti and ravioli. Greece has feta dumplings, Chile has chapalele, and Germany has dampfnudel. You will find kroppkaka in Sweden, kundiumi and pelmeni in Russia, papanasi in Romania and uszka in Ukraine.

And those aren’t even every variety of dumpling out there.

I’m Polish, and grew up eating (and then making) pierogi, mostly filled with potato and cheese (everyone’s favorite) or with cabbage and kraut. Over the years, we’ve gone a bit out of the box, making dumplings filled with pork and green chile, or blueberries, pizza fixin’s, pumpkin puree, cheeseburger and other crazy ingredients.

Then, in the fall, a trip to New England to leaf-peep and introduce a friend to my childhood home and East Coast family led me to a new adaptation.

We made stops in western Massachusetts, then headed east to Cape Cod and Provincetown, and up to New Hampshire and Maine, before swinging back down through Rhode Island and Connecticut. Along the way, we sampled regional delicacies, like New York-style pizza (the best kind), Maine lobster, fish and chips, fried clams and clam chowder — and discovered one amazing dumpling.

It was in Boston that we spotted a mushroom and onion pierogi over beet puree and topped with frizzled leeks on the brunch menu at restaurant. I’ve been making an adapted version of my grandmother’s Polish pierogi for most of my life, and the flavor combination and beauty of this little restaurant appetizer ($13 for three) truly blew me away.

So, at our annual pierogi-making party back in Denver in November — with the help of my traveling pal TJ and my nieces, who dined with us at Sloane’s that day — we recreated the dish, to rave reviews. The earthy subtlety of the beet puree complements the mushrooms, and the crunchy leeks add texture. Pyszne (delicious). And it’s so beautiful.

Mushroom and Onion Pierogi over Pureed Beets

Makes about 6 dozen, depending on size. Source: Original recipe from “Treasured Polish Recipes for Americans” (Allegro Editions), inspired by a dish at Sloane’s restaurant in Boston and adapted by Barbara Ellis.

Ingredients

For the filling:

• 2 16-ounce containers shiitake mushrooms, chopped small
• 2 sweet onions, diced fine
• 4 egg yolks
• Salted butter
• Garlic powder
• Salt
• Pepper
• Instant mashed potatoes or plain breadcrumbs (optional)
• Gravy Master or other browning liquid (optional)
• Pierogi dough (recipe below)

For serving:

• 1 pint beet and sour cream salad (available at European markets; see cook’s note below)
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 leek
• Neutral oil for frying

Directions

1. Saute onions in butter. Add mushrooms.
2. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cook until liquid evaporates. Add browning liquid if desired.
3. Remove from heat; add egg yolks. Toss in instant mashed potatoes or bread crumbs to firm up the filling if the mixture is very wet.
4. Cool before filling dough rounds.
5. Place a small amount in the center of the dough round and pinch to seal edges. (Use a small amount of water around the edge if needed to get a complete seal; otherwise they could burst when boiling.)
6. Gently boil the pierogi in salted water for 4-7 minutes, until dough whitens. Don鈥檛 overcrowd the pot, and stir gently to be sure they don鈥檛 stick to the bottom.
7. Remove the pierogi with slotted spoon, drain and then brush with melted butter.

To serve:

1. Slice a leek into thin strips and fry in hot oil until crispy. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.
2. Puree the beet salad with the lemon juice in blender or food processor.
3. Fry the pierogi in a small pan until golden brown.
4. 聽Spread a heaping spoonful of puree on plate. Place a few pierogi in center and top with frizzled leeks.

Cook’s notes: If you can’t find shiitake mushrooms, white mushrooms will suffice. You could make your own beet puree from fresh beets and sour cream, but we found the ready-made beet salad from our local European Market, M&I on Leestdale Avenue in Denver, did the trick.

Pierogi Dough

From Jay Kruzel of Chicopee, Mass. Makes enough for about 8 dozen pierogi, depending on size and thickness of each dough round.

Ingredients

• 2 cups semolina flour
• 4 cups flour
• About 2 cups whole milk
• 1 egg
• 4-5 tablespoons sour cream

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix semolina and flour.
2. In a 2-cup glass measuring cup, mix 1 egg and 4-5 tablespoons sour cream (the amount depends on how dry it is the day you are making the dough). Beat well. Add milk up to the 2-cup line and mix. Heat in microwave, 30 seconds or so at a time, until lukewarm (not hot).
3. Pour the liquid into the flour mixture a little at a time, mixing as you go. Try to gather up as much of the flour as possible, but it’s not necessary to mix it all together. You’ll do that in the next step.
4. Turn out onto a floured board or countertop and knead. Dough should be slightly tacky.
5. Let rest at room temperature, covered by a clean, wet kitchen towel or cloth, at least 20 minutes.
6. Cut away a small amount at a time to make dough rounds, either with a pasta maker (we do thickness levels of 1, 3 and 4, but you may like the dough thinner) or a rolling pin.

Notes: If it’s a very dry day out, add more liquid (milk) to the dough. Leftover dough can be refrigerated overnight or wrapped in plastic wrap, placed in an airtight bag and frozen for up to three months. Do not use if it becomes discolored.