Spinach and Cheese Pierogi - how not to scare your non-Polish guests off the Polish food

As a Pole living in London, I like to treat people around me to some of the traditional Polish cuisine from time to time. Even though there are so many of us here, it so happened that in my closest group of friends in London there are very few Polish people. Therefore, cooking Polish food for my guests is always quite exciting, as you never know what they are going to make of it and how they are going to react. Are they going to genuinely enjoy it or eat some out of politeness? Arrrggghhh... The stress!!!

Well, last Saturday we were having a little catch up at my place with some friends and colleagues from work. None of them Polish. I thought it would a good occasion to introduce them to PIEROGI.

Now, I will not be going into details as for Poles pierogi are almost a work of art and one could easily write a trilogy about them. Let me just mention a few basic facts:

- pierogi is a Polish dish, let's get this straight - the Russians or Ukrainians might want to claim it, but all their efforts are in vain as... Pierogi = Poland.

- they come in a wiiiiiiiiide variety of flavours; they can be savoury (with sour cabbage and wild mushrooms, with pork mince and cheese, potatoes, onions and curd cheese, etc.) or sweet (with blueberry compote, plums or sweetened curd cheese ).

- they're delicious fresh straight from the boiling water, or even the next day, fried with a bit of butter

- the sour cabbage and wild mushroom variety is a traditional dish during Christmas Eve celebrations, however pierogi are extremely popular any other day of the year.

Seeing as my guests' knowledge of Polish cusisine is understandably limited, I did not want to scare them off with some of the funkier flavours that only an Estern European palate could appreciate. That is why, I have prepared a very gentle version of pierogi. A good introduction to this fantastic dish. So here you have: 

SPINACH AND MIXED CHEESES STUFFED PIEROGI (around 40-45 units)

1. Prepare the dough. Mix 300g of plain flower with 125ml of hot water, an egg, 20g of soft butter and a pinch of salt. Work until the dough can be formed into a smooth ball. Leave it to rest.

2. In the meantime, prepare your filling. Thoroughly wash and dry 300-350g of fresh spinach. Chop it roughly and wilt it on a wide pan. When cooled, mix it with 150-170g of feta cheese, 150g of ricotta and 150g of grated mozzarella. Add quite a big pinch of garlic powder, generous sprinkle of black pepper and a bit of salt.

3. Divide the dough into small parts, roll it till around 2-3mm thin. Using a glass, small bowl or a round cookie cutter, cut out circles in the rolled dough. Top the circles up with a teaspoon of filling and close them pinching the edges together. Every Polish cook has her own style, so don't try to imitate mine as it certainly is not perfect. Work on your own, individual style instead. 

 4. While working through small batches of dough, boil a pot of water with a pinch of salt and splash of olive oil (to prevent pierogi getting stuck to each other). When the water has boiled, cook your pierogi until they float on the water surface. Take them out and dry out the excess of water. Serve immediately with hot melted butter/sour cream/tomato sauce and Parmesan or leave to cool and fry till crispy later.

Trust me, my guests loved them. And I am certain you will enjoy them too.
What are your favourite pierogi fillings?