Purchased wonton wrappers make these Pork and Sweet Potato Pierogi (left) and Apple and Goat Cheese Pierogi quicker to assemble and deliciously light and crispy. Recipes below.

Marion grew up eating pierogi. I had never heard of them until we met. So this week, I’m turning the kitchen over to her, so she can share her modern take on these delicious dumplings.

What culture does not approve of a stuffed dumpling? Shiu mai, won ton, mandu, maultaschen, pelmeni, gyoza. Buuz. Apple dumplings. Ravioli. As Alan Davidson says, “A dumpling is a food with few, indeed no, social pretensions, and of such simplicity that it may plausibly be supposed to have evolved independently in the peasant cuisines of various parts of Europe and probably in other parts of the world too.”

For me, the heart of the matter is pierogi. My mother’s pierogi were wonderful—the dough just right, light and thin and not too gluey or grossly thick, and always filled with the classics: Plain mashed potato; cooked, drained ground beef; and, in summer, blueberries. She served them with a little melted butter and a spoonful of sour cream, and it was heaven. I never had that great Polish-American variation, the pierog with potato and cheddar filling, until I moved to Chicago, but I think my mother would have approved. Continue reading “East meets Eastern Europe: Pierogi made with wonton wrappers” →