May 28th – June 2nd, 2024
Our time in Poland pushed us out of our comfort zones and tested our cohesiveness as a group. The material we covered in this country was extremely difficult and we had some of our longest days while staying in Krakow. The good news was that there was a delicious pierogi spot located just across the street from our hotel which turned out to be the perfect place to congregate after a long day. I’m pretty confident everyone on the trip had tried pierogies before arriving in Poland, but very few of us had tried authentic pierogies the way they are traditionally made and cooked. The pierogi restaurant near us (Mirror Bistro- Pierogi Bystro located at Brzozowa 8, 31-050 Krakow, Poland) offered an assortment of pierogies in both sweet and savoury flavours, that you could mix and match, and try to your heart’s content.
While the pierogies themselves provided us with some comfort in the form of “edible love”, they also allowed us to come together in smaller groups and discuss what had happened during the day. I can only speak for myself, but this chance to socialize and decompress after experiencing and learning about heavy material turned out to be invaluable. We were able to sit over drinks and discuss the day, or talk about something completely different, chat about what kind of pierogies we were going to get, how many, etc. This chance to focus on the little things provided perspective for the more difficult things that we were learning about. This experience reminds me of what Myrna Goldenberg wrote about Holocaust survivors’ “food talk” and the ability of food to foster social relationships.
Why I Chose This Recipe:
Pierogies are “slightly” outside of my culinary wheelhouse but living in Canada, with a strong Ukrainian population, it’s not too difficult to find these delicious dumplings that are almost as good as homemade in the grocery store. The pierogies I purchased were from a local company here on Vancouver Island called Hungry Rooster. I chose the mushroom sauerkraut flavour as I had a similar type when I was in Krakow, and it was memorable to me because that combination of flavours was new to me. After boiling the pierogies as per the package instructions, it’s important to fry an onion and serve them with sour cream just like they do in Krakow.
Pierogies
Ingredients:
Pierogies from your favourite supplier
Sour Cream
1 Yellow Onion, finely diced
Salted Butter, about 1-2 Tbsp.
Instructions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add your pierogies for the time listed on the package and cook until done. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, heat a pan over medium heat and melt your butter. Add your onion and cook slowly for 8-10 minutes until browned and golden. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
To serve, place your pierogies onto a serving dish and top with the fried onions. Serve alongside the sour cream for maximal effect. Sto lat!