Pierogi (Beef Dumplings)

Bring 240 ml water to a boil and let stand for 2–3 minutes. In a bowl, combine 400 g type 500 wheat flour with 3 g salt, add the oil and hot water, then mix with a spoon. Once the mixture is cool enough to handle, transfer it to the counter and knead for approximately 8–10 minutes, until the dough is smooth, soft and elastic. Cover with a bowl and let rest for approximately 30 minutes; prepare the filling during this time.

Finely chop the onion while the dough rests. Melt 20 g butter in a skillet over medium-low heat, add the onion and cook for approximately 8–10 minutes, stirring, until soft and translucent with a few lightly golden patches. Transfer to a bowl with the butter and let cool for approximately 5–10 minutes so it is not hot when combined with the meat.

Use beef that has already been cooked until tender, drained and chilled. Pass it through the medium plate of a meat grinder or process in batches with short pulses in a food processor to make fine pieces, not a smooth paste. Mix with the cooled onion and butter, the remaining 3 g salt and the pepper, gradually adding all 80 ml broth. The filling should be fine-grained, moist and firm enough to hold a mound without a puddle of liquid.

Divide the rested dough into 4 pieces and work with one at a time, keeping the rest covered. Use the remaining 20 g flour sparingly to dust the counter, rolling pin and pierogi tray. Roll the dough approximately 1.5–2 mm thick and cut circles with a glass or cutter approximately 8 cm in diameter. Gather the scraps, briefly press them together and roll out again with the next piece of dough; fill the circles as you go, before they dry out.

Place a heaped teaspoon of filling, approximately 15 g, in the center of each circle. Fold the dough in half, gently press out the air above the filling and firmly pinch the entire edge closed with your fingers, keeping filling away from the seam. Place the pierogi apart on the dusted tray and cover with a kitchen towel so they do not dry out. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling; you will get approximately 45–50 pierogi.

Toward the end of shaping, bring the remaining 3000 ml water to a boil in a wide pot with a capacity of at least 5 l; do not salt the water. Add the pierogi in 4 batches of approximately 12 and gently move a spoon along the bottom so they do not stick. Once the water returns to a boil, reduce the heat to maintain a gentle boil and cook for approximately 3–4 minutes after the pierogi float to the surface, until the dough is soft and the filling hot. Lift out with a slotted spoon, letting them drain briefly; allow approximately 25–30 minutes for all batches, including returning the water to a boil and lifting out the pierogi, then discard the water.

While the pierogi cook, melt the remaining 20 g butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Pour it over each batch as you lift the pierogi out and serve immediately, dividing the full amount into 4 main-course servings.