What to serve with pierogies filled with mashed potatoes

Question

Should pierogies filled with mashed potatoes be served as a side or as the main event? If as a side, with what? My daughter has offered to make them for us when she comes home next month, and I'm trying to figure out which meal they'd be best for and/or what else I need to add to the menu.

Answer

I serve kielbasa with pierogies.

Answer

I love potato cheese pierogies, so for me, having them as the star attraction would be wonderful, with fried onions and bacon on the side. 

I don't know if it's traditional, but I'd be inclined to serve them with a good hearty borsht, which covers every part of the meal except the starch. My favourite borscht recipe involves beets, carrots, cabbage, onion and beef shanks, but no potato or tomato.

Answer

Being from the Prairies (Canada) - yes, the Parahe (perogy) is the main course - but you have it with some angle-sliced kielbasa (ie cut the sausage ring on an angle to look fancier, I suppose) which is then gently fried ---- and yes, gently fried small chopped white onion (almost caramelized) with small chopped (lardon) bacon gently tossed in with the cooked parahe.

we also have a beet-horseradish sauce (it's very pink) http://www.marthastewart.com/918623/beet-horseradish-recipe

and you must have the very best quality sour cream with your parahe. No scrimping!

veggies - I suppose a nice salad, maybe crisp lettuce like romaine with citrus sections and a poppyseed dressing (not exactly traditional (think of storing the materials used to make parahe and borscht over extremely cold winters - lettuce was not exactly available or traditional in those Prairie times), 

the borscht is a good idea - every town has their own style --- I haul out my old food processor and add good organic beets, good cabbage, some good potatoes, some onion, some good organic carrots --- all thru the largest grater. Then I make the soup with organic veg stock (we don't like borscht with meat in it), add a good quality garlic clove or two and a bay leaf, salt and pepper to taste --- then you must garnish with good fresh dill (the leafy part) --- (some people add cream and tomatoes - we don't ---- however, have good sour cream avail for garnish and flavour enhance at the table.

the other thing one might have is cabbage rolls. Some people make those with ground pork-beef combo --- some people omit the meat. 

you could gently cook some swiss chard and beet leaves as a veggie side --- I like "rainbow" chard as the stems add color variety. Some green beans quickly blanched then sauteed in some olive oil with garlic would be good.

you're going to have a big plate of "white" which needs to be off-set to make it look appetizing.

(and yes, the comment here already about cheese with the mashed potato, or cheese and onion with the potato filling is good idea)

have a look here for good solid traditional food - these women are wonderful - they are mainly located near Vancouver BC in the farm region known as Fraser Valley. http://www.mennonitegirlscancook.ca/


then, if this is near Christmas (remember Ukrainian is in January) - you have Kutya as a starter (yes) --- (wheat berry, honey, poppyseeds) .
https://petroshasblog.wordpress.com/christmas-recipes/christmas-eve-kutiakutya-wheat-with-walnuts-honey-poppy-seed/
.. 

here is an excellent little clip from Food Network Canada http://www.foodnetwork.ca/shows/great-canadian-cookbook/photos/ukrainian-dinner-party-with-dale-mackay/#!didur1 --- now this is traditional prairies.

here is the video version of that same Food Network show http://www.foodnetwork.ca/shows/great-canadian-cookbook/video/episode/prairie-plates/video.html?v=542639683583

Answer

Serve them with this....

Braised Sauerkraut

2 lbs. fresh sauerkraut, rinsed, drained & then squeeze out most of the water
1/3 lb. bacon, diced
1 large onion, diced fine
12 oz. beer…I usually use an amber for taste & color
Caraway seeds & cracked pepper to taste
Salt…because of the bacon, hold off salting until the dish is just about done.

In a large skillet (that has a lid), sauté the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon & reserve, leaving the bacon fat in the pan. Add the onion to the skillet & sauté until golden. Stir in the kraut, beer, bacon, pepper & caraway & heat until the beer starts to boil. Reduce the heat to very low & partially cover. Simmer for at least two hours (stirring every 10-15 minutes) until the kraut has a deep brown color. Salt (if needed) & serve with brats or kielbasa or kick up some hot dogs on a bun.

Answer

Georgia hit it on the head with the stuffed cabbage rolls. Corned beef, cabbage, and horseradish are also delicious with pierogies. You are so lucky to have handmade ones! Here is a link with more ideas http://www.polskafoods.com/100-ways-eat-serve-pierogi

Answer

What a treat to have them homemade! 
I would absolutely make them the main dish. 

Definitely consult your daughter as to what she likes to serve them with for condiments- i'm a fan of some fresh chopped dill on top, and a side of braised cabbage or sauerkraut to balance the richness of the pierogies. 

I would start the meal with a borscht with plenty of horseradish-chilled or hot depending on your weather at the time. I have found that the vegetarian borscht i make is better the next day so you can certainly make it ahead too

Answer

In a Polish restaurant pierogies are sometimes served as a separate course, and the potato-filled ones might be served with chopped bacon sauteed with chopped onion and poured over. In Chicago's famous "Polish Smorgasbord" (buffet) restaurants they are one of many other entree-type dishes. Or if you daughter has mastered making them, she might have menu suggestons.

For those of us not lucky enough to have a pierogi-making daughter and so must rely on frozen ones, I do have a wonderful recipe. Get a big deep baking dish like Pyrex or Corningware, otherwise used a small roasting pan with a cover. Dump in frozen mashed potato-filled pierogies and then add boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into chunks (not teensy bite-size). Amounts are totally flexible depending on your needs. Totally cover the pierogies and chicken with chicken stock (the kind from a carton will do if you don't have homemade).Cover tightly---use foil if you don't have a tight lid. Bake this for an hour and a half and you will have Instant Fake Chicken and Dumplings. This is an almost totally work-free meal, hearty and delicious, that can be adjusted to any quantity. All you need is a vegetable or salad.

Answer

Antipasti plate with marinated Mushrooms
https://www.chowhound.com/recipes/marinated-mushrooms-11447

Mains 
Pierogies - some like sour cream or a red sauce with them
Kielbasa with sauerkraut and cabbage maybe even Bigos
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018007-bigos

Sides 
Green beans
 - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/slow-roasted-green-beans-with-sage-51123150
- https://www.chowhound.com/recipes/basic-sauteed-green-beans-29085
- https://www.chowhound.com/recipes/kim-alters-late-night-green-beans-29163
- https://www.chowhound.com/recipes/warm-spring-vegetable-salad-with-favas-green-beans-and-radicchio-28277

Other Sides
- https://www.chowhound.com/recipes/roasted-baby-carrots-with-marmalade-10898
- https://www.chowhound.com/recipes/corn-with-chevre-and-red-peppers-10621

Answer

Funny you should ask. One of my favorite ingredients. I use the frozen mashed-potato-filled pierogies to make the most wonderful soup. I make a strong chicken stock (six leg-thigh pieces overnight in the crock pot with an onion and a couple of pieces of celery then strain it through a colander). Then I dump in two packages of Mrs T's Pierogies (the mashed potato kind) and return the whole thing to the crock pot and cook until the pierogies are falling apart. The result is a thick and hearty Chicken and Dumpling Soup that is excellent.

And also in this thread is my earlier post of Fake Chicken and Dumplings.

Answer

In a Polish restaurant (a Chicago thing) the potato-filled pierogies would come with two or three kinds of meat, plenty of mushroom gravy, and some grated cooked beets mixed with horseradish. The meat is often "pork cutlet" which is boneless pork chops that have been put through the cubing machine (like cube steak) to make them really tender. Or you could have a roast pork loin, or any kind of chicken. Stuffed cabbage rolls. Applesauce. A few vegetables according to taste. A salad like coleslaw. Kielbasa. Rye bread. Big variety and plenty of food is the Polish style. For other ideas, google the "Red Apple", a famous Polish buffet here, that lists. ALSO I use the frozen potato-filled pierogies by dumping two boxes of them in a big deep casserole, adding boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into large chunks, and covering the whole thing with chicken stock (from carton is fine) right up to the top of the casserole---cover with foil to make air-tight and bake for 90 minutes at 350* to make a big pot of Fake Chicken and Dumplings, an easy and hearty dinner.

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What to serve with pierogies filled with mashed potatoes

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