It’s that time of year again! The time when those who do not suffer from food allergies are out stuffing their faces at the local fish fry every week, while I can only reminisce and dream about the time when I used to be one of them.
My FAVORITE fish fry food as a kid was always the pierogis!!! I remember getting a plate full of those deliciously soft, ooey gooey pillows of delight with sweet caramelized onions on top and the whole thing just DRIPPING with butter…🤤
Oh, I’m sorry. Was I just drooling?
Ok, enough wallowing in self pity. Although I fully intend to make homemade gluten free pierogis at some point, today I just did not have the time or the energy (because I just finished planting our orchard, but that’s a post for another day! 😊) So I did the next best thing.
I took all of the flavors of pierogis and put them together in a deconstructed form. Thus creating my Pierogi Pasta!
I used red skinned potatoes for this simply because that’s what I had on hand, but I actually think this recipe would be better with gold skinned potatoes. They are creamier and won’t take as long to soften as the red ones did. Either way, you don’t have to worry about peeling them as long as you wash them.
Just put your onions, potatoes and some butter or margarine in a large skillet over low heat. (I use Earth Balance Soy Free Margarine, which is also gluten and dairy free, but tastes INCREDIBLE!!!)
TIP: Get the potatoes and onions started before the pasta. You will need to keep the heat on low so that the butter doesn’t burn, so softening your potatoes will take a while. You can put a lid over the skillet if you want to speed up the process.
It will look like this when it’s ready:
Then, just cook your pasta according to package directions, season everything as directed in the recipe below and combine it all together. That’s it!!! All of the delicious flavors of pierogis with a fraction of the effort!
This was so good that I went back in for seconds as soon as I finished the GIGANTIC bowl that I started with, haha! I LOVE pierogis and this really brought all of the flavors of the traditional classic.
I have also made this in lasagne form before by using mashed potatoes instead of diced. It works just as well and was a big hit at the party where I served it.
Another variation is to replace the potatoes with shredded cabbage or Brussels sprouts to make haluski. I just made that last week. Here’s a pic of it with the Brussels sprouts.
I hope these recipes bring you as much joy as they brought me!
As always, please feel free to email me at anne@blessingsinsurprise.com with any questions or comments you may have.
- 1 lb. pasta of your choice (I used gluten free spirals.)
- 5 yellow-skinned potatoes (red-skinned potatoes also work. They just take longer to soften.)
- 1 & 1/2 medium sized sweet onions (quartered, then sliced)
- 2-4 Tbsp. butter or margarine (I use Earth Balance Soy Free Margarine)
- 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 & 1/2 tsp. onion salt
- 1/8 tsp. black pepper
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Wash and dice potatoes.
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Quarter and slice onions.
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Put potatoes and onions in a large skillet with butter or margarine over low heat. (Start with about 2 Tbsp. butter and add more if the skillet starts to dry out.)
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Cook over low heat (covered) until the potatoes are tender.
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Cook pasta according to package directions and drain.
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Add olive oil and 1/2 tsp. of the onion salt directly to the noodles. Stir.
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Add the rest of the onion salt and black pepper to the potato and onion mixture. Stir.
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Combine the potato and onion mixture with the pasta and stir to combine. Add more butter or margarine if the noodles seem too dry.
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Enjoy!