2.22.2011

What do you do with leftover Pierogi dough?


Yesterday I left a little bit of a cliffhanger at the end of my post (oh how dramatic of me) and promised that I'd show you a little trick for what you can do with leftover pierogi dough.  Because Polish food is simple peasant food and based around making do with what you have and letting nothing (and I mean nothing) go to waste, my Babcia used to take leftover pierogi dough, roll it out super thin and cut it up into little rags to make fresh pasta.  When making my pierogies, I often happen to find myself in the same predicament (or maybe I plan it that way? I'll never tell...) so that's exactly what I do; make a quick and delicious fresh pasta.


It's a simple process and the best part is that it yields such terrificly delicious results.  I mean, is there anything better than fresh pasta? To make the pasta, you first start out by rolling the dough super thin.  You'll want to make sure it's consistently thin so that your pasta cooks evenly.


Once you've got it all rolled out, that a pizza cutter and by applying a little pressure, cut the dough into thin strips.  Don't worry too much about it being exactly the same size, a little inconsistency is good as it gives you a rustic and homemade look.  Just keep it approximately the same size.


Next, bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil.  Toss the pasta in and remember, because it's fresh pasta, it only has to cook for a minute or two (you'll know it's done when it starts to float).  You can then scoop out the pasta and do whatever you'd like to do with it.  I enjoyed mine simply, with just a splash of some good olive oil, Parmesan cheese, cracked black pepper and some flakes of sea salt.


9 comments:

Fun and Fearless in Beantown said...

What a great way to use leftover dough!

Elizabeth said...

You made it into pasta! That's so cool!

Meesh said...

totally awesome. i have never made my own pasta, but this makes it look really simple awesome. ill have to try it soon!

Boston Food Diary said...

Yummmmmm love fresh pasta- I can only imagine how tasty it was with your pierogie dough!

Melissa said...

And now I'm craving pasta, thanks a lot! But really, thanks, I want to try your pierogie dough recipe! If you packaged and sold this stuff, I'd definitely buy it.

Delicious Dishings said...

Great idea! I'll have to try this next time I make pierogi!

Jen said...

Next time you have fresh pasta, please invite me over to enjoy a bowl with you. It looks amazing.

A Plum By Any Other Name said...

Your noodles look absolutely delicious. As an Italian, I salute you! ;)

Alicia said...

Yum - You know how much I love using leftovers! What a great tip!

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