Already tired of ‘summer food’? Even if Dad isn’t tired of grilling every night, yet, you might want to toss another flavour of cuisine in there for variety now and then. I have the perfect fast, easy, but luxe-looking and -tasting dish…
Call it newstlgized Dim Sum. You’d be sort of right. But it’s more precisely a fusion of French and Polish favourites that somehow go together perfectly. Like the proverbial horse and carriage…
Caramelized onions make everything better…
That’s a rule I created, and I live by it religiously. When in doubt about how to bring together or upgrade a savoury dish, I’ve found you can almost always just add caramelized (fried) onions and… Problem solved!
It’s not a one-size-fits-all solution, but it’s amazingly applicable across a wide range of dishes.
Simple, yummy and rich…
You can’t get much easier or much umamier than this throw-together dish. And it’s cost effective for large families or dinner groups.
I’ve made it many times when surprise company (who I know love ‘forward’ food) arrive. Or I just don’t want to put that much effort into supper.
It’s called French Onion Pierogi Bake, and the name pretty much describes what’s in it. But there are a few little touches that really make the dish…
For the ‘French Onions’…
The flavour essence of this dish is ‘French Onions’. That’s just slivered onions sautéed in a little butter with a teaspoon of sugar. I highly recommend ‘Natalie’s Method’, which is actually the first step in making her famous French Onion Soup.
But instead of soup-ifying them by drowning them in Beef Stock, leave the onions in a saucy state, by adding only 1 cup of stock and a teaspoon of cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup of cold water. The corn-starch will thicken the onions as they cook, making a sumptuous sauce. All it needs for flavouring is a dash or two of nutmeg.
For the Pierogies…
The pierogies are really easy.. Just choose your favourite from the supermarket frozen foods aisle. My former next-foot neighbour, Taduze, who grew up and learned to cook in Poland, says that’s what most busy family cooks there now use. Rather than spending hours making their own from scratch.
You can use pierogies stuffed with traditional potatoes, popular potatoes and cheese, or all-cheese filling. I prefer the potatoes and cheese combo with this dish.
Bake from frozen…
Arrange the pierogies, straight from the freezer, no more than just barely touching in a casserole dish. Pour or spoon the Onions over over the pierogies making sure that some get down beside each dumpling. The sauce will ooze under the dumplings as they cook, ensuring they don’t stick.
Cover with foil and bake at 350 F for 45 to 50 minutes.
Uncover and sprinkle shredded Cheddar, Jack or Edam cheese all over the top of the pierogies. Bake uncovered for another 10 minutes or so, until the cheese has melted.
Serve with…
Rice or noodles are equally good with this dish. But Noodles are more traditional. They’ll showcase the sauce better, whereas rice will absorb it and dull its impressi0n on your taste buds. And that would be a shame…
My take
This dish is great by itself as a one-dish supper. But it’s also great in smaller portions as an all-in-one side for other Eastern European ‘featured foods’ such as sausages or pork…
~ Maggie J.