Tonight’s dinner was pierogi ruskie, or “perogies” as we called them growing up. They’re a favourite around here and the musings about ‘not having had perogies in a while’, turned to requests to ‘have perogies soon’, to ‘you’re making perogies right? I just bought some…’ I don’t mind taking requests, and perogies are a hometown comfort food.
The Canadian prairies were settled by many groups from Eastern Europe and Ukrainian was one of the few ‘ethnic’ foods in my childhood. I remember the advert on local TV for Sarah’s Perogie Hut. (I was delighted to find it on YouTube!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yksoovE3SQ0 ) As a family, we never ate there, and perogies weren’t really a part of our regular diet until I was influenced by other boys bringing them to Boy Scout camp. The local brand was Cheemo, and they came frozen, so you had to boil them before frying them. In the 90’s they introduced ‘pizza perogies’ which were filled with a spicy tomato potato and cheese puree – these were a favourite ‘cook it for yourself’ snack when I was a teenager.
Pierogi come in a variety of fillings, but teenage pizza perogie aside, we only get the potato and cheese filled ones. For reasons unknown this filling is called ‘Ruskie’ in Polish, but Russians don’t have potato and cheese filled dumpling. Whereas in Canada perogies were always frozen, I was delighted to find fresh ones in the local Polish shops of East London. This felt like a game changer to me because this allows them to fry to a very satisfying caramellised crisp.
Our family favourite preparation is this: I fry onions and kielbasa (occasionally chopped bacon instead) in butter, once the onions are caramelised and the sausage lightly charred, I add the pierogi and cook it all together until the pierogi are getting a nicely browned exterior. Sour cream – smietana in Polish – is the essential garnish. Ogorki pickles, sauerkraut, and sriracha (Huy Fung brand only!) are also well loved and the fermented vegetables give this meal at least a modicum of vitamins and fiber.
RETURNED TO TABLE
Pierogi counter: 002
15 May 2026
Pierogi: new brand, delicate, almost homemade.
Kielbasa: new brand, good smoke, softer texture.
Garnishes: no ogorki, no sauerkraut. Used: ‘Vadusz’ kim chi and ‘Tropical Sun – Original Hot Pepper Sauce’ instead of Huy Fung sriraca. Both very worthy.
Keep: pierogi, kim chi, hot sauce
Change next time: try another kielbasa
RETURNED TO TABLE
Pierogi counter: 003
1 June 2026
Pierogi: back to ‘Vertu’ brand, better than the one from ASDA but not as good as the 15 May purchase.
Kielbasa: back to Gaska’s ‘homemade’, these are the very best – satisfiying texture and good smokiness.
Garnishes: this was a last minute dinne idea and we went with the bare minimum of smietana and Huy Fung sriracha
Keep: pierogi (in a pinch), excellent kielbasa
Change next time: get some more garnishes, remember to take a photo