Gluten-free, Lactose-free Cheesy Perogies

So you find out you must or you should eat gluten-free. You despair.

Then you find out you must or you should eat lactose-free. You despair.

Then you find out you can still have cheesy perogies as tasty as any you had in your pre-gluten-free and pre-lactose-free days. You rejoice!

So let’s make them. Sure, they’re a bit of work. But this is what friends are for. You can have a perogie-making party. There can be wine. And aprons. Who doesn’t like wine and aprons? It’s my idea of a perfect afternoon. And if you happen to be reading this in the time of COVID19, employ whomever you have living with you. Otherwise, go it alone! It’s like meditation.

Here’s your RTI:

Remember:

You MUST use the xantham gum as it binds the gluten-free flours.
Don’t roll the dough too thinly. There will be a greater danger that the pockets will rupture when you’re boiling them.
Also, when you boil them, boil them gently. It does not have to be a rolling boil.
Make sure you taste the filling as you go. I find it always tastes as though it is more salted than it actually is when you’re eating the final product. So perhaps add a bit more salt than you otherwise would.

Yield: Approx 36 perogies, give or take. It really depends on how big you make them.

Tools:

Measuring cups and spoons etc
Pot to boil potatoes in
Bowl to mash potatoes
Potato masher
Grater for cheese
Rolling pin
Glass for “punching” out the perogie dough shapes
Glass or small bowl with some water in it
Cookie sheets for placing perogies on before you put them in the freezer

Ingredients:

For the dough:

1/3 cup sour cream (you may want to add more) (can I just say, you know it’s going to be good when you start the dough with sour cream)
1 large egg
1 tbsp oil
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup tapioca starch
2 tbsp potato starch
2 tbsp sweet rice flour (or just white rice flour)
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt

For the filling:

1 lb russet potatoes, washed but not peeled
1 cup lactose-free cheddar cheese, shredded or half a bar (200 g) of lactose-free old cheddar cheese (I like to use the white one rather than the one that is orange-coloured but either will do. The OLD version will have a sharper taste)
1/2 cup lactose-free cream cheese, softened (or you can skip this)
1 bar of goat cheddar cheese, shredded (this is the secret ingredient)
1/2 cup lactose-free sour cream
1 tsp salt, then add to taste
pepper to taste

Here is your “How to:”

Wash the potatoes and boil in their skins until a knife or fork goes through easily. Drain and allow to cool.
In a separate bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients for the dough until well combined.
In a stand mixer, with the whisk attachment, combine the sour cream, milk, egg and oil until well combined or do this in a blender.
Then switch out the whisk attachment to the paddle attachment. Running on low, add all the dry ingredients and mix until the dough comes together. It should not be too dry or too sticky. Gather dough together with your hands and shape into a ball. Set aside.
- If it is too dry, add some sour cream or milk or water to make it come together.
- If it is too sticky, add some more sweet rice flour.
Shred the cheeses and set aside.

Now back to the potatoes:

Peel the skins off the potatoes. Mash. Mash. Mash.
Add in all the filling ingredients and blend well together. It is ok if the potatoes are a bit lumpy but if you want a smooth perogie, then smooth out the filling. Taste test along the way.
Taste and adjust as you like. Add more salt or cheese or sour cream.

Assembly:

Take about a quarter of the dough and with some extra brown rice flour scattered on your rolling surface and on rolling pin, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick.
Use a wide-bottomed round glass or cookie cutter to cut out circles.
With a spoon or your hands, place little balls of the potato mixture on the dough circles. It can be anywhere from 1 tsp to 1 tbsp of filling or more. You need to make sure you can easily pull the dough up and over the filling comfortably with enough dough to be able to seal the pocket.
Dip fingers into water and wet the edges of the dough circle.
With DRY hands, then seal the dough with your fingers.
Lay each perogie on a floured cookie sheet.
Any remaining dough should be gathered up and rolled out again until you’ve used it all up.
As you are making the perogies, you can place them on a lightly floured cookie sheet. As the cookie sheets fill up, place them in the freezer so that each perogie can harden on its own. Once they are hard, you can gently release them from the cookie sheet and place them into freezer bags or other container suitable for the freezer.

If you are going to eat the perogies right away:

Bring a pot of water to a gentle boil and gently lower your perogies into the water. Try not to crowd them so they don’t stick or bang up against each other. Wait until the perogies are floating on top.
At this point you can toss them with some butter and eat them.
Or while you are boiling the perogies you can prepare chopped bacon and onion in a frying pan and then add the perogies to crisp up a bit in there. Serve with a side of sour cream.
Or you can place some butter in a frying pan and then gently fry the cooked perogies until they crisp up.
You can also brown some butter ahead of time and dress the boiled perogies that way.

However you decide to prepare them, now you’re eating homemade gluten-free, lactose-free perogies. And who doesn’t want that? Only perogie-haters. And they’re not making this recipe anyway. 🙂