Most cuisines have dishes which encase meat and/or vegetables in a dough made of wheat or rice. Many Latin American countries have “empanadas” and the English-speaking Caribbean has curry spiced “roti”. The British have their “pasties”, the French have their “crepes” and the Chinese have their “dumplings”. I am probably missing a lot more.
In Northern Europe, “Piragi” are the most common dish of this type. The recipes vary widely from country to country and there is no agreement on the spelling. You see “pierogi”, “perogi” and “piroshki” and the one we will use, “piragi”. These little meat or vegetable pies are most common in Poland and the Baltic countries of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. My wife’s family is from Latvia and I have been served these little treats during the holidays for many years. Only recently did I start to make them myself.
The recipe below, which makes about 84 little pies, can be easily doubled or tripled if you are preparing for a big party. We have found the recipe useful throughout the year. They make a great hors oeuvre for a cocktail or dinner party.
Latvian Piragi are made from a rich yeast dough that can be filled with ham or bacon and onions. We prefer ham and onions. They can be brushed with melted butter or an egg wash before baking. We prefer the melted butter. In many respects, the technique is similar to making Parker House Rolls but adding a filling.
Yield:
About 96 piragi
Nutritional Information:
Each piragi has:
Calories: ~56 kcal
Protein: ~2.6 g
Carbohydrates: ~6.7 g
Fat: ~2.0 g
Time Required
5 hours including dough rising and baking. About 3 hours of active prep work. This recipe is not for the faint hearted.
Gear
- Brush for melted butter
- 2 Large mixing bowls
- KitchenAid or similar mixer with a dough hook.
- 8 Baking sheets (which is more than you probably have) or a minimum of 2 baking sheets and some combination of silpats, copper baking sheets, or parchment paper cut to baking sheet size to equal 8 surfaces.
- 4″ dia. dumpling cutter (see Amazon: Dumpling Cutter)
Ingredients for the dough:
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 Tbsp. yeast
- ¼ cup warm water
- 8 Tbsp. butter (one-stick), cut into small
pats - 2 eggs
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
- 6 cups of flour
- 1 tsp. salt
Procedure:
- Dissolve the yeast in the warm water.
- Melt the pats of butter in a small pan.
- Prepare a KitchenAid mixer with a dough hook.
- Add dry ingredients, flour, sugar and salt to the mixing bowl and blend for 30 seconds.
- Add milk, eggs, melted butter and yeast to the mixing bowl and mix well for a full three minutes or more. (You can also mix by hand.)
- Lift mixer head and remove the dough hook and finish kneading by hand, adding more flour if necessary to get a nice smooth dough ball.
- Grease a large mixing bowl with butter and add
the dough. Cover and let rise for about two
hours.
Ingredients for the Filling:
- 1-1/2 lbs. finely diced ham
- 2 cups of finely diced Spanish onion (Usually one large onion)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp. salt and pepper
Procedure:
- Sauté the onions in butter until they soften, about 3-4 minutes.
- Mix the onions, ham, olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl
and pack down firmly to compress mixture.
Assembly:
- Melt one stick of butter for brushing the tops of the Piragi
- Lay out the eight surfaces on which you will place the Piragi. Grease the baking sheets (not necessary if using silpats)
- Punch down the risen dough, divide the dough into four quarters and cover each quarter with plastic wrap until ready to use.
- Cut each quarter into two pieces. Roll out the first piece on a floured surface to about 3/16” thickness.
- Using a 4″ dia. dumpling maker, cut circles of dough, add 1 Tbsp. of filling in the center and fold over. The dumpling maker will press the edges together. (If you don’t have a dumpling maker, find a glass with about a 4″ inch diameter, cut circles of dough, add filling, fold over and press edges together with a fork.)
- Put piragi on greased baking sheet leaving enough room for them to rise. You should be able to get 10-12 piragi on each baking sheet. Cover and let rise for one hour.
- Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
- Brush tops with butter and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. To speed up the process, bake two sheets at a time and switch racks after 10 minutes.
- Serve in a napkin lined basket.
Although the piragi are best served straight out of the oven they can be kept in the fridge for up to 10 days or frozen and kept for up to six months. Reheat them in the microwave, three at a time, exactly 30 seconds for those coming from the fridge and exactly 60 seconds for those from the freezer. Keep a stash handy. they are a quick and great accompaniment to a glass of wine and the evening news.
Categories: Classic Appetizers, Classic Eastern European Dishes, Diary of a Wandering Foodie
Bravado Cooking 
Toooo complicated for me :). I’ve made your coconut cake for family dinner and everyone loved it
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It is hard for one person, but if you have a partner (like Rachel), it goes quickly and easily.
Pirags! Gotta love ‘em. You may have inspired me to make them.
I just made 150. You need two people. Here is a new trick. Divide the dough into four parts and roll each one with your hands into a log or a rope about 12 inches long. Cut each log into 15-20 slices. Roll out each slice and make the Piragi. This makes them more uniform (which I know you would like) and saves time.
They look delicious, Christopher! favorite sauce??
Traditionally, you don’t have any sauce. However, I may experiment. Among the Latvians, Piragi are always eaten straight out of the oven. When they cool down, they lose a lot. They freeze very well and I love to reheat them in the oven for cocktails.