Beef Pierogies

For the dough

• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup sour cream
• ¾ cup water
• 4 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 4 cups all-purpose flour

In a bowl, whisk together the egg, sour cream, water, olive oil, and salt. Add the flour and stir to combine.

Dump the dough onto a floured work surface and gently knead just until the dough comes together. Do not overwork the dough. Transfer the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 30 minutes.

For the filling

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 small yellow onion, quartered and thinly sliced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and finely diced
• 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 500g ground beef, preferably organic

In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the onion, 1 tsp salt, and the sugar and cook until caramelized and brown, about 10 minutes. Add the vinegar and stir to coat. Add the carrot, thyme, and garlic and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.

Raise the heat to medium-high and add the beef. Cook, stirring to break up the meat, until it’s no longer pink, about 5 minutes.

Drain the meat in a fine-mesh sieve if necessary, then transfer to a bowl. Season to taste with salt and plenty of pepper. Can be chilled until needed.

Filling & cooking the dumplings

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment and dust with flour. On a floured work surface, roll out the dough to ⅛-inch/4mm thick. Using a 3-inch/8cm biscuit or round cookie cutter, cut out as many rounds as possible. Press the scraps together, roll out the dough again, and repeat. You should get about 26 rounds.

Fill each pierogi with about 1 tbsp of filling.

Fold the round in half, pressing the edges together and crimping them to seal. The dough should be sticky enough without an edge wash but if not, rub the edge with your finger dipped in water.

Transfer to the flour-dusted baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining rounds.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pierogi in batches, and cook until tender and they float to the top, 6 - 8 mins.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a wire rack to drain.

To serve, warm half the butter and half the olive oil together in a large frying pan over medium heat. Fry the pierogi in batches until golden brown on both sides, adding more butter and olive oil as needed. Serve at once with saurkraut, sour cream, apple sauce and chopped spring onions.

For freezing: leave on the baking sheet and freeze uncovered for about 4 hours before transferring to a sealed bag. Can be boiled from frozen, 12 to 15 minutes