Poland has perfected pierogi, a dumplinglike dish

A few years ago a pierogi, a Polish dumplinglike delicacy, said to bear the image of Jesus Christ was placed on eBay for auction. It sold for almost $2,000. Many of the nearly 50,000 people who followed the bidding doubtless believed that it constituted something miraculous. Frankly, I wouldn't know, but as someone who has just returned from a few weeks in Poland, I can tell you that eating pierogi can truly be a religious experience.

To describe a pierogi as a dumpling probably does not do it justice. Some liken it to ravioli. A plump little half circle bulging with filling, it looks more like the pot sticker you might find at a Chinese restaurant. Classic fillings include meat, cottage cheese, sauerkraut, potatoes, cabbage, mushrooms or, when served as dessert, fruit.

Perhaps the best way to think of pierogi is as "small pies," which is how the word translates into English. Though in this country the plural is often written as "pierogies," and the singular "pierogi," the Polish word "pierogi" is already plural. The singular version, "pierog" is hardly ever used. I think I know why. Who would ever eat just one?

No one knows for sure who invented pierogi. The Russians, the Latvians, the Ukrainians, as well as the Slovaks and the Czechs have all staked their claims. One theory says they were introduced to Europe by the wife of Polish King Sigismund I, Queen Bona, who was actually an Italian. But she reigned only 500 years ago and some say pierogi have been made in Poland since the 13th century. I can tell you that they still make a pretty mean version in the 13th-century cellar that is now the Pod Aniolami restaurant in Krakow.

Whoever was responsible for the first pierogi, it's clear the Poles are the ones who have perfected them. You'll find them on just about every menu and there are even restaurants, called pierogarnie, that specialize in them. At one time every Polish special occasion had its own pierogi: large wedding pierogi, mourning pierogi served at wakes, small and sweet pierogi reserved for feast days, and others made during the Christmas caroling season.

Pierogi stuffed with spinach, just one of many varieties available in Krackow's old town square. (TOM HARTE)

Today skilled Polish chefs are inventing exotic fillings that are conferring on pierogi a far more bourgeois status than might ever have been dreamed of during the years when the country was part of the Soviet bloc.

For example, at Pierozki u Vincenta, a darling little place in Kazimierz, Krakow's Jewish quarter, I sampled the Emperor's pierogi filled with lamb, rosemary and thyme and the Napoleon pierogi laden with liver and apples. At the elegant Delicija Polska in Warsaw I tried the pierogi stuffed with venison and juniper berries.

Indeed, in Poland they take pierogi so seriously they even have a patron saint for the dish, St. Jacek. I told you eating pierogi can have spiritual overtones.

Pierogi with Sauerkraut and Mushrooms

This recipe for pierogi with a traditional filling is adapted from The Warsaw Voice, a Polish news magazine.

Pierogi with a traditional potato and cottage cheese filling and topped with sauteed onions are a specialty of Gospoda Kwiaty Polskie restaurant in Warsaw, Poland. (TOM HARTE)

4 cups flour

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

2 cups warm water, approximately

4 cups dried mushrooms such as morels, chanterelles or porcini

2 pounds sauerkraut

1 carrot, peeled and cut into chunks

1 parsnip, peeled and cut into chunks

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 onions, diced

Rinse mushrooms, cover with cold water, and let stand six hours. Bring to a boil, add carrot and parsnip, and cook until tender, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

Cook sauerkraut until soft. Squeeze liquid out of sauerkraut and mushroom-vegetable mixture. Combine in a food processor and pulse, taking care not to grind too finely. Saute onions in olive oil and add to mixture, blending well.

Combine flour, salt and vegetable oil. Gradually add warm water to make a dough. Knead until soft and elastic, about 15 minutes. Cover with a cloth and let rest while bringing a pot of salted water to a boil.

Divide dough into two portions, rolling each out very thinly. Cut dough into small circles; place filling in the centers. Fold each in half, pinching edges together.

Cook in boiling water until soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Saute in butter or serve with sour cream, if desired.

Tom Harte's book, "Stirring Words,' is available at local bookstores. A Harte Appetite airs Fridays at 8:49 a.m. on KRCU, 90.9 FM. Contact Tom at semissourian.com or at Southeast Missourian, P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, MO, 63702-0699.