ontheedgeofeverything

Thanks to my European background, I love me a solid pierogi as much as the next person. They’re delicious, versatile, and simple yet packed with flavour, and if you, for some unbeknownst reason, have yet to savour the remarkable flavour of these puppies, please do so at your earliest opportunity.

I’ve been eating pierogies since I exited the womb, but I will admit that now that I’ve moved out of my parents home and am living with my husband, I haven’t been enjoying them as frequently as I once did. Granted, my pierogi preferences are a bit tarnished thanks to the bias I’ve developed for the cooking method my mom always relied upon, which involves boiling the pierogies initially, then sauteeing them in a saucepan with garlic, onion, salt and pepper, oil and bacon.

When out and about doing some grocery shopping the other day, a selection of pierogis caught my eye, and I was transported back to a happier time in my childhood. When I pulled myself out of my dumpling daydream, I decided to get some, and ended up enjoying them for dinner later that evening.

I read the directions for cooking the pierogies on the packaging for a quick refresher and then had an idea: what would happen if I were to boil them, and then, instead of using a frying pan, finish them off in the air fryer?

Alas, twas only one way to find out.

I executed my plan as intended with successful results, although it did involve some minor trial and error. I ended up cooking the pierogies in my air fryer at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for six minutes, and while I do think I could improve the finished product with a bit more tweaking in time, I did enjoy how they turned out. Soft on the inside, and just slightly crispy on the outside; an almost pierogi perfection.

Photo by Eugen Kucheruk on Unsplash