Zuza says: “My love of any kind of fermented milk product made me fall immediately in love with this flexible, slightly sour, buttermilk pierogi dough. Polish food blogger Joanna Ptasia introduced me to this brilliant recipe, which has been a hit with my bób-loving family ever since. Bób (broad beans) was actually one of my daughter’s first words.”

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the filling:

500g shelled fresh broad (fava) beans (shelled weight)
1 tbsp cold-pressed rapeseed (canola) oil
80g feta cheese
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp finely chopped mint
1 tsp finely chopped basil
pinch of fresh freshly grated nutmeg salt and white pepper

For the dough:

300g plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra to dust
150ml buttermilk, plus a splash extra (optional)

To serve:

30g butter, melted handful of chopped herbs (such as mint, basil and dill)
soured cream

Method

Make your filling by boiling the broad (fava) beans for about 20 minutes, then peel away and discard the outer skins. Mash the beans in a bowl with the rapeseed (canola) oil or pulse them in a food processor, if you prefer. Crumble in the cheese, add the lemon juice and mash to a paste. Add the chopped herbs and nutmeg, taste, then season with salt and white pepper. To make the dough, put the flour in a bowl and pour in the buttermilk with one hand while mixing with the other. Once it comes together, stop adding the buttermilk (you may not need it all, so add it slowly) and form the dough into a ball. If you’ve added all your buttermilk and it’s still a little dry, add a splash more.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil.

Knead the dough for 6–7 minutes on a lightly floured surface, then cover and allow to rest for 20–30 minutes at room temperature. Roll out as thinly as you can (about 0.5mm is perfect).

Use your favourite method to shape, fill and seal the pierogi, placing them on a lightly floured surface as you go. Cutting out lots of circles is generally the method a beginner should start with. There is no need for special cutters; I usually use an upturned water glass. Place a heaped teaspoon of filling in the middle of each circle, fold the dough over and seal the edges.

Boil the pierogi in batches until they float to the surface, then give them an extra minute. Remove the cooked pierogi with a slotted spoon, shake off any excess water and transfer them to a bowl with the melted butter.

Once all the pierogi are ready, make sure that they are all well coated in the melted butter and sprinkle over the chopped herbs to serve. Serve with soured cream, if you like.

Pierogi: 3 dumpling recipes for any time of day, from breakfast to dessert