New York City is a city made up of many neighborhoods, ethnic neighborhoods. Our food is as diverse as our people. Located in the Southern part of the Borough of Brooklyn lies a neighborhood called Brighton Beach. Brighton is a summer destination because of it’s close proximity to Coney Island. Another fact about the area is, it has a very large percentage of Russian immigrants. Dubbed as “Little Odessa” by it’s local inhabitants, because many of it’s residents come from Odessa which is in the Ukraine.
A very popular Russian and Eastern European dish are Varenyky which are stuffed dumplings. They can be stuffed with a variety of things such as potatoes, meat, cheese, mushrooms or even fruit and they are boiled. My mom told me that my great-grandmother would make Cherry Varenyky and that they were delicious. Unfortunately, my great-grandmother died many years before I was born so I never got to sample her delicious cooking.
Today we will be making Varenyky that are stuffed with potatoes and mushrooms. You can buy them frozen in most supermarkets. They are also known as Perogi. To see how I made Varenyky with Caramelized Onions and Sour Cream, keep reading.
Varenyky with Caramelized Onions and Sour Cream
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 (12 oz) bag of Varenyky or Perogi (cooked according to package directions)
2 large onions, sliced in thin rings
1-2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tbsp. paprika
2 tbsp. sugar
8 oz sour cream
salt and pepper, to taste
Directions for the onions
Add 1 tbsp of the oil to a large non stick Dutch oven over low heat. Add the onions and stir. Let cook for about 5 minutes until they get translucent. Add the salt, pepper, paprika and sugar, stirring frequently. You want the onions to turn a deep brown color so this could take at least 20 minutes. Just keep it on a low flame and stir frequently until done. You might need to add the other tablespoon of oil in case the onions are sticking to the pot.
Once done, serve them over the Varenyky with a dollop of sour cream.
Enjoy!
I have never heard of varenyky before, but I do love dumplings and trying new things! I’m hoping to give this one a try soon, especially because of the yummy caramelized onions!
Thanks so much Maggie!! Have a great evening! 🙂