Pierogies (Polish Dumplings)

To Make The Potato Filling:

Cover your cubed, peeled potatoes in a pan with just enough cold water to cover, then place the pan over a medium-high heat.
2 medium potatoes
Boil the potatoes for 10 - 12 minutes until knife tender, then drain and add 1 tablespoon of butter.
Use a potato masher or ricer to mash the potato, then set aside until it’s cooled.
At this point, you could set the potato aside and make the dough, then return to make the remainder of the filling while your dough rests. To make the process easier, you could also refrigerate the mashed potato overnight to use the next day.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a pan, then add the diced white onion and saute for 10 - 15 minutes (while the mashed potatoes are cooling!) until golden and starting to caramelize. Stir frequently to avoid the onions burning.
3 tbsp butter, 1 small white onion
Add ½ the onion mixture to the potatoes and set the other half aside.
2 medium potatoes
Add the cheese, salt, and pepper to the potatoes and onions, and mix everything together.
½ cup ricotta cheese, salt and pepepr

To Make The Dough:

Add the plain flour and salt to a large mixing bowl and mix together.
2 cups of plain all-purpose flour
Make a well in the center of the flour, and tip in the egg, salt, melted butter, and water. Mix everything together into a rough dough.
½ cup room temperature water, 2 tbsp melted butter, 1 large egg, Pinch of salt
Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes (or you could use a stand mixer for this). Then wrap the dough in cling film and set aside for 30 minutes.

To Assemble & Cook The Pierogis:

Roll out your dough on a floured surface (roll it out nice and thin as pictured), then use a round cutter to cut circles into the dough. Discard any leftovers - you should get around 20 pierogies in total.
If you don’t want to cook all your pierogies at once, you can set them aside and freeze at this point.
Use a teaspoon to scoop some of the potato filling into each round - be careful not to overfill each round.
Dip your finger into a cup of water and run it around the edge of the dough, then use your hands to fold the dough over the filling, pressing lightly around the edges to create natural indents.
Set the pierogi aside (placing them on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper is handy here), then repeat with the remaining pierogies.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then add 4-5 pierogies at a time and boil for 5 minutes (the pierogies will float up to the surface). Use a slotted spoon to remove the cooked pierogies and repeat until they’re all cooked. Reserve a cup of the cooking water before draining.
Finally, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in your frying pan and add the remaining onions, 2-3 tablespoon of the cooking water, and the pierogies. Fry for 2-3 minutes until the pierogies are golden and coated fully in the onion sauce.
Serve with a scoop of sour cream and some fresh parsley!