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Sweet Potato Pierogies with Sage Brown Butter on a white plate

Sweet Potato Pierogies Sage Brown Butter

Handmade sweet potato pierogies finished in sage brown butter with caramelized onion and an herb cream sauce. Built for a Boston Beacon Hill private New Year's Eve dinner where the brief was comfort food that still felt like an occasion.
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Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Dough Rest 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American, polish
Calories: 720
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Pierogi Dough
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tbsp sour cream
  • 3/4 cup warm water
Sweet Potato Filling
  • 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 3 tbsp heavy cream
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
Caramelized Onions
  • 2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar (optional, to enhance caramelization)
Herb Cream Sauce
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
  • to taste salt and black pepper
Sage Brown Butter
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 12 fresh sage leaves

Equipment

  • Cutco 1738 Gourmet Prep Knife for slicing onion thin and dicing sweet potato
  • Stainless Steel Dumpling Maker Set faster, cleaner crimp than fork
  • Microplane Zester Grater for fresh nutmeg over the filling
  • Misen 5-Ply Stainless Steel Pan for browning butter and sauteing pierogies

Method
 

Make the Dough
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add the egg, sour cream, and warm water. Mix until a shaggy dough forms.
  2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic.
    3. Rest the Dough: Wrap the dough tightly and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Skipping the rest makes the gluten fight back, which makes rolling the dough thin nearly impossible.
  3. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
Caramelize the Onions
  1. In a large skillet over medium-low heat, melt the butter with the olive oil.
  2. Add the sliced onions, salt, and optional sugar. Stir to coat.
    3. Onion Patience: Keep the heat lower than feels right. High heat cooks onions. Low heat transforms them. Stir every few minutes for 25 to 30 minutes until deep golden amber.
  3. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is deep golden and caramelized, about 25 to 30 minutes. Set aside.
Make the Sweet Potato Filling
  1. Place the diced sweet potatoes in a pot of salted water. Bring to a boil and cook until fork-tender, about 15 minutes. Drain well.
  2. Mash the sweet potatoes with butter, heavy cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg until smooth.
    3. Cool the Filling First: Spread the mashed filling on a plate and let it cool completely before filling the pierogies. Warm filling steams the dough from the inside and ruins the seal.
  3. Spread the filling on a plate and let it cool completely before assembling.
Roll, Fill, and Boil the Pierogies
  1. Divide the rested dough into two portions. Roll the first portion out on a floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick.
  2. Cut circles using a 3-inch cutter. Place about 1 tablespoon of cooled filling in the center of each circle.
  3. Fold the dough over into a half-moon shape. Press the edges together and seal with a fork, or use a stainless steel pierogi press for a faster, cleaner crimp. Keep finished pierogies under a damp towel. Repeat with the remaining dough.
    4. Press vs. Fork: A dumpling maker or pierogi press speeds things up and gives you a consistent crimp every time. A fork works too. Either way, press firmly but don't crush the edge paper-thin.
  4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pierogies in batches until they float to the surface, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon.
Make the Herb Cream Sauce
  1. In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream over medium heat. Stir in the chives, parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper.
  2. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until slightly thickened. Keep warm over very low heat.
Brown the Butter and Sear
  1. In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the sage leaves. Cook, swirling the pan, until the butter turns golden amber and smells nutty, about 3 to 4 minutes.
    2. Brown Butter Timing: Pull it the second the foam settles and the smell shifts nutty. Waiting for a visual cue past that point means scorched butter and a bitter sauce.
  2. Remove the crispy sage leaves to a paper towel. Take the pan off the heat.
  3. Return the pan to medium heat. Add the boiled pierogies in batches and sear for about 2 minutes per side until golden.
Plate and Serve
  1. Spoon a pool of herb cream sauce onto each plate. Arrange the pierogies on top.
  2. Scatter caramelized onions over and around the pierogies. Drizzle with brown butter from the pan and garnish with crispy sage leaves. Serve immediately.

Notes

Plating: Three pierogies per plate stacked in a loose pile in the center of a warm shallow bowl. Herb cream sauce dolloped on top of the stack, not pooled underneath. Caramelized onions clustered across the seam of the overlap, about two tablespoons. Brown butter spooned straight from the pan over the pierogies while still foaming, one tablespoon per plate. Crumbled crispy sage scattered across the top. Flaky salt pinched over the butter at the pass.
Wine: A white Burgundy or unoaked Chardonnay is the right call. An Alsatian Pinot Gris also works and has a nice cold-weather feel.
Prep ahead: Make the dough the day before, wrap tightly, refrigerate. Filling keeps two days. Caramelized onions keep a week. Assemble raw pierogies up to 24 hours ahead. Boil to order, then sauté. Make the herb cream sauce fresh.
Scaling for service: This is 6 servings. To 8: increase dough and filling by 1.3x, no other changes. To 12: double dough and filling, assemble raw pierogies a day ahead, boil in the morning shocked in ice water, then sauté to order in batches of 10. Brown butter holds warm in one large batch but re-froth with a spoon before spooning over. Crispy sage gets fried per batch or the leaves go leathery sitting in the pan.
Dietary swaps: To make it GF: the pierogi dough does not convert. GF flour tears at the seal. If someone at the table needs GF, sub GF gnocchi (De Cecco makes a decent one) and treat everything else the same, the sage brown butter and herb cream sauce do the heavy lifting. Not easily dairy-free. The filling, sauce, and brown butter all depend on butter and cream. Vegetarian as written. Nut-free as written.