Bryndzové Pirohy (Pierogis stuffed with bryndza)

Bryndza cheese reappears in Slovakia's version of the pierogi. These potato dumplings are stuffed with bryndza cheese, slathered with sour cream, and topped with strips of fried bacon. This meal is frequently served with a glass of inica, or sour sheep's milk. It's not for everyone because of the sour fermented flavor, but it's definitely worth a try!

Ingredients:

2 potatoes; 2 cups flour; one egg; salt; bacon; bryndza

Instructions:

• Start by cooking a few potatoes (zemiaky). Cook them until they are quite soft and mash them by hand. Add about a cup of flour (múka), one egg (vajce), and about a tablespoon of salt (soľ). Mix everything together by hand. Then add more flour until you get a fairly stiff mixture. Also, place a large pot full of salted water onto the stove.

• Form the dough into a loaf and place it onto a dusted board. Dust top with flour to prevent the pin from sticking. Roll out to an about 3 millimeters thick pancake.

• Then take a drinking glass and cut out circles. Do this by pushing down with the glass and twisting your wrist left and right a few times. The dough will come out with the glass. Top each circle with a teaspoon's worth of bryndza. If you don’t have bryndza, you can imitate it by mixing feta with sour cream.

• Fold the circle over and pinch the seal closed with the tip of your fingers. Then, to make the pyrohy look prettier, grab the seal between your fingers and twist about 60 degrees. Do this at a few spots.

• Place pierogi into the pot of boiling water. I found it really neat that Helka uses the same technique for transporting dumplings as my grandma – by placing them onto the backside of her arm. Right after placing them in water, scoop them up with a wooden spoon to keep them from sticking to the bottom. Pierogi are ready when they float to the top. Scoop them out using a large strainer.

• Bryndzové pirohy are topped with škvarky, fried bacon bits. Prepare these by cutting good thick smoked bacon into pieces about an inch long and frying them until the white fat part dissolves away. Top pierogi with a few spoonfuls of grease and then with the bacon bits. Finally, top with sour cream (kyslá smotana).

• Serve with a glass of žinčica, sour sheep milk which is a bit similar to kefir.