Having recently celebrated the holiday where everyone who is decidedly not Irish gets to pretend to be, I present to you Loco Moski: a mashup between two cultures that I am (mostly) not – Hawaiian and Polish. This flashed by as a fleeting no-recipe-offered-on-the-app from Food Network a few months back and I took note. I love a good Hawaiian Loco Moco (traditionally chargrilled burger patties with brown, decadent gravy served over rice and topped with a fried egg.) I also love pirogis (the Polish version of a pocket pie.) While a bit strange to put burger patties and fried egg on top of fried pastries, this seemed like a good fit for me to try out.
The caveat: making straight-up from scratch pierogis is a labor of love. It is not a weeknight feat for me. I think I had planned this dish for a Friday, so while technically not a weeknight – I knew I was going to be tired form the week (Read: I was living on the edge of copping out and ordering pizza from our favorite local parlor, Sofias.) Cue some premade magic from the premade department at my local HEB and the marketing geniuses of Goya foods, and this recipe was rockstar – I hope you and yours enjoy it soon!
Cheers!
Jalapeño Popper ‘Pierogis’
Hardware
- Non-stick skillet
- Schmedium-sized mixing bowl
- Rubber spatula
- Teaspoon
- Small cup for eggwash
- Fish or frosting spatula for flipping
- Optional: Silpat or silicon mat of the like (for cleanup ease)
Ingredients
- Goya Pre-made empanada wrappers (from the frozen section, the red label ones that say for baking or frying)
- Pre-made mashed potatoes (I like Simply Potatoes’ Sour Cream and Chive variety)
- One HEB MealSimple Jalapeño Popper Dip
- Coarse-ground black pepper
- One egg (or an equivalent slug of liquid egg product that y’all know I keep in my fridge door at ALL TIMES)
- Butter and/or oil for frying
Methodology
- Thaw the empanada wrappers per the package specifications. Please note that this requires forethought that I was lacking – get those suckers in the fridge the morning of or even the night before to avoid the awkwardness of trying to semi-fast thaw it against your skin!
- Heat the potatoes per package instructions until they’re at a stirrable consistency. Mix equal parts potatoes and dip in the mixing bowl (how much of each depends on how many pierogi you plan to make.) Hit with an aggressive twist of fresh ground black pepper and with any other delicacies that might nee da home (leftover bacon from a salad a few nights back, chives that never got put away after last Saturday’s baked potatoes, whatever.) Mix until aggressively combined.
- If you’re using a silicon mat to build your work-station, now’s your time. Have your package of empanada wrappers (thawed, opened, and tented with a soggy-but-not dripper paper towel), you bowl of mix nearby, and the egg beaten with a little water in a small vessel of choice.
- Using the teaspoon, put a lump of filling in the center of each wrapper. If you want to hand-smoosh or roll out each wrapper a little first, that seemed to help me. Use your fingers to trace the entire outer rim of the circle of dough with the eggwash. Fold into a half-circle pocket and crimp the edges by whatever means works for you to ensure the pocket is sealed. (I used the more traditional empanada pleated fold, but this would also work with the fork-krimping method or any other one that works for you.) Set aside completed pastry and repeat.
- Since it will not take long to heat, start warming your butter and/or oil in the non-stick pain after completing folding your pierogi. Since it’s non-stick, remember you don’t need much – this is more for flavor and browning than lubrication! Sear the pierogi on medium heat, making sure you don’t burn them. (If you walk away to yell at your six-year-old for stealing the toddler’s blanket, you will burn them.) Cook, flipping until golden, brown and delicious on the outsides (remember, they were already mostly pre-cooked). Serve immediately or keep warm in a warm oven.
- Bonus tip: To make Loco Moski, pile 3-4 fresh, hot pierogi on a plate. Layer on this grilled burger patties (we used an amazing cheddar and brisket patty blend from our local butcher Wiatreks). Smother in a rich brown gravy and top with a freshly fried egg that is barely set. Garnish with more back pepper and chives if you have them. Serve with a side of Lipitor and enjoy!
Domestic Goddess M.D. 