Pierogi are the national food of Poland. They are dumplings made of unleavened dough, filled with various fillings (called farsz in Polish). They can be filled with almost anything, but the traditional flavours are potato & farmers cheese (twaróg), beef (and/or pork), sauerkraut & mushroom, and even fruit, such as blueberries and strawberries.
Similar to dumplings from Asian countries, or even Italian filled pasta, pierogi are generally larger and make a more hearty meal. They are most commonly served boiled sprinkled with fried onion and melted butter, but can also be pan-fried or topped with sour cream or even a mushroom sauce.
Święty Jacku z pierogami!
Saint Hyacinth and his pierogi!
Legend says that pierogi came to Poland via Saint Hyacinth (Saint Jacek Odrowąż), a Dominican friar, during his missionary travels to 13th-century Rus (or Ruthenia), which is modern-day Ukraine. He was captivated by their taste. This is where the name for the popular flavour of potato & cheese derives from, “Ruskie”. However, potatoes were still unknown in Europe at the time, so the pierogi which made such an impression on Hyacinth would have most likely been filled with cheese and buckwheat. He is known as the Patron Saint of pierogi and Poles celebrate his feast day on the 17th of August.
There are two known stories about how Saint Hyacinth obtained the unofficial title of Patron Saint of Pierogi: one says he was invited to a village near Krakow. On that day a violent hailstorm completely destroyed the crops in the local fields. The villagers were grief-stricken, threatened with poverty and famine. Saint Hyacinth told them to pray. On the next day, the ears of grain rose up and the crops were saved. The grateful villagers milled the grain into flour, which they used to make pierogi that were then served to Saint Hyacinth.
The other story is related to the Tatar raid of Krakow in 1241 – it says that Saint Hyacinth fed pierogi to the inhabitants of the plundered city.
Either way it brought about the old-time saying “Święty Jacku z pierogami!” (“Saint Hyacinth and his pierogi!”). Now largely forgotten, but once a widespread Polish exclamation expressing surprise, it was the equivalent of the English phrase “Holy Moly”.
So just like St Hyacinth brought pierogi to Poland, I’m bringing pierogi to the streets of Wellington.