Culinary Cannabis

Perogies and Pot Soup Story.docx

Perogies and Pot Soup Story

Hello Everyone!

Thanks for stopping by today to talk about Perogies and Pot Soup.  My Polish-American (first generation) mom often made homemade perogies, or as I called them “P’doogies”… despite my best efforts, I couldn’t get the name right to save my life.  I think my mom was more willing to make them because she found it so hilarious that I mangled the name.    

Making perogies is not a process for the faint of heart; it  takes about 4 hours from starting the recipe to eating the perogies and involves making the dough,  cutting the dough rounds, filling then crimping the rounds and both boiling and frying the perogies.  Make your life easier and get the frozen version – especially if you can find the mini version – they’re just so stinking cute!  

Perogies are eastern Europe’s answer to Italian raviolis, Chinese potstickers or even Hispanic tamales…Basically a dough of some kind encasing a filling of some kind.  As a child, the only kind of perogies we made were stuffed with ricotta cheese and onion held together with an egg.  Sour kraut, potatoes and spiced ground spiced meats are also popular fillings. I found 5 different filling options in the frozen isle of my local mega mart.  

After the marathon of making the perogies, which was definitely a whole family project, we would gorge on mostly perogies, with a simple grilled protein.  Until recently, I had never thought to do anything with the perogies other than eat them.  I never considered them as an ingredient in a ‘bigger’ dish, such as this soup.  If you haven’t spent half a day making the perogies themselves, you can unleash your creativity by using the (frozen) perogies in other dishes.  

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Perogies and Pot Soup Recipe

1 lb skinless, boneless, diced chicken  

18 oz pkg frozen cheese perogies (minis if you can find them)

4 slices thick cut bacon, sliced cross-wise into lardons

2 onions, one diced, one thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, pasted

1 T finely minced rosemary

2 t thyme leaves

2 t dried Italian seasoning

2 T infused oil

2 T infused butter

2 c sliced carrots

1 c  diced celery

1 c shredded savoy cabbage

5 c chicken broth

8 oz grated, sharp cheddar cheese, divided

1 c infused cream

½ c sour cream

In large dutch oven, cook bacon lardons until crispy, over medium heat.  Remove bacon from pan with slotted spoon, leaving drippings behind.  Drain bacon on paper towel lined plate and set aside for garnishing the soup.

Add carrots, diced onion, celery, garlic, thyme, rosemary and Italian seasonings.  Sauté vegetables and herbs over medium-low heat until softened.  You do not want to brown the vegetables, but just soften, about 7 minutes.  

Move vegetables to sides of pan, creating a space in the center of the pan.  Add the infused oil and cubed chicken, cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add chicken broth and bring to a bare simmer and cook for approximately 5 minutes.  

Add cabbage and perogies to soup and cook until perogies are cooked, about 3 minutes.  Add cream and 4 ounces of cheddar cheese.  Heat through and serve with the remining cheddar cheese, sour cream, bacon and the sautéed sliced onion (see next step)

While soup finishes cooking, over medium low heat, in a medium sized skillet, sauté sliced onion in 2 teaspoons of infused butter until tender.  

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As with all cannabis infused food start with a small serving till you learn your tolerance level. Keep out of reach of children and pets

Culinarily Yours in Cannabis,

Mary Ann