It's June! That means it's officially strawberry season! It also means we have to enjoy it to the fullest by enjoying as many strawberries and strawberry dishes while the fruit are at their best. To kick off the season I'm sharing my recipe for Polish strawberry pierogi (a classic & popular dish of this season in Poland). I've added my own touch to them with a rhubarb & strawberry yogurt sauce as a topping. Hope you enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:
--For the dough--
- 3 cups of FLOUR
- 0.5 cup of BUTTER
- 1.5 tspn. SALT
- 1 cup HOT WATER (just under boiling water)

--For the filling--
- 2lbs. FRESH STRAWBERRIES

--For the topping--
- 2 cups PLAIN GREEK YOGURT
- 5 tbspn. SUGAR
- 2 sticks RHUBARB

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Rinse the strawberries. Cut the stems and cut each strawberry in half. For strawberries that are larger in size cut them into several, quarter pieces to make them small enough to fit inside the pierogi.

2. Prepare the dough in a mixer: toss in the flour and mix to aerate it (about 30 seconds to a minute should do). Next, add in the salt and butter and mix on high speed for about 1-2 minutes. Finally, pour in the hot water (make sure it's just under boiling temperature) and mix on high speed for another 1-2 minutes.

*The hot water is the magic ingredient! It makes the dough elastic, non-sticky and easy to work with. You will not need any additional flour when rolling out the dough on your board later on! It's a mess-free process for making pierogi!
**While mixing the dough, add in a bit of additional flour, water and/or butter as needed until the dough fully comes off the sides of the bowl and your hands when you pick it up.

3. Roll the dough into a ball with your hands (again, it should be non-sticky and should easily come off your hands) and then place on a cutting board and cover with a kitchen cloth to cool down. Dough must be fully cool before making the pierogi.

4. Set a large pot of water to boil (lightly salt it)

5. Once dough has cooled, cut off a smaller section (about 2 inches wide) and roll it out.

6. Use a kitchen cutter or the open end of a glass cup (about 3.5 in. in diameter) to cut round circles in the dough.

7. Take each dough round and stretch out delicately in your hands. Then, place 1-2 strawberry halves in the middle. Finally fold the round in half and pinch around the edges to form a dumpling! Continue this process until you've used up all your dough.

8. Boil the pierogi by placing them in the pot of boiling water about 10 at a time. Let them boil for about 5 minutes. The dumplings will rise to the top of the water once they're fully ready. You can remove them from the pot at that point.

9. Strain the pierogi from the pot and place them in a serving dish. Melt a bit of butter and pour over the pierogi in the dish to ensure that they don't stick to each other.

10. Prepare the rhubarb & strawberry yogurt sauce: Peel and dice the rhubarb. Next, toss it in a blender and blend until smooth. Then, add in the greek yogurt, sugar and a few remaining strawberries (5-6) for extra sweetness. Blend until the topping achieves a creamy consistency.

11. Plate the pierogi and top with a scoop of the rhubarb yogurt sauce!

Smacznego! (Enjoy)

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