Not going to judge, but never heard of this dish which has shocked Wimbledon.
This Polish childhood staple of creamy strawberry sauce over pasta is a fast, fuss-free way to make the most of peak summer berries. For Polish tennis star Iga Świątek, the dish is her go-to. “I ate it as a kid,” she recalls. Poles are no strangers to the marriage of sweet fruit and starch: In addition to fruit-filled pierogi, there is zupa owocowa, a thickened fruit soup. While there are many family recipes for this nostalgic pasta, this one is one of the simplest: Sliced strawberries macerate in sugar while the pasta boils, before getting mashed with yogurt or sour cream. A short spiral-shaped pasta is ideal for holding onto the tangy, surprisingly refreshing strawberry sauce.
INGREDIENTS
Yield:4 servings
- 16 ounces strawberries
- ¼ cup sugar
- Salt
- 12 ounces fusilli, rotini or any other short pasta (about 4 cups)
- 1 cup plain whole yogurt or full-fat sour cream
Never heard of it, but it sounds delicious. Kugel, for example, can be done savory or sweet and I love both types.
What are those little Russian pasta turnovers with cherries? They’re yummy.
I’m going to magically summon a couple of posters who may be familiar with this: @pulykamell and @purplehorseshoe (iirc).
Piroshki. (Maybe msp)
(Yeah, I looked it is a “Z”)
Thanks! They’re like pirozhki (which I’ve actually made in the distant past – only the pastry kind, not pasta).
I looked it up and the pasta ones are called vareniki. The word’s familiar so it was probably lodged deep deep deep in my memory.
I think that the Ukrainian word “vareniki” means the same thing as the Polish word “pierogi”, both typically being savory. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian word that’s similar to “pierogi” is usually sweet.
There are a variety of related dishes, some savory and some sweet, that are found in all of the Slavic cultures, and a variety of words, or close cognates, to describe those dishes, but which word goes with which dish seems to vary randomly from one culture to another.
But yeah, to the OP, pasta is, by itself, a pretty neutral flavor, and could be used as a base for pretty much any sort of dish, main, side, or dessert.
When I googled, it said it was pierogi in Ukrainian.
I believe the Italians used pasta in dessert dishes.
You could put some strawberry stuff and sour cream on “syrniki”; perhaps you are thinking of those.
Thanks, but no. After I googled, I knew it was vareniki. Those syrniki look like fat blinis.
Polish pierogi are also commonly sweet. Sure, savory is more the default assumption, but I grew up with both savory and sweet types. The delis here in Chicago sell both, too. I’ve never had the dish in the OP though. Not in my mom’s repertoire. Strawberry pierogi with sweetened sour cream is the closest I’ve come.