Pierogies where the hoagie roll should be

Name: Pierogies where the hoagie roll should be
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Polish, Italian
Ingredients: 14 oz potato and cheese pierogies, frozen is correct; 8 oz hot Italian sausage, casings off; 1 bell pepper, quartered and thinly sliced; 1 yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced; 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced; 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar; 3 tbsp romesco, loosened with a splash of water; ¼ cup grated pecorino romano; parsley, roughly chopped, stems and all; olive oil, salt, pepper

Sausage and peppers want something crisp underneath. A roll goes soft under them and these do not.

At a Glance

Time

30 min

Serves

Story

A frozen pierogi will not crisp and cook through in the same breath, which is why oil-first gives you a browned shell around a cold middle. Fry, steam, fry. A splash of water under a lid cooks it through, and only once that water is gone does the fat get its turn. The potsticker does the same thing for the same reason.

Ingredients

14 oz potato and cheese pierogiesfrozen is correct
8 oz hot Italian sausagecasings off
1 bell pepperquartered and thinly sliced
1 yellow onionhalved and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlicthinly sliced
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp romescoloosened with a splash of water
¼ cup grated pecorino romano
parsleyroughly chopped, stems and all
olive oilsalt, pepper

Method

The sausage hoagie is a fine sandwich betrayed by its own architecture. Four minutes in and the roll has drunk everything and gone to pulp. So take the roll out entirely, put the filling on something that browns instead, and let the romesco do what the inside of the bread was meant to.

Set a heavy skillet over medium-high with a slick of olive oil. Lay the pierogies flat in a single layer, no touching, and add 2 tablespoons of water. Cover at once and steam 5 minutes.
Take the lid off and let the last of the water go. Add another glug of oil and fry undisturbed, 3 to 4 minutes a side, until they are deep gold and crisp right to the edge. Move them to a plate. Do not stack them.
Same pan, no wiping. Sausage in, broken into rough pieces, and left alone until one side is dark, about 4 minutes. Crumble it and finish cooking.
Peppers and onions into the sausage fat with a good pinch of salt. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, until slack and taking color at the edges. Garlic in for the last minute, then the balsamic, scraping everything up off the bottom.
Swipe the loosened romesco across a warm plate. Pierogies over it, sausage and peppers over them, pecorino and parsley on top. Eat it with a fork, which is the one dignity the hoagie never allowed you.