What Is a Knish? | How to Make a Knish

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If you didn't grow up in New York, you lot've probably never had this traditional Jewish dish. What is a knish?

The word knish (pronounced kuh-nish) might non exist in anybody'due south vocabulary, but my female parent has fond memories of this Jewish comfort food. On the weekends, she would go shopping with my grandmother on Jerome Avenue in the Bronx. After shopping for bagels and bialys, they would striking the deli for whitefish. From time to time, my grandmother would also selection upward knish for lunch. Although nearly people describe these white potato-filled dumplings as comfort food, my mother thought of them as a treat.

My father also remembers them fondly, merely he enjoyed them for different reasons. In the winter, he would purchase two knishes and stuff them in his pockets. The hot irish potato filling would radiate rut throughout his coat, keeping him warm until the knish finally cooled down. So, they'd be lunch!

What Is a Knish?

It's a soft, pillowy piece of dough, filled to the skirt with seasoned mashed potatoes. Each piece is traditionally rolled into a round ball and baked, although they can be formed into squares and deep-fried for a crispy exterior.

When I asked my parents about their favorite flavors, my female parent laughed. She only e'er remembers one filled with potatoes, although my male parent supposes there might be all kinds today (afterward all, they put pineapple on pizza, then anything is possible). It turns out he'south right: Some knish contain meat, cheese, kasha (buckwheat groats) or onions, and today'due south chefs are making all kinds of non-traditional knishes like wild mushroom or wasabi and spud with crystallized ginger.

A Brief History of Knishes

According to Laura Silverish, writer of Knish: In Search of the Jewish Soul Food, the knish originally comes from Eastern Europe. Jewish immigrants brought it to the U.s. in the early on 1900s, and the knish made its first appearance on New York's Lower East Side. Wherever Jews moved, knisheries were sure to open up until they peppered the landscape of Brooklyn, the Bronx and Coney Island. Unfortunately, knishes never took off like other types of dumplings, and it's hard to discover them outside New York.

How to Make a Knish

This recipe was inspired by Ida Gardner, who learned information technology from her mother, a caterer in Baltimore known as the "Knish Lady." The dough is relatively easy to pull together, although you could use frozen puff pastry as a shortcut.

Ingredients

DOUGH:

• 2-1/two cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• one/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4 loving cup warm water
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 egg yolk whisked with 1 tablespoon water (for the egg wash)

FILLING:

• 1-i/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• Kosher table salt and pepper, to sense of taste
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• i small xanthous onion, small diced

Yield: This recipe makes near a dozen knishes.

Instructions

Footstep 1: Prepare the dough

Earlier y'all get started, preheat the oven to 400°F. The dough doesn't need to rest, so making the knishes volition happen pretty speedily.

In a large basin, combine the flour, baking pulverisation, salt and carbohydrate. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add together the eggs, oil and warm water. Stir until the dough comes together, and knead it briefly with your easily. Form the dough into a large ball and divide it in one-half. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap to keep information technology from drying out while y'all prepare the filling.

Editor's Tip: To ready knish in accelerate, you tin make the dough and filling 2 to three days alee of time and gather the knish simply before baking.

Step 2: Fix the filling

Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover them with an inch of cold water. Flavour the water with table salt and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and mash them using a food mill or potato ricer.

Meanwhile, heat the canola oil in a skillet over medium-high estrus. Add the onions and cook until they're tender, about 15 minutes. Mix the onions into the mashed potatoes and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Editor's Tip: To make a beefy filling, add a pound of cooked ground beefiness to the mashed potato mixture. You can besides add cheese or cooked vegetables, like steamed broccoli, spinach or mushrooms.

Step iii: Brand the knishes

Grit a work surface with a little flour. Working with one slice of dough at a time, roll the dough out into a large rectangle that's about 10×fifteen inches and i/eight inch thick. Leaving about 1/four inch betwixt the filling and the lesser of the rectangle, place half the mashed potato filling onto the dough and course it into a large log. Pull the bottom edge of the dough over the filling and coil, folding the ends in equally you become. Finish with the scroll's seam at the lesser.

Using your hands, stretch and press the rolled dough so the filling is evenly distributed throughout the log. Cutting the dough into vi pieces. Twist and compression in the sides of each piece to grade a ball. Place the balls on a parchment-lined blistering sheet and brush each knish with the egg wash.

Stride 4: Bake to perfection

Lindsay Mattison for Gustation of Home

Broil the knish for xl to 45 minutes until they're gilded dark-brown, turning the pan halfway through to ensure the knish bake evenly. Let them sit down for at least v minutes earlier serving. The filling volition exist piping hot, so enjoy with intendance!

Editor's Tip: If y'all have leftovers, freeze them in an airtight container.

Similar Dishes from Other Regions

Nigh every food civilisation has dumplings like knish. For starters, at that place are several types of dumplings fabricated from potatoes, like German language Kartoffelknodel or Italian gnocchi. Different knish, these dumplings don't involve dough wrappers, making them more closely related to American chicken and dumplings.

When because stuffed dumplings, the Shine pierogi is probably closest relative to a knish considering of its tater filling. Yous could also expect to Russian pelmeni, which also use thick-skinned dough wrappers, only they're traditionally filled with footing meat and served with sour cream.

Other cultures utilize thin-skinned wrappers, like Italian ravioli, Korean mandu or the many Chinese dumplings served during dim sum service. If y'all're in the mood for a crispier experience, look to Cornish pasties, South American empanadas or triangular-shaped Indian samosas.

Adjacent upwards: Learn how to brand bourekas, Jewish cheese-stuffed pastries.

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