12628 Joy's Potato Knishes Makes 30 to 40 little knishes Wed Aug 06 07:38:33 -0700 2008 Tue Feb 03 03:37:09 -0800 2009 Licensed http://www.chow.com/recipes/12628 Tue, 03 Feb 2009 11:37:09 GMT Joy Kaplan, a friend from Minneapolis, Minnesota, hooked us on these enticing little pies. The puff pastry is feather-light, and the filling of mashed potatoes with caramelized onions is heavenly. Knish (the k is pronounced) is a Yiddish word for “cake,” but these tasty little appetizers are actually comforting, buttery, pastry-encased mashed potatoes. New York is famous for its knishes, especially those from the old Jewish delicatessens that line Houston on the Lower East Side. Knishes range in size—ours are bite-sized, whereas the larger versions in New York are as big as hamburger patties. Knishes take some patience to assemble, but they freeze beautifully and are wonderful baked to order. They are an addictive homemade snack or appetizer. We use frozen puff pastry because making puff pastry is fairly complicated and there's excellent frozen sheet puff pastry available. Read the ingredient list and choose a brand with very few additives, such as Pepperidge Farm. We use Dufour, a local brand in New York.

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  • Move frozen puff pastry to the refrigerator to thaw for 30 minutes while you prepare the remaining ingedients.
  • In a medium skillet over low heat, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter and add the onion. Slowly caramelize the onions for 30 minutes, until they are browned and soft.
  • Meanwhile, clean and peel the potatoes and put them in a medium pot. Cover the potatoes with cold salted water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until a fork pierces the potatoes easily. Drain the potatoes in a colander and let them dry completely.
  • Mash the potatoes with a handheld masher or electric mixer, combining them with the remaining 4 tablespoons butter, the cream, and salt and pepper to taste. (Don't use a food mill or processor, or the starch will break and result in a gluey, unpleasant texture.) Stir the onions into the mashed potatoes. The potatoes should be stiff in consistency, and much drier than the mashed potatoes you'd make for dinner. Set them aside to cool.
  • Prepare a small bowl of water and a clean, dry rolling surface. Take the pastry sheets from the refrigerator 1 at a time. If the pastry warms up too much, it will get sticky and hard to work with; if this happens, pause to chill it, then resume. Use a minimum of flour on the rolling surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out the pastry into a long, narrow rectangle about 6×24 inches, finishing with the dough about ⅛ inch thick. Lift and turn the dough intermittently to prevent sticking.
    1. Align a long edge of the dough parallel with the edge of the counter. Spoon a long stripe of the mashed potato mixture (about ¾ to 1 inch in diameter) lengthwise along the center of the rectangle, with a wide margin on all sides. (Do not overfill, or the knishes won't seal up properly.) Curl the front edge of the dough up over the potatoes and snug up this edge of dough almost under the potatoes.
    2. Fold in both ends of the dough and snug the folds up to the potatoes. Wet the lip of the remaining long edge with water and roll the dough-encased potatoes over it until the edge seals, and you have what looks like a very long egg roll about 1 inch in diameter.
    1. Position your hand as if you plan to karate chop the knish log. Gently, using a slow sawing motion with the edge of your hand, divide the log into inch-wide knishes, one at a time. (You may be wondering: Why not cut it with a knife? The sawing motion with your hand simultaneously stretches the dough, moves the potato filling out of the way, and seals it.)
    2. Take up each one as the knish breaks free and pinch the loose ends together if needed. Take the sealed, puckered ends of each knish and press them lightly with your thumb, “dimpling” the knish to seal it.
    1. Place the formed knishes on a parchment-lined baking sheet in the freezer for at least 20 minutes. Clean the counter with a dough scraper and repeat the process with the next rectangle of puff pastry. The technique gets easier as you repeat it. When the knishes are frozen through, they can be stored in a freezer bag until needed, for up to 2 weeks.
    1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
    2. Bake frozen knishes on a baking sheet for 20 to 30 minutes, until golden brown.
    3. Serve warm with spicy mustard. Store covered in the refrigerator. Reheat completely, uncovered, in a 350°F oven.
    ]]>     http://www.chow.com Ron Silver and Jen Bervin 50 Main 2 large sheets (17-ounce package) puff pastry, chilled

    ]]>     8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided

    ]]>     1 large yellow onion, diced

    ]]>     1½ pounds boiling potatoes

    ]]>     1 tablespoon heavy cream

    ]]>     Salt

    ]]>     Freshly ground black pepper

    ]]>     All-purpose flour, as needed

    ]]>     Spicy mustard for dipping

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