Need to make Knishes in Volume.

[Comfort Me]

I chair a program at my synagogue where once a month a group gets together, cooks a meal which we eat communally, thenanother meal which is packaged for distribution to members of the congregation who are elderly, homebound, experiencing illness in the family, the recently bereaved, etc.

Next week we get together, and I would like to make potatoe or kasha knishes. (The large ones, like from the knish carts, not the cocktail ones.) No one I know has a recipe! We all seem to have some variation on what everyone swears is the Yonnah Shimmel recipe for cocktail knishes.

Does anyone have a recipe that doubles or triples? (I need to make about 60 big knishes.)

Thank you all in advance for your consideration and assitance. G-d bless eGullet!

[Gifted Gourmet]

knish recipe

The very last line of this recipe says one can make either small or medium size knishes. Does that help?

This particular recipe, from the Forward, also indicates that one can adjust the size.

Edited June 4, 2004 by Gifted Gourmet (log)

[Comfort Me]

knish recipe

The very last line of this recipe says one can make either small or medium size knishes. Does that help?

This particular recipe, from the Forward, also indicates that one can adjust the size.

Gifted:

The first recipe is the most interesting to me, as it makes individual pieces. I never thought of cooking them in muffin tins.

But think back to the last time you took a tourist to Rockefeller Center and you bought a knish from one of those disinterested men selling from the carts. They were individual round pillows of pastry dough -- about the size of a man's fist -- encasing a rich and onion-y potato filling.

Maybe I'm wrong in thinking they were shaped individually -- maybe they were formed in a log and cut. Would that really seal the dough? DOes the dough really contain no leavening? Am I crazy for attempting this?

I guess I could make the cocktail knishes, only larger. Instead of rolls 8" wide, I could do 4" rolls and pinch off the ends. But I'd really like to reproduce the knishes of my youth!

I welcome any and all discussion! And if I don't check back before shabbas, Shabbat Shalom, y'all! I'll see you Saturday night or Sunday morning!

[Gifted Gourmet]

They were individual round pillows of pastry dough -- about the size of a man's fist --  encasing a rich and onion-y potato filling.

Once described by a friend who was dieting at the time: a little bit of heaven wrapped in dough .. audible sigh ... to me it is carbs wrapped in supercarbs ...

But I'd really like to reproduce the knishes of my youth!

So would we all! Hope this works out as all you have hoped for .. keep us up to date, please!!

[docsconz]

I too love a good knish - true comfort food, but the knishes I most associate with growing up in NYC are Gabila's knishes, which are square. These are the ones served by most of the pushcarts in my recollection, although they are not necessarily the best. I like taking these knishes to make a "knishwich" by slicing them in half, spreading some mustard and good roastbeef and heating it up.

Mrs. Stahl's in Brighton Beach make some pretty good knishes too.

I'm looking forward to reading about your experience making them.

[Swisskaese]

Here is a whole list of Knishes

[docsconz]

Cool site.

[reesek]

i do love a good knish.

aiden, the site swisskasse linked to is wonderful - in particular "knishes1" which uses schmaltz instead of oleo and makes 8 hearty ones...i hope you have a hobart!

[Gifted Gourmet]

Cool site.

Jewish-food.org has some amazing variations on every possible recipe!

[bloviatrix]

Mrs. Stahl's in Brighton Beach make some pretty good knishes too.

That place has awsome knishes. I haven't been there in years.

Comfort Me, there are two types of knishes available: baked and fried. The fried are flat square pillows. The baked tend to be more like squat oval cylinders. The later is type I tried the one time I'm experimented. I used a recipe from Gil Marks. If you're interested, I'll PM you copy.

[Swisskaese]

I have found some very interesting recipes on Jewish-Food.org

I put my family's matzah ball recipe on this site.

[howard88]

Great topic and what memories.

After getting paid for my paper route delivering (at the time Newark Star Ledger), my friend Schwartz and I would walk to Cohen's Knishes on Hawthorne Avenue in Newark.

There we would spend our weeks payroll (we were eleven years old) on knishes, and hot dogs.

The knishes were round and filled with delicious potato with tastes of pepper, onion and chicken fat.

As an aside and a dish we ordered frequently was a potato dog which was a hot dog stuffed in the potato filling and can't remeber if it was fried or baked.

While I have not attempted to duplicate the knish, I have attempted the filling.

Using left over mashed potatos, I mix in finely diced white onion and reconstituted dry onion. I saute the white onion until translucent and mix with the reconstitued onion. Lots of black pepper and a good amount of chicken fat.

This comes real close to one of the best childhood eating memories I have.

[Comfort Me]

Well, last night was the Knish-a-thon, and it went splendidly! I used the recipe suggested by Bloviatrix (Snaps for Andrea!!!), and couldn't have been happier. The filling was so good, I could have eaten a bowl full -- I mean, what could be bad? It's potatoes, onions, schmaltz, salt and pepper -- I also added garlic. Yum! I made the filling at home Tuesday night, which cut down on the amount of work Wednesday.

The dough was unusual -- It was oil, water, salt and flour. Hard to describe -- it had a, well, sexy feel to it. I wasn't the only person who thought it was sensual. All sof and oily and pliable. It was the easiest thing in the world to roll out, and when baked, it was crispy AND tender! And tasty, too!

And while everyone I talked to described them as time consuming, 4 of us filled and shaped 80 knishes in around 20 minutes -- that includes rolling out the dough. Everyone involved agreed that they had never made them because they had heard how difficult they were -- we decided that was just an invention by someone's Grandma Etta to get attention!

I have to remember the digital camera the next time we do one of these -- we all have so much fun!

Again, thank you all for your encouragement, research, memories! You all are why I love eGullet!

Here is Gil Marks' recipe as related by our beloved Bloviatrix:

Potato Knishes

Oil Pastry

1/2 c plus 2 tbls vegetable oil

1/2 c plus 2 tbls lukewarm water

1 tsp salt

About 2 1/2 c all-purpose flour

Combine oil, water and salt in large bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups of flour. Gradually stir in enough ot the remaining 1 cup flour to make a soft dough that comes away from the sides of the bowl

Form into ball, flatten slightly, cover with plastic wrap and rest at room temp for about 30 minutes. Don't refrigerate.

Potato Filling

1 lb potatoes (about 3 med) (I used russets)

3 tbls schmaltz or other fat

1 cup yellow onions, chopped (about 2 medium) (A little bit more won't hurt!)

1 large egg, lightly beaten

About 2 tsp salt

About 3/4 tsp ground black pepper

Place unpealed potatoes in large pot. Add water and cover. Boil until fork-tender, about 25 minutes. While still warm, peel and mash.

Heat fat in large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and saute until golden brown, about 15 miniutes. Remove from heat and stir in the poatoes, then the egg, salt and pepper. (This is where I added some garlic.) Let cool.

Assembly of knishes

Make egg wash (1 large egg beaten with 1 tsp water)

Preheat over to 375, lightly grease a large baking sheet

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick. For large knishes, cut into 5 X 4 rectangles, for small cut into 3 inch squares or rounds.

Place about 1/4 cup of filling in the center of the large knishes, or about 1 tbls in the small knishes. Bring the edges together in the center, pinching to seal.

Place the knishes seam side down on the prepared baking sheet and brush with the egg wash. Bake until lightly browned, about 30 mintes. Serve warm or at room temp. (once cooled these can be frozen. to reheat, cover loosely with foil and bake at 375 oven for 15 minutes)

[maggie Poppins]

Comfort Me -- how many knishes will you get out of the recipe you provided?

Thanks, Maggie

[Comfort Me]

Comfort Me -- how many knishes will you get out of the recipe you provided?

Thanks, Maggie

Good question. 8 big ones. More little ones!

[maggie Poppins]

Great! Thanks, I'll play with them on Friday. Haven't a knish in ages.

[bloviatrix]

Yeah!!!! I'm so glad you liked them.

[Comfort Me]

Yeah!!!! I'm so glad you liked them.

Like them? I loved them! And so did everyone who ate them. I have an order for 500 minis for a bar mitzvah!

[bloviatrix]

Yeah!!!!  I'm so glad you liked them.

Like them? I loved them! And so did everyone who ate them. I have an order for 500 minis for a bar mitzvah!

Hmmm, am I sensing a possible career change?

[Comfort Me]

Yeah!!!!  I'm so glad you liked them.

Like them? I loved them! And so did everyone who ate them. I have an order for 500 minis for a bar mitzvah!

Hmmm, am I sensing a possible career change?

Well, I always call it my second job. I really love catering, and, since it is my second job, I take only the jobs I want to do and pass on the rest. That way I make sure it is always fun. I have at least two events a month through June 2005, and June 2005 is completely booked! (I even had to turn down a bat mitzvah because it was the same weekend as a wedding!)

So -- do you think I could do a mock-liver filling for knishes?

[bloviatrix]

Why not? There are also the kasha knishes. One of my favorites, which you can only find at Mrs. Stahl's is the potato mushroom -- how about trying that? I've aslo seen knishes stuffed with more of a sweet filling. Think like a blintz (cherry-cheese) but more dense. Maybe add some sugar to the dough and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar?

Mmm mmm good.

[slowday]

Place unpealed potatoes in large pot. Add water and cover. Boil until fork-tender, about 25 minutes. While still warm, peel and mash.

I remember doing this as a kid making knishes with my mother and how we used to peel them while impaling them on a fork. But what's the advantage of boiling the potatoes in their skins before peeling and mashing, instead of just peeling them, boiling them and then mashing?

Also. I'm not living in the chicken fat belt anymore, and not sure I'd want to render the fat to make a handful of knishes. What fat would you use to replace the chicken fat, not that anything else would come close.

[Jason Perlow]

I for one, am a fan of the kasha knish. In particular, I really like the ones that are a mix of kasha and potato.

Most kasha knishes I find these days are dry, because they use only kasha. I've had good 100 percent kasha knishes mind you, but I find that the kasha/potato mix (with the kasha cooked in chicken broth and chicken fat mixed into the mixture) with sauteed onions in it is really the best type there is. The Carnegie in NYC and Yonah Shimmel I think makes the best examples of this type.

[Toliver]

I remember doing this as a kid making knishes with my mother and how we used to peel them while impaling them on a fork. But what's the advantage of boiling the potatoes in their skins before peeling and mashing, instead of just peeling them, boiling them and then mashing?

One reason could be that unpeeled potatoes won't absorb as much moisture as peeled potatoes do.

[alacarte]

How did the peeling of "warm" potatoes go?

I always seem to end up with HOT HOT HOT potatoes which scald my fingers when I try to peel them after cooking.