Potato knishes are one of those quintessential New York Jewish foods that are hard not to love. And somehow the square, pre-made $1 knishes from street carts are just as delicious as the more carefully prepared homemade kind that are round and stuffed with potato, kasha, spinach and other delights. Or maybe that’s just me.
If you’ve never made knishes from scratch, you are actually just a handful of ingredients and a few steps away from making your own delicious version. Watch our short video above to learn how, and then get creative with your fillings!
Note: This recipe can easily be doubled.
Potato Knishes
Learn how to make classic potato knishes and open up a world of possibilities to get creative!
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
- Yield: 6-8
Ingredients
For the dough:
- ½ cup cold seltzer or water
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 Tbsp olive oil (can also use vegetable oil)
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
For the filling:
- 1 Idaho potato, peeled and chopped
- 1 small onion, diced
- salt and pepper
- 1–2 Tbsp olive oil or schmaltz
- 1 egg, beaten for glazing
Instructions
- To make the dough: Combine cold seltzer, apple cider vinegar and salt in a small bowl.
- Place flour and baking powder in a food processor and add seltzer mixture. While pulsing, drizzle olive oil until mixture starts to come together.
- Remove mixture from food processor and place on a lightly floured surface. Knead using the palm of your hands until dough becomes smooth and elastic, about 3 minutes.
- Wrap in plastic and let rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
- To make the filling: Peel and cut 1 Idaho potato into large chunks around the same size. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook potatoes for 7-10 minutes, or until fork tender. Drain and allow to cool slightly. When potatoes have cooled a few minutes, mash.
- Finely chop one small onion. Heat a few Tbsp olive oil or schmaltz in a pan. Saute onions until translucent, about 5-8 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Combine onions and mashed potatoes and 1 Tbsp olive oil. Add pinch more salt if desired (remember – potatoes need a lot of seasoning).
- To assemble: Preheat oven to 375°F.
- After dough has rested, roll out dough very thin (as thin as you can get) on a lightly floured surface. This is definitely the trickiest part as the dough wants to bounce back so keep at it. Using a large cookie cutter or cake round (4-7 inches ideal) cut out rounds. Depending on the size, fill generously with potato-onion mixture.
- Fold up sides on top of dough and pinch tightly. Beat 1 egg and brush all over each knish.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until just golden.
- Serve with mustard or other favorite dipping sauce.
Notes
This recipe can easily be doubled.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes + 1 hour resting time
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Ashkenazi
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