Even if you never had a potato knish before……..you will forking love them….. if you enjoy potatoes. My husband had his first potato knish at a restaurant we went to a little over a year ago and enjoyed it. With both of us growing up on the East Coast it’s hard to believe he lived his whole life never trying a knish. All the grocery stores I shopped at when I lived on the east coast all sold the knish in the deli department.

The knish is an eastern european savory hand pie. The most common filling is mashed potato. Other popular varieties include kasha (buck wheat groats), liver, and rice.

That restaurant where we tried the potato knish closed and most of the few places we tried knishes afterwards  weren’t as tasty or even good. I had some extra potatoes and some chicken fat in my freezer so I thought I’d make potato knishes. I accidentally created another masterpiece! This recipe is FORKING GOOD! Far better than any knish I ever had before….

I note in none of the grocery stores I shopped at in Phoenix carry  knishes in the deli department. I wrote before about many of the different foods sold in east coast supermarkets compared to Phoenix area supermarkets. The deli department in Phoenix grocery stores also do not carry Italian nougat, store made fruit leather, health salad, real pastrami and also aren’t equipped with bread slicers for slicing bakery quality breads. I could forking go on and on…..

Now back to the knish.

My twist is a very tasty tender but firm crust and I season the potatoes when I cook them.

This recipe makes about 20 mini potato knishes about 10 servings.

You will have about a cup of extra potato filling that you can use with the seasoned potato water for soup or just eat with dinner.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup flour plus another Tablespoon or two for rolling the dough

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup schmaltz

1 XL egg beaten

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

2 Tablespoons cold water

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups sweet onions chopped fine

3 Tablespoons schmaltz

2 lbs russet potatoes

1/2 onion skin removed

1 elephant garlic clove pealed

Tablespoon (heaping) kosher salt

fresh ground sea salt to taste

fresh ground black pepper to taste

a few pinches of ground white pepper to taste

nonstick spray for pan

1 XL beaten yolk with a shelfful of water as egg wash

Directions heat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl add your flour, baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add beaten egg, schmaltz, vinegar, 2 Tablespoons water, mix well roll into a ball cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

In a small fry pan fry up your onions with three Tablespoons schmaltz on medium turning down to slow heat till tender. Season with salt, black pepper and a pinch of white pepper to taste.

Cook pealed potatoes and depending on size cut in half or thirds and boil with salt, banana pepper, garlic and onion till fork tender. (about 15 minutes)

When done THROW OUT the onion banana pepper and garlic because all their flavor went into the water and potato. (optional keep the flavored water because it’s great to make soup with or add to a bread recipe)

Hand mash the potatoes and add the onion mixture. Taste and add fresh ground sea salt, fresh ground black pepper and some ground white pepper to taste.

Get your dough and a rolling pin and a mat for rolling dough. Pinch off about a teaspoon of dough and roll it as flat as you can with a slight dap of flour. (p.s. I used only that much flour for the whole recipe) It doesn’t have to be perfect and none of the dough I rolled out was in a perfect shape. It just comes out great anyway.

Use a meatball scoop  to scoop out potato mixture

Pull up ends of dough over the potato and set them on baking pans sprayed with non-stick spray until done.

Now wash them with the egg wash.

Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Serve with home made spicy brown mustard. That recipe with be published shortly.

I think these are the best forking potato knishes I ever had. The crust is delicious and is so thin but sturdy and the potatoes are really awesome. This recipe is better than restaurant quality……not sure if I should have given it out……..