Knish Recipe

Name: Knish
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 1 h 50 min
Yield: 12 servings
Cuisine: Jewish
Ingredients: 300 g plain flour; 1 tsp baking powder; ½ tsp salt; 1 egg; 4 tbsp vegetable oil; 100 ml warm water; 800 g potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks; 3 tbsp vegetable oil; 3 onions, about 450 g, finely chopped; 1 egg; 1 ½ tsp salt; 1 tsp ground black pepper; 1 egg, beaten, for brushing

Knish

Baked pastry parcels filled with mashed potato and caramelised onion, a New York deli classic of Eastern European Jewish origin.

1 hr 20 min prep and cooking plus 30 min resting 1 hr 50 min start to finish Serves 12 servings Medium

Why This Is Worth Making

In New York, they are sold hot from a steamer at the corner, squarish and golden, split open and spread with mustard. At home, a baked knish is a plain thing, a soft pastry shell round a mound of mashed potato, with onions cooked until sweet and brown. It is heavy and comforting, and one is a meal.

The dough is oil-based, made without butter: flour, baking powder, oil, egg and water. It should be soft and slightly sticky. Rest it for 30 minutes, then roll it out very thin, to a rectangle about 30 by 40 cm. Thin dough is the key. Roll it until you can see the board through it. It folds around the filling and bakes crisp.

The filling is potato, boiled and mashed, mixed with onions caramelised for 25 minutes in oil, an egg, salt and a lot of black pepper. It should be thick and dry, not creamy. Wet filling makes the dough tear.

Spread the filling along one long edge, roll up the dough, cut into 12 sections, and pinch the ends closed. Stand each upright, brush with egg and bake at 190°C / 375°F for 35 minutes, until deep gold.

What Goes With It

Spicy brown mustard
Pickles
Soup
Salad

How to Cook Knish

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Mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the egg, oil and water and knead to a soft dough. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
While the dough rests, boil the potatoes for 20 minutes until soft. Drain, mash and cool.
Meanwhile, cook the onions in the oil over a medium heat for 25 minutes until deep brown. Mix into the potatoes with the egg, salt and pepper.
Heat the oven to 190°C / 375°F (170°C / 340°F fan). Roll the dough very thin into a rectangle about 30 by 40 cm. Spread the filling in a line along one long edge, roll up, and cut into 12 pieces. Pinch the ends closed.
Stand the knishes upright on a lined tray, brush with the beaten egg and bake for 35 minutes until deep golden.

A Few Notes

Roll the dough thin.

Make the filling quite dry.

Serve with spicy mustard.

Storing and Reheating

Keeps in the fridge for 3 days or freezes for up to 2 months. Reheat in a hot oven.

Knish: Your Questions Answered

How long does Knish take to make?

45 minutes of preparation and 35 minutes of cooking, plus 30 minutes of resting, so allow 1 hour 50 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 12.

What's in a Serving

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.

254Calories

6gProtein

35gCarbs

10gFat

3gFibre

2gSugar

450mgSodium

Vegetarian Dairy-Free No Added Sugar

Knish

What Goes With It

How to Cook Knish

A Few Notes

Storing and Reheating

Knish: Your Questions Answered

What's in a Serving

Your notes on this recipe

Cooked this? Keep a note for next time

What Goes With It

How to Cook Knish

A Few Notes

Storing and Reheating

Knish: Your Questions Answered

What's in a Serving

Your notes on this recipe

Cooked this? Keep a note for next time

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