Potato-Roasted Garlic Knish

Knish has found its way into fables, acted as a peace offering and, more generally, provided a good-natured addition to the dictionary. Yet for many years, despite knowing of its wide-ranging qualities, I'd never actually tasted one. All this is to say, I've had a hankering to give the recipe a try for some time, both for the sake of tasting a knish, and also due to the appeal of wrapping a vegetable in pastry dough. These dreams were finally realized this past week, to much success and, delightfully, without snag or slip-up.

Perhaps it's not surprising I hadn't had knish until I made them myself—they don't show up too often on the menu, being what is essentially a ball of mashed potatoes wrapped in a rich, flaky dough. Knish are Jewish in origin, and when I brought a half-dozen to a family dinner, the reactions they received were akin to greetings toward an old, somewhat forgotten friend. One of the most pleasing moments was provided by the great-grandchild, a darling of discriminating palate: when asked whether they tasted good, she promptly announced, 'Yeah.'

The recipe requires minor preparations, mostly to accommodate its schedule, not any finicky steps. The potatoes boil cheerily while the onions caramelize, asking for a few minutes of welcome time by the warm stove. The dough wants for some chilling time: I made it the previous night, removing the wodge of pastry from the fridge while I prepped the filling. It rolled out and wrapped up the log of potatoes willingly and without hassle. I added some roasted garlic to the potatoes and caramelized onions, barely incorporating the cloves into the mash to create pops of that mellow creaminess I love.

 

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen's Potato KnishPotato-Roasted Garlic KnishIngredients for dough:
2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 TBSP vinegar (I used apple cider)
1/2 cup waterIngredients for filling:
3 russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 TBSP vegetable oil
5 cloves roasted garlic (to roast, cook unpeeled cloves in a 400 degree F oven for 40 minutes or until very soft and deep brown)
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:--Make dough. Mix together flours, soda and salt. In a measuring cup or small bowl, combine egg, oil, vinegar and water. Add wet mixture to dry, and stir until a dough begins to form. Knead with your hands until dough is smooth and forms one cohesive mass. Refrigerate two hours or overnight.--Prepare filling. If dough was refrigerated overnight, remove to let come to room temperature while you make the filling. Add potatoes to a pot of cold water. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are fork-tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and let sit until the onions have cooked. --In a medium saucepan, heat oil on medium heat. Add onions and cook for half an hour, stirring occasionally, until onions are browned. Remove from heat and add potatoes and garlic. Mash to an even consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.--Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Divide dough into two pieces. Roll out one into a rectangle, approximately 6 by 12 inches. Spoon half of the potato filling in an even row down the long end of the dough. Roll up the dough and pat into an even log shape. Pinch the ends together to enclose filling.  Gently squeeze the log at three even intervals to create four sections, taking care not to tear the dough. Separate the sections by pinching dough apart. Carefully fold, stretch or pinch the dough over the newly-cut ends, so that the potato filling is completely covered by the pastry. Repeat with the second half of the dough and the rest of the filling.--Place knish cut side down on an ungreased baking sheet; they won't spread, but you don't want them to touch. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until tops are golden brown. Let cool a few minutes before eating. I had mine with mustard, but ketchup, cheese—any topping you might put on a baked potato, really, would be very good.