We love a regular potato knish, but there is something even more nostalgic and comforting about this knish filled with kasha, potato and caramelized onions.
Take yourself back to a Shtetl in Central and Eastern Europe before the Holocaust. There in the small kitchen, you would find a bubbe kneading the dough and cooking the ‘kasha’ (also known as buckwheat) to make this staple food. The smell of this cooking would get the whole family excited.
Kasha Knishes
The authentic dish straight out of the Shtetl
Servings
8 Servings
Ingredients
Dough
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Vinegar
- ½ cup Water
- 1 Egg
- 3 cups Flour
- 1 tablespoon Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Kasha Filling
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- ½ cup kasha also known as Buckwheat
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup water
- 1 1/2 cups mashed potatoes from about 2 medium potatoes
- 1 egg for egg-wash
Instructions
- Add all the wet ingredients to a bowl and mix well.
- In a separate bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together. Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients until well combined and a dough forms.
- Knead dough well for 5-10 minutes. Put the dough in an oiled bowl and cover. Fridge the dough for one hour.
Kasha Filling
- In a pan, add 1 tablespoon Olive Oil and the diced onion. Fry on med-low heat for 45 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.
- Remove the onion and add 1 tablespoon Olive Oil. Add the Kasha (Buckwheat), salt and pepper. Stir well.
- Add 1 cup of water, bring to a boil and cover. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- In a bowl combine the kasha, onions and mashed potatoes. Stir well.
- Roll out the dough into a large rectangle. Put the filling across the dough longways 2 inches from the bottom.
- Egg-wash the bottom and top of the dough and roll longways. Roll the log so that it is closed tightly.
- Use the palm of your hand to create dents in the log every 2 inches. Use a knife to cut where you dented.
- Face the dough upwards so the open part is facing up. Use your thumbs to push the dough into the center.
- Put on a baking sheet and egg-wash generously. Preheat oven to 375F.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes until the top appears golden brown.
Wow that is an amazing compliment to the recipe and your cooking skills. I would try adding one more egg to the dough to see if that makes it softer. As for the shaping if you follow the video it should make it easy to get the shape you want.
Hey Jamie –
Made these for last Shabbat and my husband swears they hold their own with the Yonah Schimmel knishes he fondly remembers from his time at NYU.
Question: personally, I found the dough a little too crunchy. Maybe I overbaked? If not, how would you modify the recipe for a softer/chewier consistency? Also, I found it difficult to close the dough over the filling so while the flavor was excellent the aesthetics could use improvement. Any suggestions?
Thank you for this wonderful addition to my repertoire.
Just made another batch of these delicious knishes. This time I wasn’t lazy and made the dough myself. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2047ccf3853208fe9ceb91478a3d4b57df436e6550160b3073eaa1c4a5ec711a.jpg
Jamie, I just made this recipe Monday, the knishes are gone. I didn’t even get to take a picture. They are AMAZING!!! I was too lazy to make the dough from scratch and had ready made dough in the freezer.
Thanks for the best recipe ever. In case you didn’t realize, we loved them. I’m a big potato knish person, never tried kasha knishes. But the combination with the sauteed onion was AMAZING. Thanks again.
Next time I’m going to make the dough from scratch too
Can I use l Almond flour for this recipe?
Can I make the dough in my bread machine?
The recipe looks great. However, I don’t eat refined white flour. Do you think the recipe would work if I use only whole wheat flour? I understand the dough won’t be as light and flaky, but do you think it would work?
I would recommend using much less than what the recipe calls for and adding in more as you need it. Whole wheat flour is much denser so you don’t need as much.