The Best Knish Recipe

Knish Dough:

• Mix the water and vinegar in a small bowl and set aside.
• Place the dry ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine.
• In a food processor, add the dry ingredients and the water/vinegar mixture and process until a dough forms, about 1 minute, scraping the sides if needed.
• Drizzle the olive oil in while the processor is running, and process for about 1 minute or until the oil is fully worked into the dough. Avoid overmixing.
• Lightly dust a clean, flat working surface with flour. Remove the dough from the food processor and place it on the surface and knead for about 2 minutes. If the dough is soft and sticky, add flour, one sprinkle at a time, and work the dough until you can form a ball.
• Wrap the kneaded dough in plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 1 hour to chill.

Knish Filling:

• While the dough is chilling, prepare the knish filling. Peel the potatoes and chop them into about 1-inch pieces. Put them in a large pot, cover with water, and add one tablespoon of kosher salt to the water. Bring the water to a rolling boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a gentle boil and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.
• While the potatoes boil, finely dice the onion, and add to a skillet with 2 tablespoons of vegan butter over medium heat. Cook the onions over for about 10 minutes, or until tender and lightly caramelized, stirring frequently.
• Add your vegan ground meat to the pan with the onions and sauté for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Once the potatoes are finished cooking, drain them, and add them to a large mixing bowl.
• Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes with 2 tablespoons of sliced vegan butter and the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt (or salt to taste). It is okay to leave some chunks of potatoes, they do not need to be smoothly mashed.
• Add the cooked onion and “meat” mixture to the bowl with the potatoes and stir with a rubber spatula to combine.

Knish:

• Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
• Halve the dough. Place the halves on a lightly floured working surface. Roll each out to a rectangle that is about 12-14 inches long and ⅛-inch thick.
• Divide the filling in half and fill each rectangle of dough with a 2-inch thick log of filling that goes the length of the rectangle. Avoid over filling.
• Bast the long edges of the dough with an “egg wash” and then fold both sides of the dough over the filling and seal. Repeat for both halves of dough.
• Mark each log with the side of your hand, pressing down lightly and moving your hand back and forth, dividing it into 6 equal pieces, and then cut with a knife to separate.
• Place each piece with one cut end facing down and the other facing up on the lined baking sheet, leaving 1 ½ inches between each knish. Squish down the top, creating a squat ball and tuck everything into the center to form a round knish.
• Brush the tops of the knishes with “egg wash” and then place in the preheated oven to bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving. Enjoy hot, room temperature, or cold.

How to prepare Creative Pea’s Ground Meat: While the onions are cooking, rehydrate ½ of a package of Creative Pea’s BEEFFREE (65 grams) according to instructions on the package. Shake the package well to distribute the seasonings. It can be helpful to use a kitchen scale to get precisely half of the package. To rehydrate half of a package you will need to mix the dry BEEFFREE mixture with about 2/3 cup (150 ml) of cold water and 2 ½ tablespoons (37.5 ml) of olive oil. Stir well and place in the fridge for 5-10 minutes.

Recipe Tips: 

• • The dough can be sticky when coming out of the food processor. Sprinkle it lightly with flour when kneading. Repeat several times if needed, until you are able to form a ball.

• • Vegan frozen puff pastry or even pie crust can be used as shortcuts in this recipe.

• • Allow the filling to cool slightly before filling the dough. It should be close to room temperature before it goes in the dough.
  • When rolling out the dough, aim for an even thickness throughout to achieve the most uniform knishes.