Potato + Dough = Knish

not my pic













I love knish. Knishes? Knishii? Whatever, they're awesome.
This recipe is for smashed tatos with onions wrapped in dough and baked till golden brown. Personally I prefer to have a side of spicy mustard as an accoutrement.

This recipe makes about 25 teeny knishes, 10 larger or 2 HUGE ones.

INGREDIENTS
4 large potatoes (and enough water to boil them in)
1/4 cup vegetable or olive oil
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper (use white pepper to pretend you're poisoning someone with secret ingredients)
2 Dashes Cayenne pepper (optional)
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup cold water
3 TBsp butter
1/2 cup diced onion
1 beaten egg + 1 tsp water

1. Make Plain Mashed Potatoes (part will be for dough, part for filling)
Peel and cut potatoes into chunks, cover with water and boil until soft (you can easily stick a fork into them)
Smash cooked potatoes with a fork or use electric mixer and whip them until you have a lumpy consistency.
Cool the mash (I stuff the bowl into the freezer while I'm reading items for the next step)

2. Make Dough
Mix 3 cups of flour with 1 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp salt, dash of cayenne (optional) set aside

Place 1 cup of the cooled mashed potatoes into a large mixing bowl.
Add 1/4 cup oil and mix until you get a creamy consistency.
Add half of the flour mix to the creamy mash and mix
Add rest of flour mix as best you can(the mix will resemble a bowl of peas)
Make a well in the center of the dough mix
Add 1/2 cup COLD water
Squish the water into the flour mix with your hands or spatula until you can form a ball
spritz dough ball with water (I just flick water from my fingers onto it)
cover dough with plastic wrap and set aside at room temp for 30 minutes

3. Make filling
Melt 3 TBspn of butter in a saute pan
Add 1/2 cup diced onion
Cook until translucent in the butter
Set aside
Place remainder of cooled mash into a bowl
Add butter/onion mix
Add 1 tsp salt
Add pepper to taste
Add 1 dash cayenne pepper(optional)

4. Preheat oven to 425 F

5. Line baking sheet with parchment paper

6. Roll Out Yer Dough
Lightly Flour your rolling out area and rolling pin
Dump your dough ball out, squish it a little and divide it into 4 parts

This next part depends on how big you want your knish dudes to be:
Roll 1 part out until it's 1/4 inch or less thick (flip and turn the dough as you roll- it'll help)
I cut the rolled 1/4" dough into small squares.
Place about 1 TBsp filling in the middle of your square
Pinch corners together and continue to pinch all open parts closed until you cover all the filling form it into the shape of your choice. I like balls. (tee hee)
Flip knish over so pinched parts are on the bottom and place on baking sheet
repeat until you're done

7. Brush Egg onto knish
Crack and beat 1 egg and 1 tsp of water
Brush onto top of knishes

8. Bake knishes at 425F for about 25-30 minutes (until golden brown)

9. Eat them. Eat them all.