Veggie and Potato Knishes

These are heavier than the potato fl;our ones I bake for pesach, but still nowhere near the old-fashioned kind people used to bake (with loads of chicken fat).

The filling is really simple-finely diced carrots, scallions, garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper, and a generous heaping tablespoon of sweet paprika. I cooked it all slowly in margarine-yes, I really used margarine (don't ask). When it was soft, I mixed it in with some leftover mashed potatoes and a handful of grated cheddar cheese. There you have it-see? Simplicity.

The dough recipe comes from The Art of Jewish Cooking-but I reduced the oil called for by half. I tried making it as written, including fussing about with making a well for the eggs and oil-it came up horrible. That batch hit the dustbin, and I tried again with less oil. I have no idea if that was a mis-print, or if flour, or oil were dramatically different in 1950's USA, but it worked much better with less oil, and more water.

For the dough:

2 1/2 cups AP flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/3 cup oil
2 tablespoon or more water


Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Combine the eggs, oil and water-stir into flour with a fork until combined adding more water if needed. Knead lightly just until smooth-you don't want to overwork the dough.

Roll it out to 1/2 inch thickness and cut into 3-4 inch rounds. Mound some filling in centre, pinch closed and bake on a greased baking sheet for 35 minutes at 350 degrees F. Cool slightly before serving.

You can also give them an egg wash before baking if you like, or freeze extra unbaked knishes.