BM# 75: A-Z Bake Around the World: Day 11
Bake of the Day: K for Knish
Country: Eastern European
Today I have a savory pastry from Eastern Europe called Knish. It is a snack that is sold by street vendors in urban areas with a large Jewish population. It is a pastry that consists of a filling covered with dough and it is either baked, grilled or deep fired. Of course I baked mine since we are doing baking marathon.
The outer crust is made with flour and mashed potatoes -- which makes it very tender and flaky. The crust has baking powder as leaving agent -- that helps in making it tender. Traditionally it is made with all purpose flour (and mashed potatoes), but I had to add some wholewheat flour. 
The filling is usually made with mashed potato, ground meat, sauerkraut, onions and cheese. Other varieties of fillings include sweet potatoes, black beans, broccoli, tofu or spinach. I made the knish with mashed potato and spinach.
I followed the recipe from Vegan with a vengeance cookbook. The filling was a little bland to my taste, so may be next time I make it I will add some Indian spices to it. These are best served warm, but can be refrigerated and reheated in the microwave.
My potato loving family really liked these knish. My son loved these and had them with some ketchup. They are great to serve as an after school snack or a tea time treat.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 75.
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Spinach Potato Knish
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- ½ cup Mashed Potato (1 small potato, boiled and mashed)
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 6~8 tablespoons Cold Water
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Baking powder
- 1 cup All purpose flour
- ½ cup Wholewheat flour
For the Filling:
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 Small Onion, finely chopped
- 2 Garlic cloves, finely minced (optional)
- 2 Medium Potatoes. boiled and mashed
- 3 cups Baby Spinach, chopped
- To taste Salt & Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Make the Dough:
- Add the mashed potato to a mixing bowl, add the olive oil and 6 tablespoons of water and mash until well combined. Add the salt and baking powder, mix well.
- Then add the flour, mix and knead until a smooth dough is formed. Add more water, if the dough seems too dry. This might take about 8~10 minutes. Cover and let the dough rest while preparing the filling.
Make the Filling:
- Heat 1tbsp olive oil, in a pan, add the onions and cook till the onions are lightly browned around the edges. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Next add the spinach and cook till wilted about 3~4 minutes.
- Stir in the mashed potatoes and mix well to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Let the mixture cool slightly.
Make Knish:
- Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Roll one piece into a 10" square on a floured surface, then cut into four 5" squares.
- Scoop about ½cup of filling into the center of each square. Pull dough edges up and around the filling and pinch to close. Place them seam side down on the prepared baking sheet.
- Repeat with the remaining dough. Brush knishes with oil and sprinkle with coarse salt (if desired). Bake for 30~40 minutes or until golden brown.
Vaishali
The savoury bake with a stuffing sounds like a treat . I agree the filling does not have spices , so naturally must be bland , just some chilly flakes and pepper would do the trick . All in all a fantastic snack / meal .
Harini
Very nicely baked ! With potato in it, no cajoling required 🙂 I am sure my family would love to ave these.
Sowmya
This looks like a flaky version of our samosa....love this baked version!
Priya Suresh
Even my potato loving family will definitely enjoy this fantastic Knish. Such a beautiful pick for K, love to bake this fantastic knish soon.
Srivalli
These knish look so sinful Pavani..I love the fact that you can bake these ahead..wonderful choice!
Srividhya
This is so amazing.. Got to try this for sure. Great pick for K. I just wanted to grab one right away errr all
Sandhya Ramakrishnan
I have not made knish before and that is something in my list for a long time. These look amazing and I am bookmarking the recipe.
ruchi indu
wow!! I am definitely trying these knish. Bookmarked
Sharmila - The Happie Friends potpourri Corner
This is one awesome recipe... Tempts me to try this out soon!!
Jennifer
How much water do I add?
cookshideout
Hi Jennifer, you will need about 6~8 tablespoons of water to form the dough. Start with 6 tablespoons and add more as needed. I have updated the recipe card accordingly.
Janet Staub
I have cheated making knish with store-bought pie crust over the past many years. This is the first time I've made a potato-based crust...and I love it! I agree with you that the filling needs seasoning. I used kale and beautiful red swiss chard from my garden instead of spinach, and added nutmeg, cumin, coriander, oregano, thyme, and tiny bit of fennel and saffron. I used a mix of spices from villajerada.com called moruno rub. MMMM! All these spices make up for the fact that I don't use chicken fat like my grandmother did! She always made knishes for the Jewish Ten Days of Awe, starting with Rosh Hashanah, and so am I. She was from Eastern Europe, today its Poland, in a city near Warsaw, and left the country to escape anti-semitism.
cookshideout
Hi Janet, so happy to hear that you loved the recipe. Thank you for sharing!!
Erin Petmezas
I just tried making these today. Unfortunately, the dough was so sticky and I couldn’t fix it even when adding water or flour. The dough didn’t wrap around the filling well. The result while tasting good, came out very ugly looking, not at all like the picture.
cookshideout
Hi Erin, sorry to hear that the recipe didn't work you. The dough should come together into a cohesive mixture.