Makes 15 good-size knishes
Photo by Kate Lewis
Growing up in Brooklyn, a knish was just part of the landscape. You’d get one on the way to the beach, underneath the elevated train, the whole thing roaring above you while everyone around spoke Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Yiddish. It would be 95 degrees out and I’d still want that hot knish. Knish in hand, rushing down the street eating it, trying to finish before I got to the sand because who wants to eat sand with their knish.
Knishes were everywhere back then. You’d see a tray of them at every event, every gathering, every table where people came to eat. They are food that says “we’re here, grab one, go schmooze, don’t forget the napkin.” Now they’re tougher to find. At a hot dog cart, sure, those square fried ones that are pretty good. But not the same as these soft, doughy, homemade ones with the thin stretched potato dough and the warm potato onion filling that kind of collapses when you bite into it.
Knishtory:
If you don’t know, a knish is basically the Jewish handheld pie — a stuffed dough filled with fabulous stuff, most traditionally potato. The word comes from Ukrainian and Polish roots, brought to New York by Eastern European Jewish immigrants around the turn of the 20th century. Fully devoted knish bakeries opened on the Lower East Side in the 1910s, and by the mid-century they spread throughout the city, from pushcarts to bakeries to boardwalks. Cheap, filling, portable, and so very good, they just fit right in. Immigrant food in the best sense. The great knish bakeries of New York are mostly gone now, which is one more reason to learn how to make vegan knishes at home.
And the good news is that knish dough often happens to be naturally vegan, which was great for me as a baby vegan in Brooklyn trying to figure out what I could eat. Knishes were one of the first things I realized already worked for me. So making vegan knishes is not some big reinvention.
But enough nostalgia. Let’s talk about this recipe specifically. I figured out a way to make vegan knishes a little lazier. Basically, you roll three different flavors into a dough and slice them. This version keeps the traditional flavor but simplifies the shaping, so you get that classic street-vendor knish experience without the fuss. Would my grandmother approve? No. She approved of nothing I did. May her memory be a blessing.
So you can make all three fillings at once – potato knishes, spinach knishes, and sweet potato knishes – because it’s easy enough to do and the colors look really cool together. The real work here happens in the dough, which you knead for a long time to get it smooth and stretchy enough. There are a lot of steps but actually not so much active cooking time, so don’t be too intimidated. And if you want to just make one filling (potato, duh) that is perfectly understandable, too! Serve with caramelized onions (use this recipe from my pierogis). And lots of mustard! Serve them in bakery paper for that authentic touch.
A note about the process (trust it):
This recipe looks long but it’s really just a series of simple steps that overlap. You bake all the potatoes and sweet potatoes at the same time. One russet potato goes into the dough itself, which is what gives it that soft, pliable, slightly pillowy quality. The other six get mashed with caramelized onions for the filling. Then you split that potato filling in half and mix spinach into one portion. The sweet potatoes get their own spice blend. So from one batch of baked potatoes and one pan of onions, you end up with three different fillings and a dough, without much extra work. Roll, fill, slice, bake. That’s the whole thing.
VEGAN KNISH FAQ:
Can I just make one filling? Absolutely. Use all the dough for one flavor. If you’re going potato (and you are), just skip the spinach and use all of the mashed potato filling instead of splitting it in half. You’ll still have more than enough to fill three rolls, and any leftovers are just mashed potatoes, which is not a problem.
Can I use fresh spinach instead of frozen? This is one of the rare times I prefer frozen because it’s precooked and consistent. You don’t have to worry about moisture or wilting unevenly. But if you must, cook down about a pound of fresh spinach, squeeze out as much water as you possibly can, chop it fine, and then mix it in. If it’s too wet your filling will be soggy and your knishes will be sad. Don’t make sad knishes.
My dough keeps springing back when I roll it. What’s happening? The gluten is tight. Let it rest for 10 minutes and try again. If your kitchen is cold, the dough will be more resistant. Warm hands and a little patience go a long way.
Can I make the dough ahead of time? You can make the dough and the fillings a day ahead and store them separately in the fridge. Bring the dough to room temperature before rolling or it’ll fight you.
Can I freeze vegan knishes? Yes. Bake them first, let them cool completely, and freeze in a sealed bag for up to a month. Reheat in a 350°F oven for about 15 minutes.
What other fillings can I use? Start with the potato filling as your base and add things to it. Chopped sautéed broccoli is a classic and one of my favorites. Kasha (buckwheat groats) with some melted vegan butter mixed into the potato is traditional and earthy and worth trying if you’ve never had it. Sautéed mushrooms and onions are great spooned on top. Sauerkraut and potato is another good one. And if you want to tuck some melted vegan cheese in there, I’m not going to stop you.
What do I serve with vegan knishes? Mustard. Always mustard. Caramelized onions are perfect, too. They’re right at home on a bagel spread (carbs on carbs!) and they make great party food on a platter with pickles and sauerkraut. Soup works great here as well, especially Mushroom Lentil Noodle, Smoky Tomato Lentil, or Chickpea Rice Souo With Cabbage. Matzoh Ball is a classic, of course! If you’re feeling really ambitious, Smoky Hot Dogs would be fun.
Vegan Knishes Three Ways: Potato, Spinach, and Sweet Potato
Ingredients
For the knishes:
- 7 medium-size russet potatoes 1 is for the dough
- 4 medium-size sweet potatoes about 2 pounds
For the dough:
- One of the baked russets
- 2 tablespoons olive oil plus extra for brushing
- 3/4 cup cold water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
For the fillings:
- 1 large yellow onion finely chopped (about 2 cups)
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
- 1/4 teaspoon ground or freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
Instructions
Bake the potatoes:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prick the seven regular potatoes with a fork, wrap in foil, and place in the oven. The four sweet potatoes can just go in as is. Take out the sweet potatoes after 40 minutes; the regular potatoes will need to bake for another 30 minutes, so they will take about 70 minutes total, depending on their size. Remove from the oven and let cool. Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove the skins with a peeler or paring knife.
Make the dough:
- By hand: In a large bowl, place one peeled, baked russet potato; let the others continue to cool. Add the oil and cold water to the potato and mash until well combined. Add the salt and baking powder, and then add the flour in batches, kneading with each addition. Knead until you have a smooth dough. This can take up to 15 minutes by hand, so have someone nearby to help knead in case your little hands get tired. Let the dough rest while you prepare the fillings.
- Using a mixer: In the work bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook, place one peeled potato and mash it up a bit with the oil and cold water. Add the salt and baking powder, and then add the flour in batches, mixing after each addition. Let knead until a smooth dough forms, about 15 minutes. Let the dough rest while you prepare the fillings.
For the potato knishes:
- In a medium-size skillet, sauté the onion in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat for 15 minutes, until browned and slightly caramelized.
- Mash the remaining six peeled, baked russet potatoes in a large bowl. Add the cooked onion, the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Mash together well. Reserve half of the mashed potato filling in a separate bowl for the spinach filling.
For the spinach knishes:
- Add the thawed, drained spinach to the reserved half of the mashed potato filling and mix until well combined.
- For the sweet potato knishes:
- Mash the baked sweet potatoes. Add the nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, and salt, and mix well.
Assemble and bake the knishes:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Cut the dough into three equal portions. Roll out one portion as thinly as possible, into a 14 x 6-inch rectangle. Sprinkle with flour as you roll, to keep the dough unsticky.
- Place 2 1/2 cups of a single filling down the center of the rolled-out portion of dough. Spread out so that the filling is roughly 12 x 2 inches. Fold the dough over the filling the long way to create a roll. Trim the ends of the roll-up to where the filling begins. Place, folded side down, on a lightly greased baking sheet.
- Repeat with the other two portions of dough and the other two fillings. You may have extra filling, depending on how big your potatoes were. Don’t overstuff the knishes; just bite the bullet and eat the filling on its own.
- With a knife, score each roll into fifths. That will give them a nice shape and make them easier to cut when they are done. Brush each lightly with olive oil. Bake for 40 minutes.
- Remove from the oven; let cool just enough so that you can slice them. Serve warm, with plenty of mustard for the potato and spinach ones.
