Knish (Onion and Potato Pastries)

A curious fact about Israel is that a lot of the foods typically associated with Jewish cuisine in the US, are virtually unknown to Israelis. For example, until a few years ago, you couldn't get a bagel in Israel to save your life, and even now supermarkets rarely sell them. Knishes are a similar deal. You can find Burkeas in every store, but I can't remember the last time I saw a knish anywhere.
So when a recurrences of pop-culture references to Knish made me crave some, there was no choice but to make them myself.

I opted for a version in which the potatoes and onion are mashed together to make a smooth filling, because I have a kid who will happily eat these just as long as there are no visible oniony-bits. If you prefer a bit more texture, add the onions in after you mash the potatoes.

The knishes can be made gluten free (the ones in the picture are!), but it does require having an excellent gluten free all purpose flour that you trust, as you do need to make a dough that is flexible enough to roll and delicious enough to eat.

Knish

 Ingredients (for 20-30 small knishes): 
For filling: 
- 3-4 potatoes (about 500 grams/1 lb), peeled and chopped into medium chunks.
- 1 large onion, diced.
- 3 tbsp oil, for frying.
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar (optional, although it gives a nice richness of flavor)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper 

For dough:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1/2 tsp salt

For finishing: 
- 1 egg yolk beaten with a bit of milk

Preparation: 
1. Put the potatoes in a medium pot, cover with salted water, and cook on medium heat until the potatoes are soft. Drain.

2. While you wait, put frying oil in a pan, add the onions and cover. Sautee over medium-low heat until the onions are soft and translucent, then remove the lid and allow the onions to become golden-brown. Remove from heat.

3. Mash together the potatoes, onions, salt, sugar and pepper, either in a food processor, using a stick-blender, or using a masher, until very smooth. Remember: if you want to keep the onion texture, add the onions after the mashing process. Check for taste. The seasoning should be quite strong (stronger than you would want in mashed potatoes that you eat straight up), because there's only a bit of filling in each knish.

4. Prepare the dough: Preheat oven to 175 C/350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  In a large bowl, beat the egg and water together, then add the oil and the salt and mix. Gradually add the flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, and mix thoroughly. When it starts to come together as a dough, start kneading, first in the bowl, then out on a well floured surface. The dough should feel smooth, not sticky, and elastic. If it's too sticky to knead comfortably, add some more flour. Knead for a few minutes to develop the gluten (or just until you have a usable nice dough, if you're making this GF).

5. Divide the dough into two balls. On a well floured surface, shape the first ball into a flat rectangle, and roll until very thin and quite large (about 30X20 cm, or 13X9 inches). Do the same with the other ball of dough.

6. Cut each rectangle into two, lengthwise (so you have two long and narrow pieces). Place about a quarter of the filling lengthwise along the center of each piece, then roll the dough (like a swiss roll) around the filling. Repeat for all the pieces.

7. Using a sharp knife, slice each roll into pieces, about 2.5 cm/1 inch long. Carefully lift each piece and place it, cut side down, in the baking tin, then gently push together the top section over the potato filling to slightly "close" the knish. This is a bit messy, and don't worry if it doesn't close altogether. The results are meant to be rustic.

8. When all of the knishes are placed on the baking tin, with a bit of distance between each one, brush them with the egg/milk mixture. Place in the over and bake for about 35-40 minutes, until the knishes are golden and fully baked.

Enjoy!