To Kill a Matzo Ball (A Deadly Deli Mystery) (22 page)
Read To Kill a Matzo Ball (A Deadly Deli Mystery) Online
Authors: Delia Rosen
Here is one more of my uncle’s magical recipes. Remember: It is printed here exactly as he wrote it all those years ago.
POTATO KNISH
(Usually for words that begin with a K and an N, the K is silent. Kind of like my cousin Hamish, who can never get a word in edgewise when his wife Lillian is talking, which is most of the time. Anyway, with knish, the K is not silent—like Lillian. So the right way to say it is “ka-nish,” not “nish.” What the heck, say it any way you want.)
Preparing Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: Another 30 minutes
Dough must be chilled 2 hours. Put it in the refrigerator if you have one. If you ain’t got one, don’t come crying to me.
Total Time To Make a Ka-nish: 3 hours
What You Get: About 24 Potato Knishes
Ingredients:
Knish Dough:
8 ounces softened unsalted butter
8 ounces softened cream cheese
½ cup sour cream
3½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
Potato Filling:
6 large potatoes, peeled, cut into chunks, boiled, cooled and shredded in a grinder. Ain’t got a grinder? Call Cousin Bernard, who weighs 400 pounds. He’ll come and sit on them.
1 pound onions, chopped and sautéed
2 large whole eggs, beaten
¼ cup instant potato buds
2 teaspoons salt
¾ teaspoon ascorbic acid or vitamin C powder (what, they shouldn’t be healthy?)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon tobasco sauce
8 ounces finely shredded Cheddar cheese (optional—use the cheese or don’t use the cheese. What’s it to me?)
Egg Wash:
1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Preparation:
Use a food processer to prepare the knish dough, then process the butter, cream cheese and sour cream until it’s nice and fine. Add flour and salt and smoosh them altogether. Place dough on a sheet of plastic wrap, then flour your hands, roll it into a ball, and wrap securely. It’s best to refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
For potato filling, mix together all the ingredients in a large bowl.
Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Meanwhile, flour a cutting board and knead dough into it. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 15 minutes. (Hey, I didn’t say this would be easy, did I?)
Roll the dough until it reaches about a ¼-inch width. Cut the dough into 3-inch squares using a really sharp knife. Use 1 beaten egg mixed with 1 teaspoon of water and apply egg wash to the squares. Place two dollops of filling onto each square, and wrap the ends under.
Line a baking pan with parchment, brush knishes with egg wash, and place on pan. Continue with rest of dough and filling. Bake for roughly 20 minutes. Knishes work well as an appetizer, side dish, or main course. Mostly, though, they go best with a corned beef or pastrami sandwich.
Suggestion: have some Alka Seltzer ready. We have a saying:
Deli food is nice
But you will pay the price
Your belly it will roar
Your insides will be sore
So never ask the question
You’re gonna get indigestion
KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2014 by Jeff Rovin
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
Kensington and the K logo Reg. U.S. Pat & TM Off.
ISBN: 978-0-7582-8201-9
ISBN-10: 0-7582-8201-X
First Kensington Mass Market Edition: July 2014
eISBN-13: 978-0-7582-8202-6
eISBN-10: 0-7582-8202-8
First Kensington Electronic Edition: July 2014