TISH Festival: United by the Soup – a culinary workshop with Liz Alpern

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed 
• ¾ teaspoons kosher salt, plus a bit more 
• 1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil 
• ¾ cup hot water 

Method:

1. Hot broth, for serving (You’ll want to serve your kreplach in a bowl of chicken broth, vegetable broth, even mushroom broth, so be sure to have broth on hand!)
2. To make the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add the oil and hot water and stir gently to form a dough. Using your hands, knead to form a soft, smooth ball. If the dough is sticky, add a bit more flour. Set aside, cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and set out a baking sheet (and make sure there’s room in the freezer for the baking sheet to slide in). 
3. To assemble the kreplach, take half the dough and roll it out on a well-floured surface; keep the other half covered to avoid drying. The dough should be rolled out as thin as possible, or your kreplach will be tough and doughy. Cut out rounds using a glass. Keep your surface well-floured to prevent the kreplach from sticking. 
4. Place ½ teaspoon of the filling in the center of each krepl (yes, that’s the singular). Work quickly or the dough will dry out. Do not overstuff. You will be tempted to do so, but we cannot stress enough that overfilling will not end well. Fold the dough over into a half moon, pressing the edges together and sealing them, applying water at the seams if necessary to get a tight seal. If you want to get fancy, fold again to connect the two ends of the triangle. Repeat the process with the remaining dough, putting the finished kreplach on a baking sheet and keeping them in the freezer while you work on the second half. 
5. Meanwhile, fill a large pot with water, add salt (the ratio should be 1 tablespoon salt for every 1 quart water), and bring to a boil. Drop the kreplach into the boiling water and cook for 15 minutes. Remove one krepl with a slotted spoon and taste to ensure that the dough is fully cooked, just like you would with pasta. If they need more time, boil for 5 minutes more, then remove, drain, and place in hot broth just before serving (average serving is about 3-4 kreplach per bowl).

Ingredients

• ½ tablespoon olive oil 
• 1 medium onion, sliced  
• 3 ounces spinach, stems removed, leaves coarsely chopped (you can also use kale or swiss chard – it just might take a little longer to fully cook). 
• 1 large egg 
• ½ tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice 
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt 

Method

1. In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat.
2. Add the onion and sauté until the onion is soft and caramel in color, about 15 minutes.
3. Add the spinach in batches and cook until it has wilted, about 5 minutes.
4. Let the spinach-onion mixture cool slightly, then transfer it to a food processor and add the egg, lemon juice, and salt.
5. Process until a smooth paste is formed. 

Ingredients

• 3 ounces beef (chuck or flank) 
• ½ small onion, diced 
• 1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped 
• 1 dried bay leaf 
• 1 large egg, beaten 
• 1 teaspoons oil 
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt 
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

Method

1. To make the classic beef filling: Place the beef in a small saucepan and add water to cover. Add the onion, celery, and bay leaf and bring to a simmer over low heat.
2. Cover and simmer until the meat is soft, about 2 hours.
3. Remove from the heat and drain. (Feel free to save the cooking liquid for later use as beef stock.)
4. Cut the meat into smaller chunks and place in a food processor, along with the onion from the pot, the egg, schmaltz or oil, salt, and pepper.
5. Pulse the ingredients to form a loose paste.