Kreplach are small dumplings filled with ground meat, chicken or potato. They are typically served in soup or fried, and are sometimes called “Jewish wontons”.
They are often served at the Jewish New Year, beginning with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Yom Kippur. Since Yom Kippur is traditionally a day of fasting they are served at dinner the evening before.
This year for our dinner before Yom Kippur I had planned to serve chicken soup, noodles and matzoh balls, a filling meal as is.
As an after thought I decided to add some meat kreplach to the mix and found a fairly simple recipe online using ground beef. It just so happened I had some ground chuck defrosting in my fridge. Perfect!
Although many recipes for meat kreplach are made with leftover braised chuck or brisket, sauteed ground beef can be substituted as long as it is well seasoned.
It is a simple preparation. A soft dough is made of flour, eggs, and water. It is rolled out, cut into small squares and filled with the minced or ground beef mixture.
These squares are moistened and sealed forming small triangles which are then boiled in simmering water before being served in soup or fried and served with gravy, sour cream or apple sauce.
With apples and honey, fresh homemade raisin challah (egg bread) lovingly baked by a friend, and a bowl filled to the brim with chicken soup, matzoh balls, noodles, carrots and kreplach it is safe to say we had no room for dessert!
Meat Kreplach
(adapted from Fried Meat Kreplach, NYT Cooking, Alex Witchel)
Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ cup minced onion
1 small clove garlic, minced
½ pound ground beef chuck
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For Dough
1 and ¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 extra-large eggs
Kosher Salt
Preparation
1. For filling: In a small skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, and saute until well browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Toward end of cooking add garlic, and stir well.
2. Add beef, breaking it up well with side of wooden spoon. Saute until it has lost its raw color. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper, and saute another 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and let cool.
3. For dough: Mound flour on a wooden board or in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in center. Break eggs into well, then add 2 tablespoons lukewarm water.
With a fork, beat eggs and water together, incorporating a bit of the flour. As liquids blend, continue to push flour into well. Drizzle in 2 more tablespoons water, one at a time, or as needed to make a cohesive dough.
4. When dough is well blended, mix it by hand, then begin to knead it on a flat surface. With a bench scraper, turn dough and press it with your fingertips, then knead a few strokes again. The dough should remain slightly sticky but become smooth and elastic; if dough is very sticky, lightly sprinkle work surface with flour. Form dough into a ball and let rest on board, covered with a bowl or a piece of plastic wrap, for 30 minutes.
5. Using half the dough at a time, and keeping other half covered, roll out very thin on floured board. You may need to stretch as you roll.
6. To fill and shape kreplach, cut rolled dough into approximately 3-inch squares. Put one rounded teaspoon of filling in center of each square.
With a brush or a finger, moisten edges of squares with water. Fold dough from corner to corner, forming a triangle, and seal carefully.
7. To cook kreplach, bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat. Working in batches, if necessary, add kreplach– do not crowd pot–and boil until dough is cooked and tender to taste, 6 to 8 minutes.
Drain and cool. Serve in soup. (Kreplach can be frozen at this point. To use, thaw in refrigerator or at room temperature.)
