Last Friday night,
Stina, a friend from college, came over for
Shabbos dinner and a cooking lesson. What a treat! The
vegetarian and I rarely have Friday nights off so our ability to have a real homecooked Jewish meal has been quite reduced recently. Not wanting to make something too complicated (or that had to cook for hours) and also wanting an easy way to make our dinner
vegetarian-friendly, I decided to teach her how to make
kreplach.
Kreplach are the Jewish version of
ravioli. Often served in
chicken soup, you can also have them with gravy as a
pasta dish. Because the filling has to be cooked beforehand, they're a fantastic use of leftovers. They're often a "second-day meal," meaning that you use leftovers from a holiday meal to make them. But they're so delicious that you can make up whatever kind of filling you want -- just for them!
And because they're a pasta, they're my entry for
Presto Pasta Nights #262, hosted (and created) by
Ruth at
Once Upon a Feast. Join us!
These
kreplach, I must caution you, are anything but traditional. First of all, I make them with
wonton wrappers. Easier to find than fresh
pasta sheets (and certainly simpler than making your own), these have always been our "family secret" when making
kreplach,
ravioli or
dumplings. They're easy to work with and, more importantly, delicious!
For these
kreplach, I made two batches of filling -- one with ground
lamb and the other with crumbled
California Veggie Burgers (from
Dr. Praeger's -- super delicious). Everything else about both fillings stayed the same. Both of these "proteins" have
sweet and
astringent notes. So in went some
pungent pearl onions to balance it out. (Buy these pre-peeled to save time.) Everything got sauteed in neutral
canola oil and seasoned with
fleur de sel and pungent, hot
black pepper. To bind the filling (and make it easier to work with), I whisked it in the
food processor with
cream. Round out the meal with a bottle
Cotes du Rhone (we had a fantastic biodynamic bottle from that I brought back from
Paris three months ago) and, of course,
challah. Some
apple pie makes a wonderful dessert. Enjoy!
Kreplach (Pasta Stuffed with Lamb or Veggie Burgers)
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat until it moves in the pan like water. Add onions and cook 5 minutes, until soft. Add lamb (or veggie burgers), salt and pepper and cook, breaking up the meat (or patties) with a wooden spoon, until the meat is cooked through and no longer pink (at least 5 minutes). Let it come to room temperature, then blend to a paste in food processor with heavy cream and parsley.
Transfer to a bowl and make the kreplach. Place 1 teaspoon filling in the middle of a wonton wrapper (don't overstuff!). Lightly run water around the edges of the wonton wrapper (this is best done with your finger). Fold diagonally to make a triangle. Press out excess air and and seal the edges (the water makes them stick). Now make a ring with two opposite corners of the wrapper and press them firmly so they stick together. Let stand 15 minutes.
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook kreplach 20 minutes, until they all have floated to the top and the wrappers have turned translucent. Serve in soup or dry, with sauce. Bon appetit!
Inspirational Links:
Because the vegetarian isn't crazy about artichokes, and therefore wouldn't be eating them, I treated myself to the addition of an omnivore ingredient -- anchovies. In my opinion, anchovies get a totally undeserved bad reputation. As our friend Hill put it last night -- they're like delicious additions of salt. And, really, how bad can that be? (For a vegetarian version, add 1 tablespoon soya sauce.) Along with some garlic and sour lemon juice and zest, they were the perfect accompaniment to our Arugula and Fava-Bean Crostini and Smoky Fried Rice. To drink I recommend an Espiral vinho verde. Enjoy!
