Kreplach

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1. 1Step 1: Sauté the onion for 3-4 minutes over med-high heat.
2. 2Step 2: Add the garlic in a large skillet.
3. 3Step 3: Add the ground beef.
4. 4Step 4: Cook the meat, pressing it often with a potato masher or slotted spoon to keep the pieces as small as possible.
5. 5Step 5: When the meat is completely cooked through, drain off all excess fat.
6. 6Step 6: Continue cooking the meat until any remaining moisture has evaporated.
7. 7Step 7: Set the meat aside to cool.
8. 8Step 8: Make the dough at this time. You will finish the meat mixture afterward.
9. 9Step 9: Mix ricotta (or other cheese listed), sour cream, egg, shallot, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.
10. 10Step 10: Put the flour and salt into a medium bowl.
11. 11Step 11: Make a well in the center of the flour.
12. 12Step 12: Add the eggs and the smaller amount of water to the well, and beat them with a fork.
13. 13Step 13: Gradually beat the flour into the egg mixture to form a stiff dough. If the dough is dry and crumbly, add water, if it is wet and sticky, add flour.
14. 14Step 14: Knead the dough in the bowl or on a board for about 5-8 minutes or until it is very smooth and silky.
15. 15Step 15: Combine the flour and salt in the bowl fitted with a steel blade.
16. 16Step 16: Pulse-process a few times.
17. 17Step 17: Add the eggs and pulse-process a few more times until crumbly.
18. 18Step 18: With the machine running, add the water through the tube, using just enough water so that the dough forms a ball.
19. 19Step 19: Add a bit more flour and process a few seconds longer.
20. 20Step 20: Continue processing about 30 seconds to knead the dough. It should be very smooth.
21. 21Step 21: Wrap the dough well in plastic wrap so it does not dry out, and let it rest at room temperature for 20 minutes to 1 hour to relax the gluten and make it easier to roll out. While the dough is resting, finish making the meat filling.
22. 22Step 22: Return to the cooled meat. For a traditional, fine-textured filling, finely mince the cooked meat mixture in a food processor or put it through a meat grinder. Stir in the egg, salt, and pepper (or add to the processor and pulse-process a few times). The filling should hold together when put into a teaspoon, and not crumble apart. If necessary, stir a few extra teaspoons of beaten egg into the filling.
23. 23Step 23: Divide the dough into three pieces and rewrap the pieces not being used so they do not dry out. On a lightly floured board, roll out the first piece of dough to a very thin 9” by 12” rectangle that is as neat as possible. Make sure the bottom of the dough is floured and not sticking to the board. Let the dough rest for a few minutes so it does not shrink a lot when cut. Cut the dough into twelve 3” squares using a pastry wheel or sharp knife. Have a small bowl of water handy. Put a generous teaspoon of filling on each square. Use your finger to rub a little water along two perpendicular edges of a square. This will help glue the folded kreplach closed. Fold the dough over on the diagonal to form a triangle, so that the two wet edges meet the two dry edges. Do not wet all four edges or the dough won’t stick together. Press the top and bottom edges together with your fingers, then press on the edges with the tines of a fork to tightly seal them closed. Place the kreplach on a lightly floured surface. Repeat until all the kreplach are formed, using the remaining pieces of dough. If you have a little extra dough or filling, don’t worry about it. You’ll still have plenty of kreplach. If desired, the kreplach may be frozen at this point. Freeze them in a single layer, uncovered, on a baking sheet, then place them into sealed freezer bags for storage. Do not thaw them before boiling; just cook them for about 5 minutes longer.
24. 24Step 24: To cook the kreplach, gently drop 1/3–1/2 of them into a large pot of lightly salted boiling water, and simmer for 5-10 minutes until just tender but not mushy. They will greatly increase in size as they cook. Remove them from the water with a slotted spoon. Repeat with the remaining kreplach. Store them in a covered bowl. They should not stick together after they have been cooked.
25. 25Step 25: To serve in soup, reheat meat kreplach in hot chicken soup. To serve the kreplach fried, drain after boiling and fry them in a small amount of hot oil, margarine, or rendered chicken fat until they are golden on both sides.
26. 26Step 26: After boiling the cheese kreplach, immediately toss with melted butter. To serve the kreplach fried, drain after boiling and fry them in butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until they are golden brown on both sides.