Fried Kreplach

My cousin Phillip still lives in the old country. He is one of the owners of Moyo, an African style restaurant chain which it seems is one of the reasons we need to go back and visit. Anyway, he demanded that I delve into the family archives and find the recipe for my mother's fried kreplach. As I explained in a previous post (complete with picture) these are a family tradition and cousin Phillip has been pining for about 30 years.

So I put in a call to the holder of the recipe, blacksistero. She sent me the current (actually 2007) version. I then called mother to ask permission to post this recipe for the world. She laughed, "anyone who is foolish enough to want to make these, let them go ahead - it's a huge job". So here goes. To preserve for future generations, my mother's (non-vegetarian) fried kreplach recipe, that she got from her mother in Lithuania and as noted down by blacksistero.

Meat

5 lbs. ground beef.

11/2 very large onions.

In Bowl: Mix together, meat, chopped onions, 4 Tablespoons ketchup, 4 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 cup of water, 2 Tablespoons soup powder, salt and pepper. Divide the meat into two and pack each half into a flat pie dish.

In Microwave: Cook for 5 mins. Turn over and season. Cook for another 5 mins. Do NOT drain off the juice. Repeat for second dish.

In Food Processor: Grind up meat in 4 separate sections adding about 3 Tablespoons juice to each one. Return to bowl, stir and season with salt and pepper if necessary.

In Fridge: Store overnight.

Dough

1 dozen XL eggs.

approx. 8 cups flour.

Makes 2 batches, so follow this method with each batch.

Make the dough from 6 eggs, 2 1/2 egg shells of water and approx. 4 cups of flour. One you have this in a dough, divide it into 4 sections.

Roll out on the floured area and salt over (O.K. so this is the hard part. The dough has to be very thin but still pliable. The salt thing is an old Rose Lang trick where you salt the top of the dough and then run it over with the rolling pin, this helps the sides stick together. The rolling pin used is the one made by my grandfather - he was a cabinetmaker, I'm proud of him). Only my mother really knows how to do this part properly, and this is why she has no problem giving out the recipe.

Cut the dough into squares (first into strips vertically then horizontally). Put a dollop of meat on each square and pinch closed (the salt apparently helps keep it closed).

Boil the kreplach in a large pot of boiling water for 8 minutes - they rise to the top when done. Strain and rinse and let cool.

Repeat the whole process with the second batch.

They can now be put into the fridge or freezer for a while. Before serving, defrost and fry in oil until golden brown. Eat immediately while hot. They are excellent.

One batch makes about 100 or so.