What are kreplach?

Kreplach are little folded handkerchiefs with goodies inside.

It seems that every culture has figured out that you can stuff something tasty into an envelope of dough.

Kreplach are the Jewish version of ravioli, or wontons, or pierogies, or empanadas, or samosas. They’re either boiled and served in soup, or when served as a side dish, sautéed with caramelized onions. The most traditional ones are filled with beef. I’ve made them that way, and I’ve also made them with vegetarian meat substitutes. You can find that recipe here. I also make a vegetarian version with mushrooms and onions that are very good.

But these are my all-time favorite kreplach. When I made them and tasted them for the first time I was inclined to stick a gold star to my forehead. They are amazingly good.

My Great-Aunt Rae, who made the world’s best kreplach, probably wouldn’t have approved of these; she always made her own kreplach dough from scratch. They were out of this world. I’m perfectly able to do that, but the question at hand is, do I have time to do that when I’m making a whole menu of dishes? I just don’t. It’s been a difficult truth for me to accept, especially as the years roll by, but I am not superwoman.

Making kreplach with store-bought wonton wrappers are not quite as amazing as Aunt Rae’s tender envelopes of meat-filled dough, but making them with these wrappers will, I promise, still give you wonderful kreplach, and you’ll have them finished in no time. If you’ve got the time and inclination to roll out and cut the dough, you can find Aunt Rae’s recipe here. Otherwise, pick up a package of wonton wrappers at your local grocery store. They generally come 50 in a pack.

The secret to these Shiitake and Chestnut kreplach is to make sure that everything is slowly caramelized—that’s where the extraordinary flavor comes from.

Fresh chestnuts prepared from scratch—scoring the shells, roasting them, and then peeling them—are amazingly delicious for snacking, hot from the fire. In this dish, where the chestnuts are ground into a paste with other ingredients, it’s just not worth the work. Chestnuts are usually available fresh in the fall in most markets, but are harder to find during the rest of the year. But have no fear—pre-roasted and peeled chestnuts are available year round, here. They’re inexpensive and great to have on hand, especially for use in cooking, but also for snacking if you sauté them in a bit of butter or oil.

Ingredients:

• a small glug of neutral oil, such as avocado or sunflower

• 1 cup onion, diced small

• 1—2 cloves garlic, chopped

• 5 ounces shiitake mushroom caps, sliced

• 5 ounces (approximately) peeled, roasted chestnuts, each one cut in half lengthwise

• 2 tablespoons sherry, port, or Marsala wine

• a sprinkling of herbs de Provence

• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

• Pour a glug of oil into a small skillet and sauté the onion, with a pinch of salt, until it’s soft and translucent.

• Add the garlic and sauté another minute or so.

• Add the mushrooms and sauté until they’re soft.

• Then add the chestnuts and continue to sauté until everything in the pan is golden brown.

• Add the sherry and deglaze the pan until the wine is mostly boiled out. *

• Scrape the contents of the pan into a food processor and process until it’s the consistency of ground meat.

• Stir in the herbs de Provence. Add salt and pepper to taste.

• The easiest way to assemble the kreplach is to set up an assembly line. Form the shiitake-chestnut mixture into balls, about ½ inch in diameter, and lay them out on a sheet of parchment. Have another sheet of parchment on a baking sheet, ready to hold your kreplach in a single layer.

• Set your stack of wonton wrappers to the side and cover them with a sheet of damp paper towel.

• Beat the egg in a small bowl with ½ teaspoon water.

• Lay one wonton wrapper in front of you on an angle, like a diamond. Place a ball of filling just off center, on the side that’s furthest away from you. Using a small pastry brush or your fingers, brush a bit of egg around the four sides of the wrapper. Pick up the corner closest to you and fold it over to meet the opposite corner, pressing down to make a tight seal, pushing out any air that might have been trapped inside. Don’t worry if your wrappers aren’t perfectly square and your triangles are off kilter.

• Repeat with the next wrapper, replacing the paper towel on the stack each time. Place your kreplach on the parchment. Don’t let them touch each other.

• When you’ve used up your filling/wrappers, cover the finished kreplach with plastic wrap so that they don’t dry out.

From here, you can freeze the kreplach or cook them right away. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add the kreplach. Don’t overcrowd the pot. Let them simmer for 3 minutes and then remove them with a slotted spoon.

Serve them as is, in hot soup. Or sauté them with onions in an oiled skillet for a great side dish or appetizer. Or deep fry them and eat them with your fingers.

* Deglazing the pan: You’ll notice that when your onions and mushrooms are getting nice and caramelized, there will be a layer of golden brown “stuff” stuck to the bottom of the pan. That’s called the fond, and it’s full of flavor. To deglaze a pan, pour in a splash of liquid and scrape up the fond with a wooden spoon or spatula. The bottom of your pan will be shiny again, and all that umami will be absorbed back into the food.