There’s something undeniably comforting about dumplings — those tender little pockets that somehow manage to hold both tradition and pure, simple joy. Kreplach, the Ashkenazi answer to the world’s love of stuffed dough, are no exception. They’re a labor of love, the kind of recipe that invites you to slow down, roll out dough by hand, and tuck spoonfuls of savory filling into each square.
These Vegan Poppy Seed, Potato, and Caramelized Onion Kreplach honor that spirit: deeply flavorful, wonderfully homey, and so satisfying you’ll wonder why you haven’t been making them all along. Whether floated in a warm bowl of soup or crisped in a skillet with onions, they’re proof that the most humble ingredients can become something truly special.
This recipe — from Micah Siva's cookbook Nosh: Plant-Forward Recipes Celebrating Modern Jewish Cuisine — makes approximately three dozen kreplach.
Make the Filling
- Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Decrease the heat to low, add the garlic, and cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. The onions should be a deep golden brown and reduced in size.
- While the onions are cooking, in a medium saucepan, combine the potatoes with enough water to cover and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil until the potatoes are fork-tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes and mash them with a fork or potato masher.
- Add the onion and garlic mixture, salt, and pepper to the mashed potatoes and mix until well combined. The saltiness of the filling will be muted by the dough, so it should taste well-seasoned.
Make the dough
- Combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, ½ cup of water, and olive oil in a bowl or food processor and mix or process until a dough forms.
- Add more water, 1 Tbsp at a time, as needed, for the dough to form into a smooth and soft ball.
- Form the dough into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes or up to overnight.
Assemble the kreplach
- Combine the cornstarch and water in a small bowl.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a rectangle 1/16 to ⅛ inch thick. It should be slightly thinner than a pierogi, but thicker than a wonton.
- Using a small knife, cut the dough into 3-by-3-inch squares.
- Dip your finger into the cornstarch mixture and run it around the edges of each square as you go. Doing this to every piece of dough ahead of time will result in soggy dough and will be hard to shape.
- Place 1 tsp of potato and onion filling in the middle of the square.
- Fold the dough into a triangle and press the edges to seal in the filling. Set aside and repeat with the rest of the dough and filling.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the kreplach and cook in the boiling water until they float to the surface, 3 to 4 minutes.
Serve the kreplach in a bowl of soup or fry them in a skillet with sliced onions
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