Shared by Anna Gershenson
Shared by Anna Gershenson
Kreplach (Chicken-Filled Dumplings in Broth)
Yield: 10-12 servingsTime: 1 H, plus 3H and 15 min inactive
Kreplach (Chicken-Filled Dumplings in Broth)
Yield: 10-12 servingsTime: 1 H, plus 3H and 15 min inactiveFamily Journey
Riga, Latvia
Worcester, Massachusetts
When Anna Gershenson’s mother Rhoda passed away just before Rosh Hashanah, the responsibility of hosting the family’s holiday dinner fell to Anna. It was the saddest moment of her life but through the haze of grief, she cooked her mother’s kreplach and teiglach.
This recipe was shared by Anna Gershenson. Read more about her family in “The Rosh Hashanah When Anna Gershenson Became the Family Matriarch” and try her recipes for sweet-and-sour tongue, jam crumble bars, and arugula salad with fennel.
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 1 ¾ cups flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ tablespoons grapeseed or avocado oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon water or more, if needed to have a dough that is not dry, but moist and supple
For the Broth
- 1 whole chicken
- 2 large onions unpeeled, quartered
- 4 large carrots, cut into chunks
- 3 celery stalks, cut into pieces
- 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
- 1 bunch parsley
- 1 bunch dill
- 1 sweet potato, cut in half
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
- 4 ½ teaspoons salt
For the Filling
- Cooked chicken (from broth ingredients)
- 1 onion, medium chopped and sauteed lightly
- ½ egg, lightly beaten
- ⅛ cup chopped parsley
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- Chicken broth to moisten the filling (from broth ingredients)
Preparation
Step 1
Make the broth: Place the chicken into a large stock pot, pour enough cold water to cover it and bring to a very low boil over medium-high heat. Skim the foam and never allow the water to be rapidly boiling to ensure a clear broth. Add the vegetables, black peppercorns, bay leaves and salt. Reduce to a very low heat and partially cover the pot, cook for about 45 minutes. Pull out the chicken and place into a bowl to cool for a few minutes. Separate the meat from the bones and return the bones to the pot. Keep cooking the broth partially covered over low heat for 2 more hours. Once it is done cooking, strain the broth through a fine mesh sieve, cool and refrigerate.
Step 2
Make the dough: In a medium sized bowl, beat the eggs with oil, water and salt until well blended. Add the sifted flour in small quantities, mixing it thoroughly until a stiff dough is formed. Cover a clean surface with a heavy dusting of flour and place the dough ball onto it. Knead the dough until it is soft, supple and no longer sticky, about 5-7 minutes. Place the dough into a bowl, cover and let it rest for about 30 minutes.
Step 3
Make the filling: Take 1 cup of dark meat and ¼ cup of skin and place it into a food processor. Pulse a few times to start chopping. Add the sautéed onions, beaten egg, chopped parsley, salt, pepper and a couple tablespoons of chicken stock and pulse a few more times until the mixture is combined but not mushy. Set aside.
Step 4
Shape the dumplings: Divide the dough into thirds, working with a piece at a time and keeping the remaining pieces covered. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a rectangle. Keep switching the sides and rolling until it is so thin that you can practically see through it. Using a ruler and a pizza dough cutter, cut into 2.5x2.5-inch squares. Place a slightly heaping teaspoon of filling onto each square. Dip your finger into a cup of water, moisten two sides of the square and pull one corner to meet the opposite one. Pinch the dough tightly and make sure there is no air space left. The dumpling should be in the shape of a triangle. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Place the dumplings onto a prepared baking sheet sprinkled with flour. If you are not going to cook them right away, freeze them on the cookie sheet and then transfer into a plastic freezer bag for storage.
Step 5
Reheat the broth in a large pot and set aside.
Step 6
Cook the kreplach: In a pot, bring water to a boil and add 2 teaspoons of salt. Drop the kreplach into the boiling water and cook for about 10 minutes until the dough is no longer raw. It should be al dente, but cooked through. Take them out with a strainer, place into the bowls and pour hot broth over them.
Step 7
Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.
