We celebrate the holiday of Purim in February or March, the Jewish holiday most well known for costumes and hamantaschen. It is also the holiday where we read the book of Esther which tells the Purim story. There are many secrets in the Purim story . For instance, Esther, the Jewish queen, disguises her identity. She even has a secret name in addition to Esther: Hadassah. Most notably, God Himself is hidden in the book of Esther: even though it was God who saved the Jews, His name is hidden in the text.
This theme of disguise is carried over into other areas of Purim: we dress up in costumes, and it is customary to eat “hidden” foods, such as kreplach and ravioli (where the filling is covered up with dough) in addition to Hamantaschen on Purim.
Ingredients
For kreplach dough
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- Pinch of salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon lukewarm water
For the filling
- ½ medium onion chopped
- 1 pound beef cooked and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 egg
- Salt and pepper
Nutritional Facts
Instructions
For the kreplach dough:
- Put the flour and salt in a bowl, make a well and add eggs and water. Knead until smooth and non- sticky.
- To form kreplach, roll out dough until it is paper-thin. Cut into 2 inch squares
For the filling:
- Pulse the onion and meat in the food processor until minced. Add egg and seasoning and pulse 3 seconds more.
- Put a teaspoon of meat filling into the center of each square, pressing down the edges securely to seal.
- Cook for 15 minutes in a large pot of boiling water (cook it in batches, not all at once). Serve either in soup, or fry for a main course.
