There is no singular source of truth when it comes to making kishke, which is a blessing for a recipe developer like myself. It is by definition a mix of things. That mix needs to essentially become a paste that you roll into a sausage-like log and bake. So as long as your veggie-to-matzo meal/flour and oil ratio mostly holds, you can experiment with putting in your favorite vegetables.
The recipe below is inspired by a kishke recipe Joan Nathan published with The New York Times back in 2009. Hers has onion, carrot, and celery––fairly typical ingredients for a kishke. But I wanted to make my kishke. So I rehashed a lot of the flavors and ingredients I rely on for my veggie burger––red bell pepper, onion, garlic, and sweet potato roasted and seasoned generously with smoked paprika, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Then, a half cup of black beans to top it all off in the food processor.
This is a smokey kishka. And depending on your food processor, it might take a few rounds of mixing things up to make sure everything is pureed and your paste isn’t chunky. You can add a little extra olive oil if needed, but don’t add too much. Your pre-baked kishke should resemble a dough.
Once you’re happy with the consistency of your paste, you’ll wrap it up with parchment paper and tin foil to bake for about an hour. Let it cool for at least 30 minutes if not another hour before unwrapping it and slicing off a piece of kishke. I suggest serving it as a side with an Israeli salad and some roasted potatoes.
Alternatively you can cook the kishke in a nice big pot of cholent.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ medium to large onion cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 clove garlic chopped
- 1 large red bell pepper cut into chunks
- 1 small sweet potato peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 cup matzo meal
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper optional for spice
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
- ½ cup black beans
