Pot Roast (for filling):

2 or 3 lb chuck or brisket roast (or any pot roast)
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
garlic and onion powder
pinch of thyme
paprika
3 cloves garlic
4 or 5 baby carrots or 3 large
1 or 2 celery stalks
3 large Vidalia or sweet Spanish onions
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Season beef with salt, pepper, paprika, garlic and onion powder to coat lightly.

In a heavy Dutch oven, brown roast on all sides in olive oil with carrots and one of the onions, chopped.

Reduce heat; add remaining vegetables (except the 2 onions) and the thyme.

Cover and cook for about 1 hour or until there is barely any liquid remaining, the roast is tender and the vegetables have caramelized. Halfway through the cooking, add the remaining onions and the cloves of garlic (no need to mince - just press them into the liquid after they soften).

When you check on the roast at the halfway point, a few tablespoons of beef broth may be added if desired, but be sure not to add so much that the vegetables won't be able to caramelize.

When the pot roast is done, if your roast was large enough, you can serve half of the roast as dinner, making this a double meal!

Grind the remaining half of the beef coarsely, with the onions, carrots, celery, etc., adding a little broth, if required, to keep the mixture moist.

Dough:

1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. salt
1 cup lukewarm water
4 cups flour

In a mixing bowl, combine oil, salt and water. Add the flour gradually until you have a medium soft dough. Lightly flour a work surface and knead dough until it becomes smooth. If dough becomes difficult to handle, allow it to rest (under an overturned bowl) for 30 minutes.

Divide dough into 3 equal pieces. Roll each portion into a rectangle 1/8-inch thick. Cut into 2 or 3-inch squares.

Fill each square with a teaspoon or so of the meat mixture. Fold the dough over the filling to form a triangle and crimp closed, pinching with your fingers or using the tines of a fork.

Join the two ends together, pinching around your thumb to form a ring as you would tortellini "bishops caps" or wontons. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Cooks Note: The kreplach may be frozen individually on cookie sheets at this point. Freeze in a single layer and when they are frozen, drop them into Ziploc bags. Or refrigerate and use within 24 hours.

A food processor may be used to make the dough, then to coarsely grind the filling (or use the coarse blade of a meat grinder).

If using a food processor, prepare the dough first, then refrigerate until the roast is done.

To cook the kreplach, boil a large amount of water (a pasta pot works well) and add a tablespoon of salt. (Better yet, boil the kreplach in chicken broth).

Boil a few at a time so that the water doesn't stop boiling; remove the kreplach using a slotted spoon 5 minutes after they have risen to the top. Do not allow them to get soft; they should be served "al dente" or, "to the tooth".

Serve in a bowl of chicken or ham bone soup, with fresh scallions. We also like grated cheese on the side. Kreplach a wonderful addition to egg-drop soup.

Submitted by: CM