Gefilte fish (basic recipe)

6 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
3 pounds Fish (use pike and carp or pike and whitefish)
Salt; as required
2 larges Onions; sliced
2 Eggs
¼ cup Matzo meal or breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon Salt
⅛ teaspoon Pepper; about
2 tablespoons Cold water; about
1 Stalk celery; diced
1 large Carrot; sliced
Cold water to cover
Chopped parsley

Directions

From: plgold@... (Pat Gold)

Date: Tue, 4 Apr 1995 11:54:40 +0000 I thought that it might be interesting to see the contrast in how we make gefilte fish today and how gefilte fish was made before we had the food processor. The first recipe ("Gefilte Fish (Basic Recipe)) is the way I remember my grandmother made her gefilte fish. The second recipe, which is in 2 parts ("Gefilte Fish" and "Traditional Platter of Gefilte Fish") and takes you by the hand through each step was written in 1992 and uses the food processor. It is much the same, ingredient wise as the older recipe but excludes stuffing the fish into the fish skin. (NOTE 2nd part is in main one)

Source: The Complete American-Jewish Cookbook (1952) Sliced: Cut fish into 2-inch slices. Carefully remove flesh and bones without breaking skins. (If desired, bones may be left attached to each cut of skin.) Salt the skins and bones and place in a covered bowl in refrigerator while preparing filling. Put the flesh and 1 onion through a food chopper, then place in a wooden chopping bowl and chop until smooth.

Add eggs, matzo meal or breadcrumbs, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper to taste, and enough cold water to make a light soft mixture. Blend thoroughly. Wet hands with cold water. Form oval cakes of mixture and fit them into skins. Place head bones and any other bones in the bottom of a deep heavy kettle. Add remaining onion, celery, carrot, and cold water to cover. Cover kettle and bring to a quick boil. Remove cover. Reduce heat and cook at a very slow boil 1-½ to 2 hours. The liquid should be reduced by half. Allow to cool slightly before removing fish to a platter carefully so as to retain shape.

Serve warm or thoroughly chilled, garnished with sliced, cooked carrot and chopped parsley. If served cold, use the jellied sauce as a garnish. Serve with prepared horseradish.

Variations: Two slices of white bread may be substituted for matzo meal, or breadcrumbs. Soak the bread in cold water and squeeze out. If bread is used it may not be necessary to moisten the chopped fish mixture with cold water. If desired, one raw carrot may be grated and added to fish miixture.

(This cannot be used for Passover.) Balls: Shape the prepared fish mixture into balls. Place the skin and bones in the bottom of kettle before adding vegetables and fish balls. Cook as in basic recipe.

Whole: Do not section the fish. Fillet the fish, being careful not to break skin and to leave head and tail intact. Prepare filling as in basic recipe. Fill the whole skins with this mixture shaping to look natural.

Use a deep, oval pot and place the fish on a trivet over the vegetables in the pot. Cover with cold water and bring slowly to boiling point. Cook at a slow boil for 1-½ to 2 hours. Baked gefilte fish: Prepare as in basic recipe. If stuffed whole, place in well-greased baking pan. Sprinkle witih breadcrumbs. Dot with butter.

Bake in hot overn (425 degrees) until done, about 1 hour. If desired shape into small patties, roll in fine crumbs and bake in moderate oven (375 degrees) 12 to 15 minutes.

Fried gefilte fish: Form the prepared mixture into small patties. Roll in fine crumbs and fry until done. REC.FOOD.RECIPES ARCHIVES

/FISH

From rec.food.cooking archives. Downloaded from Glen's MM Recipe Archive, .

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