Gefilte fish

What is the classic cold Appetizer In Ashkenazi cuisine?

What makes gefilte fish so different from all other fishes?

Why is it called “gefilte” when all you see is cold fish balls?

How do you recognize a Jewish fish?

So many questions, so much food… and sweet memories of our first family Pesach in America. At that time, I started working at the Jewish Guild for the Blind and, not being Jewish, became culturally fascinated with Jewish customs and rituals. I read Passover Haggadah, the story of Moses, and everything about the meaning of the Passover meal and its important symbols.

However, the Passover Seder turned out to be a meticulously slow procedure, and my family didn’t seem to have the patience for it. They just couldn’t wait to look at my home-cooked and gorgeously served Gefilte fish, with horseradish and other dishes.

My theatre wasn’t appreciated. Mendelssohn was overpowered by the symphony of human voices. Somebody started drinking from Elijah’s wineglass and his designated chair was removed as an extra, together with the matzo cover. It was a riot. Initially, I got clearly upset. However, the food was praised and eaten fast, along with the wine. By the time I served macaroons, I joined the noisy and chaotic celebration of freedom. Everybody talked at the same time, and it was hard to make sense. I had no choice but to “let my people go”. Emotionally.

Although it was our first official Seder, it wasn’t the first time that I cooked and served gefilte fish. Moreover, my Mom, also not being Jewish, started preparing gefilte fish back in Siberia when she married my stepfather, a Jew from Odessa, where gefilte fish was as popular as Jewish humor.

Jellied fish balls were prepared from the choice fish and eaten with homemade horseradish, not for the holiday or for religious reasons, but as a regular meal. So it was not difficult for me to restore the recipe that my Mom used.

But before I start discussing the recipe, I would like to mention that….

“Gefilte” is a Yiddish word, which means “stuffed”. Originally, pike or carp skin was stuffed with chopped or ground fish mixed with spices. Nowadays, gefilte fish generally means the forcemeat made into balls or patties or logs and poached in fish or vegetable stock.

Jewish housewives, chopping and stuffing fish, were mentioned in the early Middle Ages in Germany and pike was the fish used. Later carp was adopted in Poland, Lithuania, and Ukraine. Today, whitefish is commonly used in America, although cod, haddock, mullet, and whiting are also used. There are quite a few variations on the theme. The Polish recipe uses more sugar to create a bitter-sweet palate. The bitterness comes from the horseradish, of course. Some Eastern European recipes create a peppery rather than sweet taste. I use both but in smaller proportions.

Let’s get started.

I usually start with the broth for which I need:  

• 1–1½ pounds of whole fish (pike or carp) with head and tail. If carp is large, remove fillet to use for the patties.
• 10 cups of water
• 1 onion,
• 1 celery root
• 3 carrots
• 1 medium fennel bulb
• 6 peppercorns
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon of salt

1. Clean fish and cut into four pieces. Place pieces of fish in a 5 Qt. pot (an enameled Dutch oven is preferable), filled with water.
2. Peel onion, celery roots and carrots, and fennel. Cut into large pieces and place in the pot.
3. Add peppercorns, salt, and bay leaves.
4. Once the water starts boiling, reduce the heat and simmer half-covered for an hour and a half or even longer. The broth should reduce in volume.
5. After the fish broth is ready, strain it.
6. Discard the vegetables that were in the broth together with the fish bones and fish head.

TIP: Save pieces of fish and carrots for fish soup that you can make from the rest of the strained broth.

In the meantime, prepare forcemeat for the patties:

• 3 pounds of boneless, skinless fish (2-3 types of white fish fillet, like pike, whitefish, or carp), ground or finely chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1½ cup of matzo meal
• ½ cup of chopped parsley
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 1½ tablespoon of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh tarragon (1/3 tablespoon of dry)
• ground pepper to taste

1. Mix all ingredients well with hands, chill the mixture in the fridge for an hour or longer, until needed.
2. When needed, mold patties the size of a tennis ball and gently put them aside on a wooden board.
3. Bring strained broth to the boil and reduce the heat.
4. Place fish patties into simmering broth, cover the pot and let them simmer for 30 minutes until the patties are firm.
5. Let fish patties cool down

Another way is to bake fish patties in the oven, adding fish broth in a process to make them moist.

The next step is the arrangement.

The patties are placed on a big and deep plate, fish broth is poured onto the patties so that only half of the patties are covered with broth. I put a round slice of carrot into each one. Then I place the plate into the refrigerator until the next day. The broth turns into cold jelly.

The patties can be served with or without jellied broth. But horseradish is a must. Life is bitter, after all.

Since the process of cooking can be elaborate, I always cook to music. This time I chose Gershwin music.

Actress Kitty Carlisle Hart, Gershwin’s old friend, mentioned that once, at a Passover seder, Gershwin and his pianist pal, Oscar Levant, sung the entire Haggadah to jazz melodies. So I’d like to share my Gefilte fish success with Gershwin and wish everybody a Happy Passover.

P.S. All the food featured in this post has been prepared and photographed by me.