Delicious Old Style Gefilte Fish Recipes

CLASSIC GEFILTE FISH

Steps:

• 1. Place the reserved bones, skin, and fish heads in a wide, very large saucepan with a cover. Add the water and 2 teaspoons of the salt and bring to a boil. Remove the foam that accumulates.
• 2. Slice 1 onion in rounds and add along with 3 of the carrots. Add the sugar and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes while the fish mixture is being prepared.
• 3. Place the ground fish in a bowl. In a food processor finely chop the remaining onions, the remaining carrot, and the parsnip; or mince them by hand. Add the chopped vegetables to the ground fish.
• 4. Add the eggs, one at a time, the remaining teaspoon of salt, pepper, and the cold water, and mix thoroughly. Stir in enough matzah meal to make a light, soft mixture into oval shapes, about 3 inches long. Take the last fish head and stuff the cavity with the ground fish mixture.
• 5. Remove from the saucepan the onions, skins, head, and bones and return the stock to a simmer. Gently place the fish patties in the simmering fish stock. Cover loosely and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Taste the liquid while the fish is cooking and add seasoning to taste. Shake the pot periodically so the fish patties won't stick. When gefilte fish is cooked, remove from the water and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes.
• 6. Using a slotted spoon carefully remove the gefilte fish and arrange on a platter. Strain some of the stock over the fish, saving the rest in a bowl.
• 7. Slice the cooked carrots into rounds cut on a diagonal about 1/4 inch thick. Place a carrot round on top of each gefilte fish patty. Put the fish head in the center and decorate the eyes with carrots. Chill until ready to serve. Serve with a sprig of parsley and horseradish.

MY MOM'S LEGENDARY GALICIANER (SWEET) GEFILTE FISH

Steps:

• Mix together fish, onions, eggs, salt, sugar, pepper until very thoroughly blended.
• If you are my mother, or not as squeemish as her daughter, you taste it at this point (yes, raw) and adjust seasonings to taste. If you are me, you just pray that it is well-seasoned and move on.
• Add matzo meal slowly, mixing very very well, until it is almost thick enough to shape into balls, but just a bit softer. (How's that for imprecise?).
• Cover the bowl, and refrigerate for at least one hour, or even overnight.
• At this point, you can shape the mixture into balls or loaves and freeze for future use, but no one ever does because deferring this gratification for that long is just impossible.
• Make the broth: In a large soup pot, mix the broth ingredients.
• Bring to a boil, then simmer for at least 30 minutes or so. It should be sort of golden in color. Taste to adjust seasoning. The broth should be sweet and a little salty.
• Form the fish mixture into balls, cylinders, loaves -- whatever.
• Add to broth, bring to a boil again, and then lower to a very slow boil for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• Cool. Eat. Enjoy.