Sweet Gefilte Fish Recipes

GEFILTE FISH

Steps:

• Fill a large, wide pot with 10 cups of water and place over high heat. While bringing to a boil, coarsely chop and add to the pot 1 onion, 1 celery stalk, 1 carrot and the fennel bulb. Add the peppercorns and 1 teaspoon salt. Once water is boiling, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, while preparing the fish.
• Coarsely chop the remaining onion, celery stalk and 1 carrot, then pulse in a food processor until finely chopped. Add fish, chives and 2 tablespoons parsley, tarragon and/or dill, and keep pulsing until fish is chopped but not mushy.
• Move the fish mixture to a medium bowl and add eggs, oil, matzo meal, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (or more to taste) and the ground black pepper, and mix well with your hands.
• Put your hands in a bowl of cold water. Using your hands, mold the fish mixture into a 3- by 2-inch oval patty (about 2 ounces) and gently place on a platter. Repeat with the remaining fish mixture, dipping your hands in water as needed.
• Pop the third carrot into the simmering broth and gently add the patties to the pot. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes until patties are firm.
• Use a slotted spoon to remove the fish and carrot from the poaching liquid to cool on a plate. Slice the carrot diagonally into thin rounds.
• Place each patty on a leaf of radicchio or endive or both. Set the sliced carrot rounds on top of each patty. Garnish with the remaining tablespoon of fresh herbs and serve warm or at room temperature with horseradish, preferably homemade. If making a day ahead, refrigerate, covered, then return the patties to room temperature before serving.

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.

MADGE'S GEFILTE FISH

Steps:

• In a large, wide pot, bring fish stock to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer.
• In a large bowl combine whitefish, yellow pike, and carp. Add onions, eggs, matzo meal, salt, pepper, and 1/4 cup cold water. Stir with a wooden spoon until mixture forms a paste.
• Moisten hands with cold water. Shape about 1/3 cup of mixture into an oval slightly larger than an egg (3 to 4 inches long). Place gently in simmering stock. Repeat with remaining mixture. Add carrots. Sprinkle with paprika. Cover and simmer, until firm and opaque, about 1 hour. Cool to room temperature. Transfer to an airtight container. Chill until stock gels, at least 4 hours or overnight. Serve cold, or at room temperature, garnished with fresh horseradish and a sprig of dill. May be made up to 2 days ahead.

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.

GEFILTE FISH

Steps:

• Grind the fish, 2 1/2 onions and 4 carrots together. Place fish mixture in a wooden bowl. Using a hand chopper, add eggs one at a time. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, 4 teaspoons salt and white pepper and continue to chop until very well blended. Stir in the ice water a little at a time throughout this process. Add matzo meal and chop again. Check to see if mixture is thick enough to bind together to make an oval gefilte fish ball and if not add in more matzo meal.
• Meanwhile, fill two large heavy stock pots half full of water . Into each pot slice one raw onion and one sliced carrot. Add fish skins, if desired. Sprinkle in paprika, salt, black pepper and two tablespoons of sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat and let boil for 10 minutes.
• With wet hands shape the fish balls and carefully drop into boiling stock. Cover slightly and cook over medium-low heat for 2 hours. When done, let fish sit in the pot for 10 minutes, then remove pieces carefully to containers and strain remaining stock over fish balls, just barely covering them. Chill and serve. They will now keep in the refrigerator for up to 6 days.

BEST GEFILTE FISH

Steps:

• Grind snapper meat and trout meat in a meat grinder set to the smallest grind. Process fish meat through the grinder again.
• Place reserved fish heads, skin, and bones in a large pot. Add water, onion, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon white pepper, and 1 pinch white sugar; bring mixture to a boil and cook until flavors combine, at least 30 minutes. Strain and discard fish heads, skin, bones, and onion. Return broth to the pot.
• Beat ground fish, eggs, onion, water, matzo meal, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon white pepper in a large bowl with an electric mixture until mixture is soft and holds together. Using wet hands, form fish mixture into oblong 1-inch balls.
• Gently drop fish balls into broth, adding more water as necessary to completely cover all of the fish. Cover the pot and bring to a boil; reduce heat, uncover the pot, and simmer until stock has reduced by half, about 2 1/2 hours.
• Place a steamer insert into a saucepan and fill with water to just below the bottom of the steamer. Bring water to a boil. Add carrot rounds, cover, and steam until tender but firm to the bite, 6 to 10 minutes.
• Carefully remove fish to a serving dish. Place 1 carrot slice on top of each fish ball. Pour broth over the fish balls and set aside to cool to room temperature.
• Cover dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate until broth gels, at least 2 hours.

HONEY BAKED GEFILTE FISH

Steps:

• Defrost gefilte fish loaf (partially defrosted is ok if you are pressed for time).
• Dump it unceremoniously in a 9" round pan (or equivalent).
• Add honey to taste (start with about 1/4 cup if you like your fish sweet; less if you don't), and sprinkle with white pepper (again, more if you like the thrill of the heat, less if you don't).
• Smoosh some more, and smooth out the top.
• Sprinkle with paprika for color.
• Bake at 325F (give or take) for about 40 minutes.
• Will be firm but not dry when it is done.

GEFILTE FISH

Steps:

• 1. In a food processor or grinder, grind fish (refrigerate heads and bones for later use), 2 onions, 1 stalk celery, and half a carrot. (If you use a food processor, make sure you leave no large pieces of fish or bones; you may want to transfer the mixture, bit by bit, into a wooden bowl, and go over it vigorously with a hand chopper.)
• 2. Place fish mixture in a large bowl, and add eggs, sugar, salt, pepper, and corn oil, mixing thoroughly with a wire whisk. Stir in matzo meal, and continue to mix until everything is thoroughly blended. Refrigerate for 1 hour or more (longer, even overnight, is better).
• 3. Fill 2 large stockpots three-quarters full of water, and bring to a vigorous boil. In each, throw in half the fish heads and bones, 2 onions, half the celery, and a carrot. Divide batter into 12 patties of equal size. (Don't worry that your batter is a little loose; it has to be that way to keep your gefilte fish light.) Transfer each patty to a large cooking spoon, shape into an oval, and very gently lower it into the boiling water. Put 6 in each pot. Lower heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
• 4. Remove fish balls and carrots from pots, and refrigerate on a covered plate. Discard everything else. Serve chilled with red and/or white horseradish. Slice carrots for garnish.