 |
Prep Time: 0 Minutes Cook Time: 0 Minutes |
Ready In: 0 Minutes Servings: 12 |
|
Editor's note: This recipe is excerpted from The 2nd Avenue Deli Cookbook, by Sharon Lebewohl and Rena Bulkin. Gefilte fish, today a prized delicacy, dates from the Middle Ages in Germany, where it was conceived as a fish stretcher an ancient relative of Hamburger Helper. Religious Jews embraced it as a highlight of Friday-night dinners, because it solved a spiritual dilemma: though the Talmud suggests eating fish on Friday nights, it is forbidden (because it's considered work) to separate fish from bones on the Sabbath. We've found that most people who say they don't like gefilte fish have only tasted the supermarket variety, sold in jars, which is like saying you don't like filet mignon when you've only tasted beef jerky. Happily, preparing authentic gefilte fish from scratch is not an arcane skill possessed only by Jewish great-grandmothers. With today's food processors, it's not even especially difficult. Our recipe is sweet, in the Polish tradition; Russian gefilte fish is more peppery. Ingredients:
1 (1 1/2-pound) fillet of whitefish and (1 1/2-pound) fillet of carp or pike (at fish store, ask for whole fish, filleted and skinned. retain the heads and bones. many stores will also grind the fish for you) |
2 large onions (about 2 cups when grated; don't tamp it down) |
1 stalk celery |
1/2 medium carrot |
6 eggs, beaten |
4 teaspoons sugar |
2 1/2 teaspoons salt |
3/8 teaspoon pepper |
3/4 cup corn oil |
1 cup matzo meal |
heads and bones from fish |
4 medium onions, peeled and quartered |
2 stalks celery, trimmed and chopped into 3-inch pieces |
2 medium carrots, peeled |
Directions:
1. 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. 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. 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. 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.
5. Tips from the Epicurious test kitchen: · Because whitefish, carp, and pike are no longer commonly eaten, your fish store will probably require that you order them ahead of time and buy the whole fish. Be aware that you should order twice as many pounds of whole fish as you want of the finished fillets. Thus, to get 1 1/2 pounds of whitefish fillet, you should order 3 pounds of whole fish approximately 2 fish. · For the best flavor, we prefer a mix of all 3 kinds of fish: 2 whole whitefish, 1 whole pike, and about 1/3 of a whole carp (save the rest for another use). After filleting, this comes out to about 1 1/2 pounds of whitefish fillet, 1 pound of pike fillet, and a 1/2 pound of carp fillet. · To keep the patties very delicate, we like to form them with 2 large cooking spoons rather than making patties: Use one spoon to scoop up a heaping spoonful of batter, then use the other to gently push the batter into the boiling stock. Made this way, the recipe will yield more than 12 patties. They will be slightly misshapen, but extremely light.
|
|