Old Ways and New Ways
Gefilte or gefüllte comes from the German, to stuff. The old way is to fillet the fish and preserve the skin, in one piece if possible. The flesh is minced into a paste and stuffed back into the skin. The fish can be poached or baked, chilled and served cold. The modern way, a much easier option, is not to stuff the skin, but to form the fish mixture into balls. The basic mixture of ground fish remains the same and is served chilled often accompanied by a sauce made with horseradish and vinegar called chrain.
The most popular varieties are either sweet or savoury. Russian Jews tend to prefer the savoury mix while Polish Jews will probably choose the sweet variety. The variety of fish used will vary depending on local availability. A mix of carp, perch and pike is the most common. The choice of fish affects the flavour. Carp gives a very fishy taste while pike produces a blander flavour.
Savoury Chopped Fish Balls
Ingredients: Serves 6
- 3 lb. fish - two or three different types such as pike, perch or carp
- 2½ pints cold water
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 3 large onions finely chopped
- 2 slices white bread or 2 tablespoons matzo meal
- 8 oz. celery root
- 1 parsnip root
- 2 large eggs
- 1 carrot, finely sliced into rounds
- 2 onions sliced thinly for layering
Method:
- Keeping the head attached to the skin remove and fillet the flesh. If your fishmonger won't do this for you take a sharp knife and working from head to tail strip the flesh from the skin, keeping the head attached. The bones should be retained to make the stock
- Place bones, head and skin into a fish kettle or large pan with enough water to cover
- Add 1 teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper, bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for one hour
- Meanwhile mince the fish with the celery, parsnip, chopped onions and bread or matzo meal
- Add the eggs and remaining salt and pepper
- Add just enough of the remaining water to moisten the mixture and form into balls
- Decorate each ball with a slice of carrot
- Put a layer of sliced onions into a fish kettle and place balls onto onions
- Strain the cooked fish stock and pour over the fish balls - pour gently so as not to break up the fish balls
- Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and cook for up to four hours. One hour minimum will do but longer gentle cooking produces a better result
- Allow to cool, chill and serve cold
A typical Sabbath lunch might start with iced Lettuce Soup followed by Gefilte Fish accompanied by Sweet Carrot Tzimmes and Home Baked Bagels. This might be followed by Cheese Cake.
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