2 onions, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
6 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 onions, finely minced
1 carrot, finely minced
2 tbsp fresh dill, minced
2 lbs (1 kg) minced fish (use equal amounts of white-fish and salmon
3 eggs (or 1 egg and 4 egg whites)
1/2 cup cold water
1/4 cup matzo meal or ground almonds
2 tsp salt (to taste)
1 tsp pepper (to taste)
1 tbsp sugar (to taste)
A West Coast innovation, using salmon fillets. Thanks to Jenny Fried for the great idea!
- Fish Stock: Combine 2 onions, 2 carrots, 6 cups water, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon sugar in a large pot and bring to a boil. Simmer partly covered for 15-20 minutes.
- Fish Mixture: Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients in the large bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until smooth and silky, about 20 minutes. (If mixing fish in the processor, divide mixture into 2 batches. Process each batch for 3-4 minutes, until smooth and silky.)
- Moisten your hands and shape mixture into plum-sized balls. Drop carefully into simmering liquid. Simmer partially covered for 1 1/2 – 2 hours. When cool, carefully remove fish balls from broth with a slotted spoon. Garnish each piece with a carrot slice. Serve with horseradish. This dish is terrific hot or cold.
Yield: 15 pieces. Can be frozen, but fish may become watery. If you simmer the defrosted fish for 10 minutes in boiling water to cover, it will taste freshly cooked!
128 calories per piece. 5.3 g fat (1 g saturated), 79 mg cholesterol, 14 g protein, 6 g carbohydrate, 362 mg sodium, 265 mg potassium, < 1mg iron, < 1 g fibre, 25 mg calcium.
- On Passover, ground almonds can be substituted for matzo meal. Some religious Jews do not eat “gebrocks” (foods where matzo, or its derivatives such as matzo meal, are moistened in water).
- A caterer’s trick is to shape the fish mixture into logs and wrap them in cooking parchment. Each pound of fish makes one log. (Can be frozen at this point. No need to defrost fish before cooking.) Place parchment-wrapped logs in a deep pan. Add boiling water to cover fish completely. Cover and cook at 350ºF for 1 1/2 hours (2 hours if frozen). When cool, remove from liquid and chill.
- Variation: Omit onions and carrots from fish mixture. Add 1/2 cup minced red pepper, 1/2 cup minced green onions, 2 tablespoons minced parsley, 1 teaspoon basil, and 1/2 teaspoon thyme to fish mixture.
- Miniatures: Shape fish mixture into tiny balls. (You should get 4-5 dozen, depending on size.) Simmer for 1 hour. These make terrific hors d’oeuvres for a party.
- Chicken Gefilte Fish: Substitute 2 lbs (1 kg) minced boneless, skinless chicken breasts for fish. Turkey breasts can also be substituted.
- Gefilte tofu: Marinate cubes of tofu in the liquid from bottled gefilte fish. Refrigerate overnight.
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