Divine as it is, gefilte fish is definitely maligned and misunderstood. Despite testimony to the contrary, it is a surprisingly swift and simple dish to make.
Probably anyone raised before the advent of food processors would take exception. My own mother always warned me it was miserable to make, and who was I to doubt her?
It took my grandmother days to deliver this delicacy to our Passover seder table, starting with a live carp she would immerse in our oversized bathtub until it was suitably cleansed and then killed. A formidable culinary marathon followed, filled with the arduous physical activity of chopping and the unpleasant odor of overcooked fish.
My grandmother`s rituals were enough to make anyone refuse to undertake such a task, but there is simply no substitute for the real thing. Some people swear that boiling the bottled variety in a little fish broth will suffice, and others call kosher caterers.
But there is nothing as delicious as the real thing made from scratch.
Nancy Abrams, marketing and culinary director of Chicago Fish House, always had been told that making gefilte fish was a lot of work, but she blatantly ignored these warnings when she started demonstrating the dish almost a dozen years ago at the company`s retail store.
Her lessons now are like a crash course in how to cook it almost effortlessly. Gone are the tools of my grandmother`s trade. Cleavers? Knives? The carp? A few kettles? Forget it. Armed only with a food processor and a shiny stainless steel stockpot, Abrams turns out a smashing 45-minute rendition of this delicacy using whitefish, trout and pike.
”Since it`s a chopped-fish dish, it`s perfectly natural to prepare it with a food processor,” said Abrams, who explained that some fish are firmer than others, so processing times vary by a few seconds.
”And you`re buying the bones with the fish, so you may as well use them to make stock. It doesn`t take very long to do this.”
She gently poaches the beautifully shaped patties of fish (which she meticulously measures out with several sizes of measuring cups) rather than boiling them for hours on end.
A matter of time
Abrams also addresses the question of cooking time: ”Everyone is always so surprised that you can simply poach it, which can take as little as 20 to 30 minutes. People used to let it cook two to three hours, then wonder why their houses smelled so bad.”
As for what kind of fish to use, any freshwater fish will work. Whitefish, pike and trout are popular in the Midwest. Eenie Frost, former hostess of a kosher cooking show on local cable television, said she recently has heard that people even are using salmon in California. ”And of course pollack is No. 1 on everybody`s list today, since the Japanese started using it to make fake crab, but our grandmothers used it as a filler in their fish,” Frost said.
”Use what`s traditional in your family,” she said, ”since the most important aspect of the dish is that it serves as a reminder of Jewish mores and ethics.”
A solid tradition
Gefilte fish is not a stipulated food for the seder service, but Frost acknowledged that it is grounded in Torah, or Jewish law.
”In Jewish law and history we separate (things) all the time,” Frost said. ”For hundreds of years, and even in Talmudic times, we have had recipes separating flesh from the bones of the fish, since you can`t labor on the Sabbath. So that is probably why this became such a popular holiday dish.”
Phyllis Loeff, of Highland Park, and Wendy Freeman, of Chicago, are a perfect example of a mother-daughter team who wouldn`t dream of conducting their seder without this mainstay at their meal. Despite their busy schedules (Loeff is a psychiatrist and Freeman is a television actress and mother of three young children), they never fail to finish their fish way before the holiday.
”It has definitely become easier to make with the food processor,”
Freeman said, ”but we never fail to make it at Passover because it`s something that everyone in the family can participate in.”
Regenstein said that ”any Jewish grandmother will say there`s only one right way to make gefilte fish-her way.” This rule is easing, so feel free to adapt these recipes in your own special ways.
GEFILTE FISH NANCY ABRAMS` WAY
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Yield: 3 dozen pieces
Abrams suggests saving the fish broth after cooking the gefilte fish. It can be strained and frozen for reuse during the autumn holidays.
7 quarts basic fish stock, recipe follows
3/4 cup dry vermouth
1 1/2 pounds each, boneless, skinless: whitefish fillets, lake trout fillets
1 pound boneless skinless pike fillets
1 large onion, about 6 ounces, finely minced
1 each, finely minced: large carrot, rib celery
3 extra-large eggs
2 tablespoons water
4 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Prepared horseradish, optional
1. Make basic fish stock. Heat fish stock and vermouth to a boil in a large pot; reduce heat to a gentle simmer.
2. Working with one type of fish at a time, cut the fillets into 1-inch pieces. Put into food processor fitted with metal blade. Process using the following timing: 4 to 6 seconds for whitefish; 6 to 8 seconds for lake trout and 8 to 10 seconds for pike. This fish should resemble coarse ground hamburger-not pureed.
3. Mix ground fish, onion, carrot, celery, eggs, water, salt and pepper in large bowl. Taste mixture; adjust seasoning. (See note.)
4. Using a wet 1/4-cup measure and wet hands, shape 1/4-cup portions of fish into ovals about 3 inches long, 2 inches wide and 3/4 inch thick. Place on baking sheet lined with waxed paper.
5. When all patties are formed, lift with a metal spatula and drop them into simmering stock. Cover pot. Cook, maintaining a simmer, for 30 minutes. Remove cover, allow fish to cool to room temperature in stock. Refrigerate in stock for up to 1 week.
6. Serve garnished with carrot slices from the stock, if desired. Serve with horseradish.
Test kitchen note: To adjust the seasonings in the raw fish mixture put 1 tablespoon of it into a glass dish; cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high until it just turns opaque; let cool. Taste it and then adjust the salt and pepper in the raw mixture accordingly.
BASIC FISH STOCK
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Yield: About 7 quarts
About 5 pounds fish bones and heads, or more
2 large onions, about 6 ounce each, quartered, with skin on
3 carrots, peeled, sliced
3 ribs celery, sliced
2 teaspoons salt or to taste
2 bay leaves, optional
7 quarts water
1. Clean blood from fish bones; remove gills and brains. Your fishmonger will do this on request, but still check for blood and remove any.
2. Place all ingredients in large pot; simmer 30 minutes. Skim occasionally. Strain finished stock through fine mesh strainer. Refrigerate up to 1 week or freeze up 8 months.
LOEFF/FREEMAN GEFILTE FISH
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Yield: 4 dozen pieces
Use any combination of the following fish, but use less of the pike, say Phyllis Loeff and Wendy Freeman, because it tends to be strong in flavor. If you purchase whole fish instead of fillets, you`ll need 9 pounds of whole fish. Have the fishmonger fillet the fish and give you the bones and heads for the fish stock.
7 quarts basic fish stock, see recipe
1 cup dry white wine
2 carrots, sliced, optional
2 tablespoons sugar
Fish mixture:
3 medium onions, 4 or 5 ounces each, peeled, quartered
1 each, peeled: parsley root, parsnip
6 pounds freshwater fish fillets, such as a mix of trout, whitefish and pike
1-2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup water
5 large eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1. Make basic fish stock. Heat fish stock, wine, carrots and 2 tablespoons sugar to a boil in a large pot; reduce heat to a gentle simmer.
2. For fish mixture, mince onions, parsley root and parsnip in food processor; combine in large bowl. Set aside.
3. Cut the fillets into 1-inch pieces. Process, in batches, in food processor until coarsely chopped. Add to vegetables. Add remaining
ingredients. Taste mixture; adjust seasoning. (See note.)
4. Using wet hands shape mixture into oval balls about the size of a golf ball. Place on baking sheet lined with wax paper.
5. When all balls are formed, lift with a metal spatula and drop them into simmering stock. Cover pot. Cook, maintaining a simmer, for 1 hour. Let cool in stock with lid removed; refrigerate in stock up to 1 week.
6. Serve garnished with carrot slices from the stock, if desired.
Test kitchen note: To adjust the seasonings in the raw fish mixture put 1 tablespoon of it into a glass dish; cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high until it just turns opaque; let cool. Taste it and then adjust the salt and pepper in the raw mixture accordingly.
