Zamosc Gefilte Fish

The gefilte fish in Joseph Wechsberg's mouthwatering description is unfortunately a dish of the past. Today, most people buy frozen or bottled brands. Good cooks, however, insist on preparing the homemade variety for Friday night and the holidays. My late mother-in-law, Peshka Gerson, made it twice a year, at Passover and Rosh Hashanah. She used her mother's recipe, handed down orally, from Zamosc, Poland. Her only concession to modernity was making individual patties rather than stuffing the filling back into the skin as described by Wechsberg. In addition, her filling was less elaborate. Years ago, when I asked Peshka for her recipe, two of her sisters-in-law were present. They all agreed that the rule of thumb is one pound of fat fish to one pound of thin. They also preferred the Polish custom of adding a little sugar. (Lithuanians say sugar is added to freshen already unfresh fish. Needless to say, Lithuanians do not add sugar to their gefilte fish.) Peshka, Chuma, and Rushka disagreed, however, on the seasonings. Chuma insisted on more salt, and Rushka explained that a little almond extract would do the trick. They both took me aside, promising to show me the "real" way to make gefilte fish. I have used their two suggestions as variations on Peshka's basic recipe. Make your fish Lithuanian or Polish, with sugar or without, but just remember—it's the carrots and horseradish that really count! I have been making this recipe since the mid-1970s. The only difference is that I cook the fish for twenty minutes. My mother-in-law cooked it for two hours!

Preparing Time: -
Total Time: -
Served Person: Makes 24 large patties

Mixer Fish Passover Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur Horseradish Carrot Simmer

1 tablespoon salt
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tablespoon freshly ground pepper
6 eggs
1 1/4 teaspoons pepper

rosh hashanah/yom kippur

simmer

Preparation 1. Place all the stock ingredients in a large kettle with a cover. Bring to a boil, then partially cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. While waiting for the pot to boil, begin preparing the fish. 2. In a wooden bowl, add to the ground-up fish all the other ingredients listed under Fish, carefully chopping very fine and blending. You can also use the grinder on a mixer. Wet your hands and form the fish into fat, oval-shaped patties, carefully sliding each into the simmering stock. 3. Simmer over a low flame slowly for 20 to 30 minutes or for 2 hours. Allow to cool in the pot and carefully remove all the patties, placing them on a platter. After the fish has been removed, strain off the cooking liquid. This stock should then jell when chilled; if it does not, simply add a package of unflavored gelatin, following instructions on the package. 4. Serve the chilled gefilte fish with the jellied fish stock, horseradish, and of course the carrots. Per serving: 382.2 calories, 30.8 calories from fat, 3.4g total fat, 0.5g saturated fat, 0.0 mg cholesterol, 896.8 mg sodium, 50.2g total carbs, 19.9g dietary fiber, 6.5g sugars, 43.3g protein Nutritional analysis provided by TasteBook, using the USDA Nutrition Database From Joan Nathan's Jewish Holiday Cookbook by Joan Nathan Copyright (c) 2004 by Joan Nathan Published by Knopf. Joan Nathan's books include The Jewish Holiday Kitchen, The Children's Jewish Holiday Kitchen, and Jewish Cooking in America, which won the IACP Julia Child Award for Best Cookbook of the Year in 1995 and the James Beard Award for Best American Cookbook. She contributes articles on international ethnic food and special holiday features to the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, Hadassah Magazine, Food & Wine, and Food Arts. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, Allan Gerson, and their three children.

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Zamosc Gefilte Fish

Ingredients

Nutrition facts