Gefilte Fish

Let’s be honest, gefilte fish has a bad rap. Amid the many delicacies of traditional Jewish holiday foods—matzo ball soup, brisket, honey cake—the humble gefilte fish is often left stranded and lonely on the table with no one asking for seconds.

Here’s a secret, though: That jar of gefilte fish that was brought home from the supermarket, the one filled with gelatinous broth and covered in a layer of dust from sitting there too long—that is not gefilte fish!

It’s an impostor, and it’s high time to treat yourself and your family to the real deal by learning how to make gefilte fish at home. Because the truth is that a real gefilte fish recipe, the kind made from scratch with fresh fish just for Passover, is entirely deserving of a spotlight on your table.

What is gefilte fish?

TMB Stuio

Gefilte fish is a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish food eaten at holidays and most often associated with the Passover Seder. Translated from Yiddish as “stuffed fish,” it was originally prepared by stuffing a mixture of ground, boneless fish into the carcass of a whole fish. It was a humble food, prepared with inexpensive fish and made in a way that stretched the cost of the ingredients as much as possible.

Gefilte fish recipes vary by region and by family, but they include a mix of fatty fish (like carp or salmon) and lean fish (like whitefish), and may or may not include onion, carrot, horseradish, sugar and matzo meal or bread crumbs. Nowadays, these fish balls are generally prepared as either egg-shaped quenelles or pressed into a loaf pan and sliced. They’re served as a cold appetizer and best enjoyed alongside horseradish relish and slices of the carrots they were cooked with.

This is an important dish in Jewish cuisine. It shows how much respect ancestors gave to it that they would give up their very limited space to keep the fish as fresh as possible until the very last minute.

Today, gefilte fish remains a classic dish that deserves to be passed down through generations.

What does gefilte fish taste like?

The flavor is quite mild. Once cooked and chilled, you’ll get a firm patty that has lots of fresh notes from the herbs and mirepoix. It’s perfect for loading up with horseradish sauce.

Gefilte Fish Ingredients

Taste Recipes

For the broth:

• Olive oil
• Onion
• Carrots
• Fennel bulb
• Salt
• Whole peppercorns
• White wine
• Water
• Salt
• Bay leaf

For the gefilte fish:

• Whitefish, rockfish or cod fillet
• Salmon or trout fillet
• Garlic
• Onion
• Carrot
• Matzo meal
• Egg
• Dill
• Lemon juice
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Sugar

Directions

Step 1: Make the broth

Taste Recipes

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the carrots, fennel, onion and peppercorns, and cook and stir for five minutes. Stir in the water, white wine, salt and bay leaf. Bring the broth to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes.

Step 2: Puree the gefilte fish

Taste Recipes

Meanwhile, place the carrot, onion and garlic in a food processor, and pulse until the vegetables are finely ground. Add the fish, and pulse until it’s finely ground and mixed well with the vegetables. The mixture should not become paste-like. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.

Editor’s Tip: If you have a small food processor, do this step in batches. You don’t want to let the food processor run for a long time—pulsing is better to prevent the ingredients from turning into a paste.

Step 3: Stir in the flavorings

Taste Recipes

Stir in the matzo meal, egg, dill, sugar, lemon juice, salt and pepper until just combined.

Step 4: Shape and cook

Taste Recipes

Wet your hands and shape the fish mixture into quenelles (the shape of a 2-inch egg). Gently place the quenelles in the simmering broth. Cover the pot and simmer on low for 30 minutes.

Editor’s Tip: Make sure all the quenelles are submerged in the broth for even cooking.

Step 5: Cool

Taste Recipes

Gently remove the gefilte fish and carrots from the broth with a slotted spoon and place them into a shallow dish with a rim. Strain the broth and pour 1 cup of the strained liquid into the dish. Cover and refrigerate the gefilte fish and carrots until chilled, three hours or overnight.

Make sure to save the remaining strained broth and vegetables for another use!

Step 6: Serve

Taste Recipes

Use a slotted spoon to remove the fish from the liquid and arrange them neatly on a serving platter. Slice the carrots and add them to the platter. If desired, garnish with additional dill.

Editor’s Tip: I like to enjoy gefilte fish with horseradish, either store-bought or homemade.

How long does gefilte fish stay good for?

Like most cooked proteins, gefilte fish will stay good for a week when refrigerated. Thankfully, it’s best prepared a day ahead so the flavors have time to develop, so you’ll have one less thing to do on the busy day of your seder.

Gefilte Fish Tips

Do you serve gefilte fish hot or cold?

Gefilte fish is best served cold. The fish tastes much better chilled.

What’s the best kind of pot to cook gefilte fish in?

Whatever you do, don’t use a tall pot! Use a wide, shallow pot that all your ingredients can fit into but won’t become a steam hazard.

Can you cut this recipe in half?

If you’re having a small-scale Passover celebration, this gefilte fish recipe can easily be halved (or doubled) depending on your needs.

How do you keep the mixture from sticking to your hands?

Make sure to wet your hands when forming the patties. This will keep the fish mixture from sticking to your hands, and will make for a smoother final product.

Do you have to grind your own fish?

If your fishmonger is willing to grind the fish for you, simply skip the food processing step for the fish and add it directly to the bowl with the processed carrot and onion. In some regions, it’s common for fishmongers to grind fish for exactly this dish. Either way, your gefilte fish will be delicious.

How do you serve gefilte fish?

Gefilte fish is the sidekick to Passover’s classic main dishes. It’s generally served before the main meal at your seder, and goes great with spicy horseradish that is sure to clear your sinuses. It’s also a perfect precursor to all the classic Passover dishes, like matzo ball soup, brisket and these Passover sides.