Gefilte Fish
Stuffed carp or pike is a dish for a celebration, and the hard part is taking the skin off in one piece. After that it is straightforward: a filling of fillet, onion and soaked bread, slow poaching over a bed of vegetables, and a night in the fridge so the broth sets to jelly. Onion skins give the amber colour the dish is recognised by.
- Prep
- 1 h
- Cook
- 1 h 30 min
- Rest
- 4 h
- Total
- 6 h 30 min
- Servings
- 8
- Level
- Challenging
- Per serving
- 240 kcal
Ingredients
Fish and filling
Poaching broth
Makes: 1 fish, 8 portions
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
-
Step 1: Peel the skin like a stocking
Cut behind the gills and work the skin away from the flesh, turning it inside out towards the tail. Snip the fins from inside with scissors.
-
Step 2: Fillet the fish
Lift the flesh off the backbone and ribs, picking out every bone. It is the dullest part of the job and the one that decides whether the dish is pleasant to eat.
-
Step 3: Make the filling
Mince the fillet with the onion, soaked bread and fat twice. Add eggs, semolina, salt and pepper and work it for 5 minutes, until the mixture turns sticky.
-
Step 4: Let the filling rest
Twenty minutes for the semolina to swell, so the filling holds together instead of spreading during poaching.
-
Step 5: Fill the skin
Fill it loosely, about three quarters — the filling expands, and a tightly packed fish splits. Sew the opening shut.
-
Step 6: Lay it on the vegetables
Line the pot with onion skins, carrot and onion, set the fish on top, cover with cold water and add the bay and peppercorns.
-
Step 7: Poach very slowly
Bring it to the barest simmer and cook 1.5 hours on the lowest heat, uncovered. A rolling boil tears the skin.
-
Step 8: Cool in the broth
Let it cool in the liquid, then lift it onto a platter and pour strained broth over. Four hours in the fridge and the broth sets to jelly.
Tips & variations
-
Tip
The skin comes off more easily from a part-frozen fish — it is firmer and tears less. Small holes can be stitched and will not show.
-
Tip
Scales left on give the jelly more shine, but the fish is easier to eat scaled. The classic presentation is scaled and cut into rounds.
-
Variation
The lazy version: leave the skin on, cut the fish into rounds, take the flesh out of each, mix the filling and put it back. The same flavour for half the work.
-
Storage
Three days in the fridge in its jelly. Served cold with horseradish — a tradition with a reason: it cuts the richness.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 8 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 240 kcal | 1,920 kcal |
| Protein | 22 g | 176 g |
| Fat | 12 g | 96 g |
| Carbohydrates | 9 g | 72 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
Cooked it? Rate the recipe
No ratings yet — yours will be the first.
