TBT: TRADITION, TRADITION...TRADITION

Social distancing really hasn't been so awful except when one knows holiday time is approaching and that yearly trek to Milwaukee to purchase that page long Passover shopping list just wasn't going to happen. The worst part is our local stores just don't carry Passover products. 

The traditional meal would be even more important since the guest chairs around the table would be empty. We resolved the people issue by planning a zooming date and The Seder, Passover's ritual meal, would just require some experimental cuisine too. 



It was difficult to capture everybody at once on screen so here's a breakdown in alphabetical order (l to r)
Atlanta, Boston, Chaseburg, Dallas, Little Rock & San Franscisco

SORRY no pic of brother Marc working in the kitchen ...

16 family members joined our table via ZOOM... how wonderful is that?  



Besides family gathering one of those traditional musts are the holiday foods one of which is gefilte fish, a ground up deboned fish cooked in a fish stock. This was one dish I had never made from scratch. Oh, I usually just 'doctor' it up from the store bought jar. Although there was no carp/ pike in our freezer the sportsman who hunts on our land had given us fileted walleye and perch from his ice fishing outings. I had egg, (yes, the girls are laying again) and unopened matzo meal from last year.  Carrots, onions and celery were on last week's curbside pickup grocery trip.  Good to go except the fish stock would be a little more challenging. How do you find a fish head? I had frozen salmon skin intended for the next dump day(garbage day) but no fish heads. The internet helped provide some suggestions and after combining a few, that stock really did smell fishy. 

After a FB posting a photo question as to "What is this holiday food?: Most non-jews id'ed  it as matzo ball soup. To their credit, they did see them floating while poaching in a soup, the visual texture can resemble some folks's matzo balls and both do have some matzo meal in their recipes. 

Notice the differences between my gefilte fish (l) and matzo balls(r) cooking?

Matzo, a cracker looking flat bread is the unleavened substitute for regular bread for us during the Passover week. So matzo meal acts as a binder like bread crumbs. Matzo balls obviously have a lot more matzo meal than gefilte fish.

It was really wonderful to read the FB comments and the memories gefilte fish evoked. Stories about grandparents/aunts making it/ readers's very own endeavors. Personally my favorite college story of going home with a Chicago friend to her Grandma's for Passover was visiting the rest room,  sitting down when a splash came from the bathtub. You can imagine my surprise to see a large carp swimming back and forth in that tub. That carp would become gefilte fish, the ground up boneless fish dish... Talk about fresh.

Back to 2020, I lucked out not having to filet the fish. A true gift from our sportsman.  While the fish stock simmered, the Cuisinart (food processor ) did a great job of chopping everything.  Following the directions wasn't difficult and voila...  


Some of you  asked for the recipe. For those worried about the fishy smell, I had the exhaust fan on the entire time and also had other things to make. When Natureman returned after his infusion he commented on how good the house smelled when he walked in...

Now since Natureman also gave the gefilte fish 2 thumbs up, here's the recipe...

There's 2 parts: the stock and the gefilte fish

*You could make the stock ahead of time. Taste stock. I skimped on salt due to low sodium diet but don't skimp...   Recipe credit to  DELISH... 

INGREDIENTS  

FOR THE STOCK

8 c. 

fish stock

1 

onion, cut into wedges

2 

medium carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces

2 

stalks celery, cut into large pieces

Small bunch of parsley

3 

sprigs thyme

FOR THE GEFILTE FISH

2 T 

olive oil

1 

onion, chopped

2 

medium carrots, peeled and chopped

1 

stalk celery, chopped

3 lb. 

boneless and skinless fillets, whitefish, carp, and/or pike

3 

large eggs

1/4 c. 

parsley leaves

3/4 c. 

matzo meal

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Endive/Romaine leaves, washed and dried

Prepared horseradish

Matzo

DIRECTIONS

In lg pot over med. heat bring fish stock, onion, carrot, celery, parsley and thyme to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer.

Meanwhile:

Make gefilte fish in med. skillet over med-low heat, heat olive oil.

Add onion, carrot and celery , sauteeing until soft~ 10 min. Remove from heat, let cool.

Pulse onion mixture with parsley until almost smooth. Place in lg. bowl

Cut fish into chunks, place in food processor. Pulse until finely ground but not pureed. ( some texture is good)

Add fish, eggs, and matzo meal to onion mixture and stir.

Season with salt and pepper(Go heavy on pepper)

Shape into 20 fist sized ovals.

Drop fish into simmering stock and let simmer until completely cooked through ~25 minutes. Cook in batches if necessary.

Serve atop endive/ a lettuce with horseradish, matzo and cooked carrots from stock.

Mighty proud how my first endeavor came out...

And to boot, a rainbow graced our table here in the End of the Rainbow Valley... A miracle by all accounts.