Rabbi Gary's Famous Pacific NW Gefilte Fish

When we first came to Portland, I stumbled into a recipe for gefilte fish, Northwestern style. It was from Sophie Goldberg, of blessed memory. I have since made more gefilte fish each Passover than most Bubbies make in a lifetime.

Here's the recipe that I use now. It's a variant of Sophie's.

For fish, I prefer salmon and a white fish that's cheapest and boneless like talapia.

For soup stock, I use a pressure cooker. Quarter an onion (with the skin), four carrots, three stalks of celery, a lot of garlic. Saute the vegetables in a little olive oil and add 3 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, sealed in the pressure cooker, and then lower the flame for as long as you like. Drain the liquid into a bowl and return to the pot.

While the soup stock is cooking, cut two onions, chop ten cloves of garlic, cube six carrots, and sauté the mixture until the carrots are al dente.

Next chop the fish in a cuisenart, pulsing it until it is mostly ground, but not liquid (or anything close.

Add a hunk of fish to the soup broth, plus a lot of pepper and salt. Add a handful of brown sugar to the soup broth.

Mix the chopped fish with the carrots, onions and garlic. Add eight eggs (you can use egg substitute if concerned about cholesterol) and balance this mixture with matzah meal (which I make by taking a box of matzah and using the blade of the cuisinart to make it matzah meal. This saves a LOT of money. If you want to save time, do this before you chop the fish. You won't have to clean out the cuisinart in between.

You will arrive at a point where the balance between the egg and matzah meal is such that you can make balls of fish. Try one (for taste) by cooking it in the soup broth. If there isn't enough flavor, add sugar or salt to the soup broth until you get it right. They coat the gefilte fish and make it taste incredibly good. If I do say so myself.

Happy Passover! Let me know how it goes.

Rabbi Gary

Passover Recipe Resources:

Smitten Kitchen - This food blog has a special section for delectable Passover recipes.