Future Gefilte Fish

An Eastern European appetizer at the Passover seder made with carp and white fish: in traditional recipes for gefilte fish, the fish is first deboned, often while still at the market. Next, the fish is ground together with eggs, onions and matzoh meal or challah, and then stuffed into the skin of the deboned fish, giving it the name gefilte (filled or stuffed, compare the German gefüllte). Ground almonds are also included in some variations. The whole stuffed fish skin (which appears as if it is a whole fish but is now boneless) is then poached with carrots and onions. When prepared this way, it is usually served in slices. This form of preparation eliminated the need for picking fish bones at the table and stretched the fish further, so that even poor families could enjoy fish on the Sabbath.

Nowadays, gefilte fish commonly refers to fish patties without the skin. The ground fish mixture is shaped into balls or oval patties and poached in a fish stock made from the head and bones of the fish. The poached balls are usually chilled and served with or without the jelled broth, accompanied by a horseradish-vinegar condiment known as chrain (either the red variety, flavored with beets, or plain white chrain, which has a sharper taste).

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