During a Passover seder many years ago, my niece posed a question only a kid could ask:
"Aunt Phyllis, what kind of fish is a gefilte? Is it like flounder?"
After the laughter died down, I told her that gefilte fish is not a specific kind of fish, although at the time I hadn't a clue as to what gefilte meant.
I explained that in our family, gefilte fish was a poached fish ball made
from ground carp, although it can be prepared using pike, whitefish or a mixture of all three.
I recently learned that gefilte is Yiddish for "stuffed." The name comes
from the Ashkenazic practice of stuffing the ground fish back into the fish skin before cooking.
Jews began to make gefilte fish during the Middle Ages. It originated in Alsace, a French-speaking region close to the German border with a large Jewish population. In "The Food of France," Waverly Root describes carpe farcie a l'Alsacienne, the Alsatian version of gefullte fisch, the German term for stuffed carp.
The texture of gefilte fish reminds me of quenelles, the light, delicate French dumplings made from seasoned ground fish, veal or poultry, although there are significant differences. Le Bec-Fin's quenelles are made from pike, milk, butter, eggs and high-gluten flour - a recipe unsuitable for Passover
because no flour can be consumed during the eight-day festival marking the deliverance of the ancient Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. Matzo meal is the traditional filler in gefilte fish.
Making gefilte fish from scratch is an all-day effort, but definitely worth it. In my grandmother's day, she would buy a live carp and keep it in the
bathtub.
My mother did no such thing. She would call the fish man a week before Passover to inquire whether he had live carp.
"Is it swimming around in the tank?" she would ask.
"Yeah, lady, and it's singing and dancing, too," he would reply.
Mother would order about 10 to 12 pounds of ground carp. The bones and head always came with it. She would mix the ground fish with beaten eggs, salt, pepper and matzo meal. The bones and head were placed on the bottom of a big pot with sliced carrots, onions and water. (It is imperative to leave the onion skins on for added color and flavor.)
While the fish was simmering, Mother made roe latkes. Carp roe is bright orange. When mixed with eggs, seasonings and matzo meal and sauteed in oil, they turn pale apricot. You can easily see the tiny eggs. They were served along with the gefilte fish with homemade horseradish and the jellied stock
