In article it is told about a traditional dish of the Jewish cuisine - a stuffed fish (a gefilta Phish) and one of ways of her preparation is given
Gefilte Phish is a stuffed fish, a festive dish of ashkenazsky Jews. Train him usually on Roche-ashana ("the Jewish New year"), Pesach, it is frequent – on the Shabbat (on Saturdays) and for other holidays.
There are several versions of origin to a gefilta Phish: one of them the emergence reason in a diet of ashkenaz of a stuffed fish and forcemeat dishes in general calls banal need. Not all Jews were Rothschild, and Saturday was observed by all. Was very problematic to afford every Saturday to serve to poor and large families on a table meat or fish "in pure form", and traditions demanded a festive treat. And then Judaic women found an original way out: preparation kind of the whole fish filled with forcemeat with addition of cheap products (vegetables, matzo flour, etc.). Thus, became possible considerably to increase the volume and nutritiousness every portion, "stretch" one big fish on all family and to observe at the same time adequately Saturday. In the similar way, according to this version, there were a stuffed chicken or goose neck, cutlets, quenelles, stuffed peppers and other similar dishes.
According to other version the stuffed fish was the "correct" Saturday dish because when eating it wasn't necessary to choose stones from it that is forbidden on the Shabbat.
Tell that the gefilta Phish can't prepare simply, unambiguously. Nevertheless the only complexity of a dish consists in very delicate cleaning of fish from scales and removal of skin from the whole carcass without damages, but ever nothing came to Jews easily! But this meditative occupation will allow to reflect in process on frailty of life. And if it is serious, the stuffed fish is very tasty and effectively looks when giving that with interest compensates the spent forces and time for its preparation.
For a gefilta Phish approaches fish not everyone. First of all, fish has to be a kosherna, that is possess fins and scales, and here the Creator managed not to tell with the peculiar people that it is humane: it is most simply flayed from fish just not kosher – som. And forcemeat from it is considered among cooks and housewives who adjoined them the best for fish cutlets, for example. But alas … The second condition – the size of fish has to be quite large, the form – is closer to oval, and a carcass – fleshy: imagined the stuffed crucian or a flounder? The same. Third and a factor, very important from the practical point of view (here I will a little repeat): fish skin has to be rather strong and it is good to act. Best of all the carp and a pike approach on all these signs. I read somewhere that stuff salmon, but in real life of it I didn't meet.
It is necessary to tell that modern hostesses began quite often to dare to reduce labor input of preparation of fish: do "lazy" to a gefilta Phish. For this purpose it, crude and not drawn, after cleaning from scales pieces cut on quite thick (about 3.0 cm) and in such look already clean and separate each piece from skin. Then the turned-out rings from a fish skin are stuffed and before preparation put together, diligently pretending that "it and was". Some especially busy hostesses in general simplified process before preparation of fish cutlets and the beautiful calculation them on a dish. But we as already here it was told, don't look for light ways.
So, as they say, finish a talk, we will go marketing in shop, and it is better. It is required to us:
- a pike – 1.5-2.0 kg;
- a carp – 1.5 kg;
- 1 large napiform bulb;
- 1 average carrot;
- 2 big pieces of white loaf (thickness about 2 cm everyone);
- 1 crude egg;
- 1 tablespoon of semolina;
- parsley bunch;
- salt, black pepper, nutmeg to taste;
- vegetable oil.
Process step by step looks so:
1) I skin (it is important!) a pike to wash, clean, remove gills and eyes.
2) To accurately cut skin in that place where the head passes into a backbone, having groped the ridge, to have a bite it scissors. Holding a big fish for the ridge, "stocking" to flay with it – from a fresh carcass it is pulled together easily.
3) Pull out an entrails and remove a white film (peritoneum) which passes along a spine of fish under it there is a small congestion of blood which needs to be removed too. Debone (bones in this recipe won't be necessary for us, unlike traditional (boiled) gefilta Phish where they are used for cooking of fish broth). It is important that the pike has to be freshen, not frozen, otherwise after freezing it will be very difficult to flay from a carcass without gaps. Therefore if you don't plan to prepare a pike at once, in day of purchase, and you will freeze, it is better to flay from a fresh fish and to freeze separately a skin and meat.
3) A carp also to clean, draw and separate meat. Small stones - "forks" which in a carp great variety, it is possible not to remove – they will be crushed in the meat grinder. We don't spare a skin of a carp when cleaning: it isn't necessary to us.
4) To pass meat of a pike and carp via the meat grinder.
5) In a frying pan to brown in vegetable oil small cut onions and the carrots grated largely within about 10 minutes.
6) To soak pieces of white loaf in water or milk on your taste.
7) Connect forcemeat, onions to carrots, the wrung-out soaked bread, to add egg and semolina, the crushed parsley greens, to vent carefully to homogeneous mass, to salt, pepper, add nutmeg to taste.
8) Fill skin and the head of a pike with remote gills forcemeat, without filling very densely that during roasting skin didn't burst.
9) Oil a baking tray vegetable, lay out fish, to inwrap fins and a tail in a foil that didn't burn. To insert into a mouth of a pike inside vertically 2–3 toothpicks: it won't allow it to be closed, it will be beautiful and forcemeat in the head propechtsya well. From above we oil a pike vegetable and we put in an oven for 1 hour at a temperature of 180 degrees. Depending on specific features of an oven it is time it can be increased for 15–20 minutes.
10) To a ready pike we allow to cool down, instead of remote eyes we insert cranberry berries (or something similar to whom that is pleasant). We cut on flank steaks. We give with horse-radish.
Thanks for attention and bon appetit!