Polish gefilte fish and beetroot horseradish chrein

User Reviews

5.0

105 reviews
Excellent
  • Prep Time

    3 hrs 30 mins

  • Cook Time

    2 hrs

  • Total Time

    5 hrs 30 mins

  • Servings

    8 people

  • Calories

    362 kcal

  • Course

    Appetizer

  • Cuisine

    Israeli, Polish

Polish gefilte fish and beetroot horseradish chrein

Homemade gefilte fish with beet chrein are a sweet-and-sour treat that will change the way you think about traditional Jewish food. Care, good ingredients and attention to detail make this a dish worth savouring!  

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Ingredients

Servings

Chrein (horseradish-beet sauce)

  • 7 oz raw horseradish
  • 5 oz raw beets
  • ½ TB sugar
  • ½ TB salt
  • ½ cup vinegar

Fish broth

  • 1 fish head and bones when buying your fish, ask the fish monger to keep the head and bones in a bag for you; if you’re filleting and cleaning your own fish, make sure to keep the head and bones
  • 1 carrot peeled and sliced into rounds
  • 1 onion quartered
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 5 whole peppercorns
  • 5 whole allspice berries
  • One parsley stem
  • 1 beet peeled and quartered (optional; my Ukrainian grandmother does this, but it takes the recipe in a decidedly non-Polish direction. However, this will give your gefilte fish an appealing pinkish hue)
  • water

Polish gefilte fish

  • 1 kg carp ground
  • 700 g Whitefish ground (pickerel or rockfish, cod and haddock are also acceptable replacements)
  • 1 onion chopped finely (you may fry your onion first for additional flavor; if doing this, take care not to brown onion)
  • ½ cup matzo meal Gluten free alternative - replace this with GF matzo meal or omit altogether.
  • 2 TB sugar
  • 4 tsps salt
  • 2 tsps pepper
  • 2 TBs sunflower oil
  • 1 egg
  • Large lettuce or kale leaves for presentation
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Instructions

Chrein (horseradish-beet sauce)

  1. Peel beets and horseradish, and soak them in cold water for an hour (this saves you the hassle of cooking the beets).
  2. Drain well, and grate using a box grater or a food processor fitted with a fine grating disc.
  3. In a bowl, mix with sugar, salt and vinegar, taking care to incorporate all ingredients completely.
  4. Transfer to a jar, cover with lid and let rest for at least two hours before serving (chrein keeps well in the refrigerator, only getting better with time).

Fish broth

  1. Wrap fish head and bones in a cheesecloth pouch (cut a large square of cheesecloth, wrap fish head and bones in it, and tie together with kitchen twine).
  2. Add sliced carrots, onions, bay leaf, peppercorns, allspice berries, parsley stem and beets (if using) to pot. Add enough water to cover ingredients.
  3. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium and continue simmering for 30 minutes, until carrots can be easily pierced with a fork.

Polish gefilte fish – best to do this while your fish broth is cooking

  1. Combine all gefilte fish ingredients in a large bowl, and mix well with a wooden spoon or your hands until well combined.
  2. Wet the palms of your hands and form oval shaped patties the size of a golf ball.
  3. Place gefilte fish balls into fish broth; add enough water to ensure gefilte fish are submerged fully.
  4. Simmer over a low flame slowly for 1.5 hours. Carefully remove all the patties and carrot slices from the broth. Set aside to cool.
  5. OPTIONAL: After the fish has been removed, strain off the cooking liquid. This stock will jell when chilled, providing a traditional sauce to serve with the gefilte fish.
  6. To serve gefilte fish, arrange lettuce or kale leaves on a large platter. Carefully place gefilte fish patties on top of the greens. Top each patty with one of the cooked sliced carrots, and a dollop of chrein. Serve with more chrein on the side.
Equipments used:

Notes

  • If you cannot find a fishmonger who will grind the fish into burger meat for you, you can process it yourself in a food processor or a meat grinder. However, please take care to take out all the bones before doing so - and save them for the fish broth.
  • To make this into a gluten free gefilte fish, replace matzo meal with gluten-free matzo meal or omit altogether.
  • replace matzo meal with gluten-free matzo meal or omit altogether.

Nutrition Information

Show Details
Calories 362kcal (18%) Carbohydrates 17g (6%) Protein 42g (84%) Fat 13g (20%) Saturated Fat 2g (10%) Polyunsaturated Fat 2g Monounsaturated Fat 7g Trans Fat 0.003g Cholesterol 147mg (49%) Sodium 1743mg (73%) Potassium 862mg (25%) Fiber 2g (8%) Sugar 7g (14%) Vitamin A 1356IU (27%) Vitamin C 6mg (7%) Calcium 83mg (8%) Iron 3mg (17%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 8people

Amount Per Serving

Calories 362 kcal

% Daily Value*

Calories 362kcal 18%
Carbohydrates 17g 6%
Protein 42g 84%
Fat 13g 20%
Saturated Fat 2g 10%
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g 12%
Monounsaturated Fat 7g 35%
Trans Fat 0.003g 0%
Cholesterol 147mg 49%
Sodium 1743mg 73%
Potassium 862mg 18%
Fiber 2g 8%
Sugar 7g 14%
Vitamin A 1356IU 27%
Vitamin C 6mg 7%
Calcium 83mg 8%
Iron 3mg 17%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

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