I’m not a gefilte fish lover. I’ve been known to refuse the stuff even when it’s dressed up like a fishy petite four.But gefilte fish isn’t something to sneer at. It is actually a reflection of Jewish culinary genius.Since Shabbos means fish but the Sabbath laws forbid using a utensil to separate the bones from the flesh (you can to do it with your teeth but that’s gross) that poses a problem. Hence the solution -boneless fish as in gefilte. And for Jews with large families and tight budgets gefilte is an economy food. Think of it as marine world’s equivalent of the hamburger.

Once upon a time gefilte fish making used to be a three day production. First the trip to the fish store or the lake. In many homes Mama or Papa brought home a live carp which swam in the bathtub-there were no aquariums for fish whose fate was to be eaten. After that came the messy jobs of gutting , cleaning and filleting followed by grinding the fish down-quite a task in those pre food processor days, adding the necessary spices and cooking the whole thing up . Sometimes the ground fish was even stuffed back into the fish skins, hence the name gefilte which means stuffed.

Hardly anyone does all of this today.While we like to see this so called release from drudgery as a blessing I suspect that there was something deeply edifying in working so hard to honor the glory of the Sabbath .

And yet when I do make gefilte fish, I use the frozen roll. It’s my tradition. My mother was among the first to use them when they cane out in the late 70s. If you’ve never seen them, they are long fish logs. You can buy them in Jewish grocery stores. They are a lot tastier than jarred gefilte fish and cinch to make . Add a smidgen of home chrain (horseradish) and you’re on to something almost gourmet.

Recipe

One frozen log of gefilte fish (A&B and Ungars are the best-no one paid me to say this)

Do not defrost

Mince one onion

Pour enough water into a pot so that the fish roll is halfway submerged. Add one teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (or more if you like it peppery) and one carrot. If you like it sweet add 1/4-1/3 cup sugar. Boil. Then turn down to simmer

Continue cooking for one and one quarter hours.

Cool and serve

But if you want something really extraordinary you can do what the British do-fry the fish. This is real kitchen alchemy-a ho-hum dish transformed into a snack fit for kings and so easy.

Anglo Jewish Fish Balls

Defrost one roll of gefilte fish

Add matzo meal one handful at a time , just enough that you can form the fish into egg sized balls

Deep fry about six minutes until browned on all sides

(optional: add 1/4 t black pepper to the fish mix for a spicier fish ball)

Eat hot or cold. Yum