Golden Tilefish Gefilte Fish with Preserved Lemon and Beet Chrain
Flecked with green herbs and served alongside a vibrant beet chrain, this is a striking first course for a holiday meal. The chervil, tarragon and preserved lemon are new accent flavors for a classic dish that is sometimes considered bland—they might even convert some gefilte fish haters!
Ingredients
- Gefilte Fish
- ½ cup breadcrumbs or matzah meal
- 1 quart fish stock (preferably homemade from clean fish bones)
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ medium onion, minced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 pounds golden tilefish filet, skin and bones removed
- 3 eggs, separated
- ½ cup chervil, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon leaves, chopped
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ tablespoon black pepper
- Cayenne pepper to taste
- Beet Chrain
- 2 medium red beets
- 4 tablespoons prepared horseradish, or to taste
- Juice of ½ a lemon
- Salt and pepper
- ½ preserved lemon, minced (for garnish)
Preparation
- For the gefilte fish, cover the breadcrumbs or matzah meal with 1 cup of fish stock and let it absorb.
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Sauté until wilted, but not yet browned 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool. In a food processor, add the fish in chunks, stock-soaked breadcrumbs or matzah meal, cooled onions, egg yolks, chervil and tarragon, salt, pepper and cayenne.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form firm peaks. Stir a little into the fish mixture, then quickly fold in the remaining whites.
- Bring the remaining fish stock to a simmer in large pot. Test the seasoning by putting a small amount of the mixture into simmering fish stock. Cook for 5 minutes and taste, then adjust seasoning. Form the gefilte fish into balls and gently simmer in fish stock 8 to 10 minutes until cooked through. Cool and refrigerate. Reserve some of the fish stock, cool and refrigerate.
- For the beet chrain, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put the beets in a deep pan and cover with water. Cook in the oven until tender when pierced with a fork, about 45 minutes. Peel and cool. Pulse in a food processor with the horseradish, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Adjust the amount of horseradish to your taste.
- Serve the chilled gefilte fish lightly covered with some of the chilled fish stock, sprinkled with preserved lemon and with beet chrain on the side.
Barry Koslow
