Gefilte Fish

In Yiddish, gefilte means “stuffed.” As a traditional Passover dish, gefilte fish was a ground whitefish preparation that was stuffed into a whole fish and baked. Over the years the dish morphed: The whole fish was eliminated and the whitefish stuffing was shaped into individual ovals and gently cooked in homemade fish stock. Our version brightens the fish quenelles with lemon zest and juice, and shortens the cooking time by using high quality store-bought fish stock. Serve the gefilte fish with Beet Horseradish or Dill-Horseradish Mayo and a side of our Southern Black-Eyed Peas recipe.

What to buy: Fish stock (also called fumet) can be found in the freezer section of most well-stocked grocery stores. You can also check with your fishmonger, as they sometimes make their own stock for purchase behind the counter. Avoid canned or boxed fish broths.

This dish was featured as part of our Recipes for Passover photo gallery.

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