The BiG Story
THE BIG STORY on page 53
I Gloria Kaftan's
Gefilte Fish
10 lbs. whitefish
2 lbs. pike
2 lbs. trout
5 medium onions
1 4 carrots, sliced
Have the fish man grind the fish.
Place the bones and heads in a
large pot with the onions, peeled
and quartered. Cover with water
(3/4 full), season with salt and
white pepper, cover the pot and
boil for one hour.
Strain broth and return to pot.
Meanwhile, place ground fish in
a large wooden bowl (in TWO
batches, if necessary) and chop for
I awhile to blend and aerate. Add:
4 chopped (in Cuisinart) onions
I 5 eggs
1 T. Wesson oil
1/2-3/4 cup matzoh meal
3 t. salt
2 t. pepper
12 T. sugar
2 c. (or less) warm water
Chop, chop, chop, chop and chop
some more.
Form into balls and slip them into
the simmering broth on a slotted
spoon (no fingerprints). Cover and
boil for about 15 minutes. Reduce
heat, keep covered and cook for
another 2-1/2 hours. Add carrots,
uncover and simmer for another
1/2 hour. Cool in pot.
Makes 138 pieces.
the world of chocolate after years
and years of vanilla; you can never
go back.
Second, and most important,
homemade gefilte fish has secret
ingredients that canned and jarred,
fish do not: family history and love.
I was taught how to make gefilte
fish by a master, Estellee Wainer,
my grandmother. Not only did she
teach me how to grind, season and
cook gefilte fish, she also provided
the family history behind the
process: Things like how she used
to make fish for Rosh Hashanah and
Passover. This is our way of catching
up on the excitement in both of our
lives. She listens to my woes of try-
ing to finish my doctorate in clinical
psychology ("You're going to be so
successful") and looking for a mate
("You'll find your b'shert").
I listen to her travel tales and how
she is coping with losing my grand-
father.
As you can tell, making gefilte fish
is serious business for me. It helps
me stay connected to my roots.
A Little Of
This,
A Little Of
That
by Sharon Knoppow of
West Bloomfield
About 20 years ago, my
husband Jerry accepted the
fact that, although I cooked
a lot, gefilte fish was never
going to be part of my
repertoire.
He asked his mother,
Marian, for the recipe and
The gefilte fish made by the late Gloria Kaf- her response was typical of
tan, left, is loving recreated by granddaugh- ladies of her generation:
There was no recipe, just
ter Carole Kaftan, right, and other female
schit arein, toss in a little of
relative.
this and a little of that.
Undeterred,
Jerry went to her
to make it with her mother, in the
house'the next time she made fish.
same pot that we use today; what
Armed
with paper and pencil and
her mother's secret ingredient was
measuring cups and spoons, he
(sorry, I am sworn to secrecy); how
wrote
down everything she did,
making fish with me in 1998 trans-
stopping her to measure exactly
ports her back to her childhood in
by Pamela S. Warner of Boone, N.C.
what she was putting into the mix-
St. Louis; how she taught her mother
ture. He had to stay on top of the
and father English, and was court-
Gefilte fish is a subject very close to
activity because she would adjust
I ed long distance from Detroit by a
my heart both because I love to
seasonings while he wasn't paying
young pharmacist named Mike
make it and I love the person who
strict attention.
Wainer.
has mentored me in the art of fish
The next time fish was to be
Making gefilte fish with my grand-
making.
made,
he again went to her
:
mother
has
become
a
ritual
in
my
First of all, the best gefilte fish is
kitchen.
But this time he made the
life. It started about 10 years ago,
homemade. Once you have tasted
fish and she stopped him along the
I moved from Detroit to Chica-
when
n
homemade fish, canned and jarred
way to make adjustments. Success!
go. During trips home, Grandma
fish seem like a cruel joke to play
Since that day, Jerry has made
and I always set aside an afternoon
I on your palate. It's like discovering
The Secret
i Ingredients
12/18
1998
54 Detroit Jewish News
fish on a regular basis, always for
Pesach and Rosh Hashanah and
often for special occasions, like the
family Shabbat dinner prior to our
daughter's wedding. This year, he
grew his own horseradish, ground it
and labeled it "The Plague,' lest
anyone should come upon it
unaware in the refrigerator.
Marian Knoppow's
Gefilte Fish
10 lbs. fish (5 lbs. pickerel and
5 lbs. whitefish), ground
together, bones and heads
separate
10 c. water
3 large carrots, sliced
3 stalks celery with leaves, sliced
2 large onions, grated
1 T. salt
3 T. sugar
1/8 t. pepper
Bring bones and everything else
except fish to a very low boil, stir-
ring every 10 minutes. While the
broth is boiling, mix ground fish
with:
6 eggs (or 3 whole eggs and
6 egg whites; this is a Jerry
change)
2T. water
1 T. sugar
1 T. salt
7/8 t. pepper
6 heaping t. matzah meal
1 large grated onion
Let mixture sit at least 15 minutes.
Strain the broth and bring it back
to a rolling boil. Wet hands and
form fish balls. (Wet hands slightly
between every few balls.) Slip each
ball gently into broth. When all
balls are in the pot, rotate to make
certain liquid covers 90 percent of
the fish. Cook at very low boil for 2
hours, rotating pot every 20 min-
utes. During the last hour add 2
large sliced carrots, and salt and
pepper to taste.
Let stand 30 minutes and remove
balls with slotted spoon. Pour broth
over. Cool and refrigerate. Makes
30 average or 20 large pieces. ❑