Equipment
Ingredients
Fennel Poaching Broth
- 2500 ml water
- 1 fennel bulb, thickly sliced
- 3 carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
- 2 yellow onions, quartered
- 2 celery stalks, cut into large chunks
- 15 g kosher salt
- 5 g black peppercorns, whole
Fish Mixture
- 250 g whitefish fillet, skinless, boneless, cut into chunks
- 200 g salmon fillet, skinless, boneless, cut into chunks
- 150 g striped bass fillet, skinless, boneless, cut into chunks
- 150 g trout fillet, skinless, boneless, cut into chunks
- 150 g carp fillet, skinless, boneless, cut into chunks
- 1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 2 eggs, large, cold
- 50 g matzo meal
- 15 g fresh dill, finely chopped
- 12 g kosher salt
- 8 g granulated sugar
- 3 g ground white pepper
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 238 kcal
- Protein
- 25 g
- Carbohydrates
- 17 g
- Fat
- 8 g
- Fiber
- 3 g
- Sugar
- 6 g
- Sodium
- 1438 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 2 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 3 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 2 g
- Cholesterol
- 117 mg
- Potassium
- 745 mg
- Calcium
- 90 mg
- Iron
- 2.0 mg
- Magnesium
- 58 mg
- Phosphorus
- 369 mg
- Zinc
- 1.4 mg
- Vitamin A
- 275 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 11 mg
- Vitamin D
- 9.4 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 0.7 mg
- Vitamin K
- 24 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.6 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 3.7 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.27 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.33 mg
- Niacin
- 5.0 mg
- Folate
- 53 mcg
- Water
- 513 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Combine water, sliced fennel bulb, carrots, quartered onions, celery, salt, and whole peppercorns in a large wide pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover loosely, and simmer for 40 minutes to extract the flavors.
While the broth simmers, place the chopped onion for the fish mixture into a food processor. Pulse until finely minced, scraping down the sides as needed.
Add the chunks of whitefish, salmon, striped bass, trout, and carp to the food processor with the minced onion. Pulse briefly just to break the fish down into a coarse grind. Do not puree into a complete paste.
Transfer the coarse fish mixture to a mixing bowl. Add the cold eggs, matzo meal, chopped dill, kosher salt, sugar, and white pepper. Vigorously fold and stir the mixture with a spatula or your hands until it becomes slightly sticky and cohesive.
Cover the mixing bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes. This allows the matzo meal to hydrate and makes shaping much easier.
Using wet hands to prevent sticking, scoop about 60 grams of the chilled mixture and shape it into a smooth, slightly flattened oval patty. Repeat until all the mixture is used, resting the formed patties on a parchment-lined tray.
Adjust the broth to maintain a very gentle simmer at around 90C/195F. Use a slotted spoon to carefully lower the fish patties into the broth. Cover the pot and simmer gently for 45 minutes.
Use a slotted spoon to carefully transfer the cooked patties to a deep glass storage container. Strain the hot broth through a fine mesh strainer directly over the fish. Discard the spent vegetables, reserving the carrots for garnish if desired.
Allow the fish and broth to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, until thoroughly chilled. Serve cold with strong horseradish.
Chef's Notes
- The secret to a bouncy, light texture reminiscent of a French quenelle is temperature control. Keep your fish, eggs, and even the food processor bowl ice cold before blending.
- Poaching a tiny test patty allows you to calibrate the salt and white pepper perfectly before committing the entire batch. Cold temperatures dull seasoning, so the hot test piece should taste slightly over-seasoned.
- Including salmon not only adds rich fat to keep the patties moist, but it also imparts a beautiful, subtle pink hue to the final dish.
- Skeptics are often turned off by the traditional, heavily jellied and overly sweet jarred varieties. This recipe uses fennel and dill for bright, clean aromatics, and just enough sugar to balance the savory notes, bypassing the dessert-like sweetness entirely.
Storage
Refrigerator: 4 days — Store submerged in the strained poaching broth to maintain moisture.
Freezer: 2 months — Freeze patties and broth together in airtight containers.
Troubleshooting
Patties fall apart when added to the broth
Cause: The broth was boiling too vigorously, or the mixture lacked sufficient binder and chilling time.
Fix: Reduce heat immediately. If the first patty breaks, return the raw mixture to the bowl, add an extra tablespoon of matzo meal, and chill for another 15 minutes.
Prevention: Ensure the broth is at a bare simmer and that the raw mixture rests in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before shaping.
Fish mixture is too dense or tough
Cause: Over-processing the fish in the food processor, turning it into a hot, tight paste.
Fix: Cannot be fixed once cooked, but serving with extra broth and horseradish helps mask the density.
Prevention: Pulse the fish only until coarsely ground, and ensure all equipment and fish are ice cold.
Underseasoned patties
Cause: Variations in salt crystal size or simply needing more seasoning for cold food, which dulls flavors.
Fix: Serve with highly seasoned accompaniments like strong chrain (beet horseradish).
Prevention: Poach a small marble-sized test piece in the broth, taste it, and adjust the raw mixture before shaping the rest.
Cultural Context
Gefilte fish, literally translating to 'stuffed fish' in Yiddish, was originally an ingenious Ashkenazi Jewish technique to stretch expensive fish and circumvent the Sabbath prohibition against picking bones from flesh. While the dish has suffered a poor reputation due to mass-produced, heavily jellied jarred versions, a proper homemade quenelle is an elegant, highly prized centerpiece for Passover and high holidays, boasting a delicate texture and profoundly savory flavor.
