Gefilte Fish comes in stiff competition with cholent as #1 on the Jewish food list. We all make it. Most of us like it. But gone are the days when we have to scale our own carp to prepare it (maybe just on Pesach!). While I do make salmon, tilapia and flounder on occasion, gefilte fish is a Shabbos staple at my house. So I like to get creative with the preparation, both in preparing, and in plating. This is my most popular way of serving, and I always get the oohs and aahs from my guests when I set it on the table. You need two different types of preparations to plate this way. I am posting three different recipes for your choosing.
Bread Crumb Recipe:
This one is our favorite! (thanks to my cousin Chana Kaplan for the recipe)
1 roll sweet Gefilte fish
2 tbsp mayo
plain or flavored bread crumbs
Method:
Remove gefilte fish from the packaging. The easiest way to remove the wax paper is to rinse it with cold water for a few seconds. This will soften the paper just enough so that you can twist, unwrap and remove the paper easily. Brush the gefilte fish with mayo and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 75-90 minutes (depending how you like it, the longer you bake it, the more dried out it will be).
Take Note: When you bake the fish this way (uncovered, in the oven), towards the end, the fish will start to expand. It looks like it’s blowing up! This is just about when you should take it out. The air will come out of it when you remove it from the oven. It will become slightly free-formed. Maybe not the prettiest, but my family enjoys this preparation the best!
Asian Style Recipe:
1 roll sweet gefilte fish
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
Freunds mixed pack roasted sesame seeds (I used to roast them myself until I found this genius product!)
Method:
Prepare gefilte fish as above, however, brush with soy/honey mixture and sprinkle with sesame seeds instead. Bake uncovered, at 350 for 1 1/2 – 2 hours.
Another variation of this is to brush it with teriyaki sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Marinara Recipe:
1 roll sweet gefilte fish
1 jar Marinara sauce of your choice
Method:
Remove gefilte fish from packaging and wax paper, as instructed above. Pour 1/2 jar Marinara sauce over fish. Bake, covered, at 350 for 1 1/2-2 hours.
Dipping Sauces:
For dipping, I use chrein, horseradish sauce, wasabi sauce, and leftover marinara sauce from the pan. If you are not making the marinara fish, you can mix up a quick Russian dressing of mayo and ketchup.
To plate:
Slice fish evenly. Spread each type of fish on separate sides of a square serving dish. Prepare 4 mini l’chaim cups with dipping sauces and set between the fish. Place mini mousse spoons in the cups for serving.
I think I wanna just come to your house for every meal AND dessert :)
I saw those sesame seeds, but they were sooo expensive. Four or five times the price of regular.
I like to use them pretty often, so I feel like it’s worth it, since it saves me time. But you can definitely go ahead and toast them in the oven yourself until browned (I usually go by the smell test, once the house starts to smell like popcorn [!] they are usually ready).
Also, I love your blog and your ideas!
Here’s an idea..
I toast a container of sesame seeds at once. Then put it in a air tight container. So it’s ready whenever I need. :)
I love this idea. I’m not the biggest gefilte fish fan. Gasp, I know. This will definitely be on my Shabbos table this week. Thanks!
This looks fantastic. I want to make this for Shabbos. And I sending the link to my mom and sister, too. Love this!
Looks beautiful and sounds yummy! What are all the different sauces you serve with gefilte fish?
thanks! I use chrein, wasabi, horseradish sauce, and leftover marinara from the pan. If you don’t make the marinara fish, you can mix up a quick Russian dressing of mayo and ketchup.
I tried making this, but I used a small loaf pan and the fish did not get misshapen at all. It came out, well, loaf shaped.
That makes sense. But you had to cut off a piece of the fish to do this (how did you manage that with the fish frozen solid btw?). Using the smallest size pan that fits the loaf exactly, it does still get a bit misshapen. It doesn’t look too bad though (as you can see from my pics). The bread crumb recipe is definitely the favorite here, cuz it doesn’t taste fishy at all (the marinara one retains the fishy taste).
Hmmm… I am going to try a narrow but longer loaf pan and see if I can fit the whole fish in it. BTW, to cut the frozen fish, I just used a really sharp long knife and lots of willpower!
How do you cook the asian style gefilte? uncovered or covered?
Hi Ilana and thanks for asking! You need to cook the asian style gefilte uncovered.
Do you think this would work using Duck Sauce? I am thinking of a Pesach appetizer…..
Duck sauce over gefilte fish does not really appeal to my tastes. I would keep it simple on Pesach and just serve it plain.
What dip will go well with the asian version?
Wasabi :)
Thrilled to take over Passover Sedar from my folks this year ! Help! I bought 2 frozen gefilte fish loaves!. Looking at all of these recipes to make it our own. Do I defrost first?
And, bake or boil?
If you’re making the recipe here, you need to take off the wrapper and bake. Boiled fish is a different recipe. Don’t defrost unless you’re making fish balls or patties.
Just found these recipes and am trying the teriyaki gefilte fish (it’s in the oven, now). What sauces/dips do you think goes best with it? All of the ones you mention or one specific one? I would normally just serve with mayo and chrain, but I’m thinking this taste needs something different.
I would do spicy mayo and wasabi sauce.
How do I make spicy mayo?
the recipe is posted here: https://busyinbrooklyn.com/sushi-burrito/
I made the bread crumb fish last week (in addition to a loaf baked in spiced duck sauce). I used your idea for putting mini bowls of dips down the center of the serving dish – served mayo, spicy mayo and country style grainy mustard. Thanks for enhancing our Shabbos table!
Sounds beautiful, thanks for sharing!
I tried making the Gefilte fish that has the soy & honey plus sesame seeds… Total fail. It burns! It’s also difficult to turn the fish midway because it’s soft and just tears in two. Too bad. I thought it might actually be good. It just ended up in the garbage.
That’s so weird, I have made it many times. It does burn around the edges of the pan but not on the gefilte fish. You definitely can’t turn it over while it’s cooking because it’s still raw and will fall apart.
Hi, when you say gefilte fish roll have you purchased it? If so what brand do you suggest?
I would love to try these recipes as I only make it on Pesach and have used Benz always.
Thanks and Shabbat shalom!
I really like Raskins sweet gefilte fish!
Thanks so much for amazing recipes! Have tried all 3 and hubs and I love them all! So much easier to bake than boil especially with these simple but delicious recipes! Thanks!!
I”m so happy to hear!
I’ve been making the asian style gefilte fish and breadcrumb gefilte fish for a few months now and they always come out amazing. So easy and delicious and no pot to clean afterwards!
I’m so happy to hear!
Is it possible, to drain all the liquid from the leftover Gefelte, mash it up in a bowl, add leftover chopped smoked salmon, sauteed onions, celery, dill, 2 eggs, white pepper, a spoon of matzo meal and bake @ 350 in a well oiled sheet pan to make a fish souflee of sorts?
Cube, garnish with minced anchovies and fresh dill. Serve hot with a side of horseradish or wasabi mayo … Your skills appreciated!
I’m not so clear on this. You want to reuse leftover gefilte fish that’s been drained of the liquid it cooked in?