Whitefish Quenelles With Beets Horseradish And Fresh Herbs Recipes

WHITEFISH QUENELLES WITH BEETS, HORSERADISH, AND FRESH HERBS

Steps:

• Make the stock: Put fish bones, onions, carrots, celery, herbs, wine, and 10 cups cold water into a large stockpot. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, skimming foam from surface, 40 minutes. Pour through a sieve into a bowl; discard solids. Let cool completely. Cover, and refrigerate until cold (up to 2 days).
• Make the quenelles: Finely chop onion in a food processor. Add half the pike, whitefish, and carp; process until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl halfway through. Transfer to a large bowl. Puree remaining fish. Return first batch of fish to the processor, and pulse to combine.
• With machine running, add eggs and egg whites; process until just combined. Transfer to bowl. Stir in matzo meal, salt, sugar, lemon juice, pepper, and nutmeg. Add ice water in a slow, steady stream, stirring until combined. Press through a large-mesh sieve into another bowl. Refrigerate 30 minutes (up to 1 day).
• Bring stock to a gentle simmer in a large saucepan. Shape quenelles using two wet soup spoons: Use one spoon to scoop up a mounded spoonful of batter; slide second spoon on top of first, with spoons pointing in opposite directions. Spoon the batter back and forth a few times, scraping it into a small, neat egg shape. Drop quenelles into simmering stock as you form them, working in batches of 8. Cook until quenelles float and surface springs back when lightly pressed, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer quenelles to a large, shallow bowl as they are done. Strain stock over quenelles in bowl; cover, and refrigerate overnight.
• Prepare the beets: Preheat oven to 350. Toss beets with oil and 3/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Arrange beets on a rimmed baking sheet; cover with foil. Bake until beets are very tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes; peel. Cut into 1/4-inch dice, and transfer to a medium bowl. Add vinegar, and toss; season with salt. Cover, and refrigerate until ready to use (up to 2 days).
• Make the horseradish: Stir together horseradish, vinegar, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Cover, and refrigerate up to 1 day.
• Remove quenelles from refrigerator 30 minutes before serving. To serve, spoon 3 quenelles and about 2 tablespoons stock into each bowl. Place 1 tablespoon beets and 1 tablespoon horseradish next to quenelles, and garnish with herbs. Place remaining horseradish in a small bowl, and serve on the side.

GEFILTE FISH WITH BEET HORSERADISH

Steps:

• To make the dumplings, cut the fish into 1 1/2-inch chunks and place in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes to freeze partially. Transfer to a food processor and process to as fine a puree as possible. Add the onion, egg, matzo meal, salt, and pepper and continue processing to a paste. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator until quite firm, at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
• To make the beet horseradish, cook the beet in water to cover until it can barely be pierced, 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the size. Drain and let cool until it can be handled, then peel it while still warm. Grate on the medium-fine holes of a box grater. In a small bowl, combine the grated beet, horseradish, vinegar, sugar, and salt and stir to mix. Set aside at room temperature until ready to use or refrigerate for up to 2 days.
• To make the broth, combine the fish bones and heads, carrot, celery, shallot, salt, and water in a medium saucepan, adding more water if needed to cover the ingredients. Bring to a boil over high heat and skim off any foam that forms on the surface. Decrease the heat to maintain a brisk simmer, cover partially, and cook until slightly reduced, about 30 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large pot and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
• To cook the dumplings, with wet hands, form the fish mixture into ovals the size of a very large egg, using about 1/3 cup for each dumpling. Drop them into the broth and bring just to a boil. Cover the pot and simmer, adding more water if necessary to keep the dumplings afloat, until cooked through, about 1 1/2 hours. Transfer the dumplings and broth to a serving bowl, let cool until no longer steaming, and refrigerate until the broth sets into a loose gelée, 3 hours or so.
• Serve the gefilte fish and gelée cold with the beet horseradish on the side.

GEFILTE FISH WITH FRESH BEET HORSERADISH

Steps:

• Peel and coarsely chop 2 of the onions, and cut the fish into 3-inch pieces. Place half the fish and half the chopped onions in the bowl of a food processor, and process until smooth, about 1 1/2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl down 2 to 3 times. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Repeat process with the remaining onions and fish, and add to the first batch. (If your fishmonger ground the fish, chop onions, process to a coarse puree, and stir into the fish.) To the fish and onions, add salt, sugar, and matzo meal, and mix well with a wooden spoon.
• Add eggs and water, and mix to combine. Refrigerate mixture until cold and firm, about 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, cut fish bones into 3-inch pieces, and place in a 6 1/2-quart stockpot. Cut remaining onion, 2 carrots, and celery in half, and place in stockpot. Add cloves, 2 dill sprigs, and 1 1/2 quarts water to barely cover bones and vegetables. Bring liquid to a boil, reduce heat, and let simmer for about 35 minutes, skimming off the fat that rises to the surface as necessary.
• Remove broth from heat, and strain liquid through a cheesecloth-lined sieve, pressing down on and then discarding solids. Rinse and dry stockpot, and return broth to pot. Set aside.
• Remove fish mixture from refrigerator. Wet hands with cold water, and form 2 heaping tablespoons of mixture into an oval shape. Place on a clean plate. Wet hands as necessary and continue until all of the mixture is used up, making 36 to 40 ovals.
• Return broth to heat, and bring to a simmer over medium low. Cut 2 carrots into 1/4-inch-thick rounds, and add to the broth. Carefully add fish, cover, and simmer over very low heat until fish is firm and opaque at the center, 20 minutes.
• Remove fish from broth with a slotted spoon, and arrange in a single layer in Pyrex baking dishes. Strain broth through a sieve lined with cheesecloth, discarding carrots. Pour strained broth over fish. Cover, and place in refrigerator overnight, allowing the stock to jell.
• Prepare an ice-water bath: Fill a large bowl with cold water and ice. Cut remaining carrots into 3-inch matchsticks. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil, add salt and carrots, and cook until just tender, about 30 seconds. Transfer carrots to ice-water bath for 1 minute. Drain in a colander, transfer to a small bowl, cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve fish.
• Remove fish from refrigerator. To serve, arrange 2 pieces of fish and a spoonful of jellied broth on 1 large or 2 small radicchio leaves on each plate. Divide the carrot matchsticks among the plates, and garnish each with a sprig of dill. Pass horseradish on the side.

HERB PASTE

Steps:

• Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor; process until smooth, scraping down the sides and adding more oil as necessary.

FRESH HORSERADISH WITH BEETS

Steps:

• Using processor fitted with shredder attachment, shred horseradish. Transfer horseradish to medium bowl. Fit processor with metal blade. Return horseradish to work bowl. Add next 3 ingredients. Process until almost smooth, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally, about 5 minutes. Mix in salt. Place horseradish in glass jar. Cover tightly; chill at least 1 day and up to 10 days.

SMOKED WHITEFISH GEFILTE FISH WITH LEMON-HORSERADISH SAUCE

Steps:

• For gefilte fish:
• Cook carrots in pan of boiling salted water until very tender, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water in small bowl. Stir matzo meal into water; let stand 10 minutes. Place carrots in processor. Heat olive oil in heavy medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add green onions and stir 1 minute. Add onion mixture to carrots in processor. Add matzo meal mixture; blend until mixture is pureed and smooth. Using electric mixer, beat 3 eggs and lemon juice in large bowl until foamy and slightly thickened, about 4 minutes. Stir in mixture from processor; do not clean processor bowl.
• Blend fish fillets, smoked fish, salt, and pepper in same processor bowl until fish is finely chopped. Add remaining egg and blend to coarse paste. Add fish mixture to matzo meal mixture and mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate until very cold, about 2 hours.
• Line large baking sheet with waxed paper. Using wet hands, shape 1/4 cup fish mixture for each dumpling into egg-shaped oval. Place on prepared sheet. Cover with waxed paper and chill while preparing cabbage and steamer.
• Set vegetable steamer rack in large pot. Fill pot with enough water to meet, but not cover, bottom of rack. Line rack with cabbage leaves. Arrange 8 fish dumplings on leaves; cover with additional cabbage. Bring water to boil. Cover pot and steam dumplings until cooked through and firm to touch, about 25 minutes. Transfer upper cabbage leaves to platter. Top with cooked dumplings. Cover with bottom cabbage leaves. Steam remaining dumplings in additional cabbage leaves in 2 more batches. Cover and refrigerate gefilte fish until cold, at least 6 hours. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)
• For sauce:
• Push garlic through garlic press into small bowl or mince garlic and place in small bowl. Mix in horseradish and lemon juice. Gradually whisk in mayonnaise. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Cover; chill up to 1 day.
• Line plates with lettuce leaves. Arrange 1 or 2 fish dumplings on each. Spoon lemon-horseradish sauce alongside.

LENTILS WITH GINGER, GOLDEN BEETS, AND HERBS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place beets, water, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a baking dish. Cover with parchment, then foil, and bake until beets are tender when pierced with the tip of a small knife, 45 to 55 minutes. Let stand until cool enough to handle. Peel and quarter beets, and place in a small bowl. Toss with 1 teaspoon oil.
• Combine lentils and sliced ginger in a medium saucepan, and cover with water by 2 inches. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer gently. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Drain; discard ginger. Transfer to a large bowl, and stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Combine remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and the grated ginger, onion, vinegar, and honey, and let stand for 15 minutes. Whisk in remaining tablespoon oil and the coriander. Pour over lentils, and toss to coat. Season with pepper. Stir in chopped mint and cilantro. Arrange beet wedges on top of lentils. Garnish with herbs, and serve immediately.

FRESH BEET HORSERADISH

Steps:

• Scrub beets; trim stems to 1/2 inch. Place beets in a medium saucepan; add water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium high; cook at a gentle boil until beets are tender when pierced with a small, sharp knife, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from heat, drain, and set beets aside until cool enough to handle.
• Meanwhile, grate horseradish on small holes of a box grater. Place in a small bowl; stir in vinegar, salt, and sugar.
• Peel beets; grate on small holes of box grater. Add to horseradish mixture; stir well to combine. Keep covered to preserve flavor, and refrigerate until needed.