Wednesday, September 24, 2008

move over, gefilte fish

maybe it's a jewish thing, but pickled salmon prepared in this manner — poached in a sweet and sour mixture with onions and pickling spices, then served cold — is extremely popular as an appetizer or alternative to the traditional gefilte fish. since not everyone is a gefilte fish lover, this is an alternative to the "same old, same old".

this version is very good since it doesn't require much work, especially if you get the fish already in fillets (i.e. skinned and boned). another very good thing about this is that it keeps well in the refrigerator and can be frozen, if prepared ahead of time. of course, if you're strict about following the customs about not cooking with lemon or vinegar on rosh hashanah, then skip this one for now.

seeing as i am running late with everything these days, pictures will follow shortly.


easy yomtov pickled salmon

enough for 10 people - recipe can be cut in half easily

ingredients:

4 lbs fillets of salmon, no skin or bones

1 3/4 c ketchup
3/4 c sugar
1 1/2 c lemon juice
1 1/2 c water

1 large onion
1 - 2 tbsp pickling spices*

method:

preheat the oven to 325 F.

wash salmon pieces and dry them with paper towel. cut them into individual serving pieces and set aside.

*you can add the pickling spices to the sauce wrapped in a cloth if you don't want them all over the place (as i prefer) or add them loosely later on in the recipe.

cut the onion in rings about 1/8" thick.

place sugar, lemon juice, ketchup and water in pot and bring it to boil. if using the pickling spices in a cloth, add them now. cook until sugar is dissolved. simmer the sauce for about 2 minutes.

in a large pyrex, place half the onion rings on the bottom.

place the salmon on top in one layer only. if using the pickling spices loose, then sprinkle them over the fish now.

pour the hot mixture over the salmon evenly.

place salmon in oven and cook about 20 minutes. don't cover the pyrex.

take the salmon out and place the remaining onion over the salmon.

let the salmon cool completely and cover well with tin foil. place in the fridge to marinate for at least 48 hours.

can be made ahead and frozen.

enjoy!

4 comments:

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

That definitely sounds interesting! I love salmon!

Cheers,

Rosa

May said...

Sounds good, never tried it with salmon. My mother makes the 'usual' gefilta, just unsweetned, and I love it! Its my favorite chag (holiday' dish :)

By the way, great blog! :)

Anonymous said...

sounds like a cousin to pescado en escabeche. i need to try once in my life gefilte fish or this "intruder"

burekaboy — said...

rosa - i hope that is "interesting" in a good way and not a bad one, LOL. it's actually a very good dish in spite of ketchup being used in it!

hi may - welcome to my blog & thanks for the visit and comment. where i live, many jewish dishes tend to be on the sweeter side than the savoury (well, depends what you're making really...). i've actually never had the unsweetened version of gefilte fish! LOL. i'm sure it must be equally as good. shanah tova to you. enjoy the chagim! :)

sar - this is WAY easier than making gefilte fish. just as good but a totally different flavour and texture. vale la pena hacerlo una vez.