I like to spice up the meal (and discussions) at the Seder table by adding a few dishes every Passover based on the global Jewish kitchen. One of my favourites is mini peppers stuffed with gefilte fish.
Many Ashkenazi Jews who settled in Mexico and elsewhere in Central and South America add some spice to their traditional Eastern European foods, which inspired me to add salsa to gefilte fish. Since the word gefilte actually means stuffed or filled, I decided to stuff the fish into small, sweet peppers (for extra spice use jalapeño or poblano peppers, see recipe notes).
Serve Spicy Gefilte Fish Baked in Peppers as you would regular gefilte fish or use as an appetizer as “gefilte fish poppers.”
Gefilte Fish Poppers
Serves 8, doubles well
Ingredients
3/4 cup Passover Salsa (see recipe below), divided
2-1 pound bags mini sweet peppers (peppers should be about 2 1/2-3 1/2 inches long)
Vegetable Oil
1 pound rockfish, red snapper, or similar mild white fish
1 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 large eggs
1 medium carrot
1 small onion
1 large celery stalk
1/4 cup matzah meal
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crumbled, dried oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon cayenne, optional
Chopped cilantro or parsley
Jarred, ground white horseradish, optional
Directions
Prepare salsa. Oil rimmed baking sheet. Choose peppers that lay flat or mostly flat so they can be stuffed. (If they are very wobbly, slice a bit off the bottom until they stand, but be careful not to cut through.) Leave stems on. Slit peppers horizontally leaving connected at tip and stem ends. Pull out seeds.
Place fish, juice, and eggs in food processor. Process until puréed. Scrape into large bowl. Process carrot, onion and celery in food processor (no need to clean work bowl) until minced but not puréed. Combine in bowl with fish and 1/4 cup salsa. Sprinkle with matzah meal, salt, sugar, black pepper, oregano, and red pepper. Mix thoroughly. To test flavouring and spicing, fry a spoonful of batter in a tablespoon of oil in a small fry pan over medium heat. Taste. Add salt, cayenne, and sugar as needed to the remaining raw fish batter.
Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Firmly pack the raw fish into peppers, filling them end to end and mounding the fish an inch or so above the tops. Place on prepared sheet, bake 25-30 minutes until the peppers are tender and filling is firm and lightly browned. Serve hot, warm, or room temperature topped with cilantro and remaining 1/2 cup salsa. Pass horseradish if desired.
Passover Salsa: Combine 3/4 cups fresh diced tomatoes, 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic, 2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic, 1 tablespoon minced jalapeño (or to taste; seed for milder flavour), and 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro or parsley. Mix. Add 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1 1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice. Stir well. Use 3/4 cup for recipe. Refrigerate remainder and reserve for another use.
Notes: Bags of mini sweet peppers are available in supermarkets’ produce sections. You probably won’t use them all in the recipe but I specify 2 pounds since some will be too curved or otherwise unsuitable for stuffing. Save any leftover for another use.
Substitute small red, yellow and or orange bell peppers. Cut bell peppers in half top to bottom, remove stems and seeds (being careful not to pierce the peppers all the way through), lay halves flat and stuff.
For spicier poppers substitute fresh jalapeño peppers (which are smaller) or fresh poblano chilies which are much larger.
I like to spice up the meal (and discussions) at the Seder table by adding a few dishes every Passover based on the global Jewish kitchen. One of my favourites is mini peppers stuffed with gefilte fish.
Many Ashkenazi Jews who settled in Mexico and elsewhere in Central and South America add some spice to their traditional Eastern European foods, which inspired me to add salsa to gefilte fish. Since the word gefilte actually means stuffed or filled, I decided to stuff the fish into small, sweet peppers (for extra spice use jalapeño or poblano peppers, see recipe notes).
Serve Spicy Gefilte Fish Baked in Peppers as you would regular gefilte fish or use as an appetizer as “gefilte fish poppers.”
Gefilte Fish Poppers
Serves 8, doubles well
Ingredients
3/4 cup Passover Salsa (see recipe below), divided
2-1 pound bags mini sweet peppers (peppers should be about 2 1/2-3 1/2 inches long)
Vegetable Oil
1 pound rockfish, red snapper, or similar mild white fish
1 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 large eggs
1 medium carrot
1 small onion
1 large celery stalk
1/4 cup matzah meal
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crumbled, dried oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon cayenne, optional
Chopped cilantro or parsley
Jarred, ground white horseradish, optional
Directions
Prepare salsa. Oil rimmed baking sheet. Choose peppers that lay flat or mostly flat so they can be stuffed. (If they are very wobbly, slice a bit off the bottom until they stand, but be careful not to cut through.) Leave stems on. Slit peppers horizontally leaving connected at tip and stem ends. Pull out seeds.
Place fish, juice, and eggs in food processor. Process until puréed. Scrape into large bowl. Process carrot, onion and celery in food processor (no need to clean work bowl) until minced but not puréed. Combine in bowl with fish and 1/4 cup salsa. Sprinkle with matzah meal, salt, sugar, black pepper, oregano, and red pepper. Mix thoroughly. To test flavouring and spicing, fry a spoonful of batter in a tablespoon of oil in a small fry pan over medium heat. Taste. Add salt, cayenne, and sugar as needed to the remaining raw fish batter.
Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Firmly pack the raw fish into peppers, filling them end to end and mounding the fish an inch or so above the tops. Place on prepared sheet, bake 25-30 minutes until the peppers are tender and filling is firm and lightly browned. Serve hot, warm, or room temperature topped with cilantro and remaining 1/2 cup salsa. Pass horseradish if desired.
Passover Salsa: Combine 3/4 cups fresh diced tomatoes, 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic, 2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic, 1 tablespoon minced jalapeño (or to taste; seed for milder flavour), and 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro or parsley. Mix. Add 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1 1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice. Stir well. Use 3/4 cup for recipe. Refrigerate remainder and reserve for another use.
Notes: Bags of mini sweet peppers are available in supermarkets’ produce sections. You probably won’t use them all in the recipe but I specify 2 pounds since some will be too curved or otherwise unsuitable for stuffing. Save any leftover for another use.
Substitute small red, yellow and or orange bell peppers. Cut bell peppers in half top to bottom, remove stems and seeds (being careful not to pierce the peppers all the way through), lay halves flat and stuff.
For spicier poppers substitute fresh jalapeño peppers (which are smaller) or fresh poblano chilies which are much larger.