If you’ve gone on a gluten-free diet and thought you’d have to give up Gefilte Fish, guess again. My Paleo Gefilte Fish are gluten-free. They’re also every bit as tasty as the dish that is typically made with matzo meal.
We make this homemade Gefilte Fish recipe once a year. Since they’re not easy to make, we save them for the special occasion of Passover. Growing up my Bubby was a powerhouse in the kitchen. She cooked up her homemade Gefilte Fish for us often.
We serve this healthy Passover recipe with Maror, which is made of ground horseradish.
Gefilte Fish
Ingredients
- 1 pound halibut fillets, skinned and boned
- ½ pound salmon fillets, skinned and boned
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon celtic sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- ¼ cup fresh dill, finely chopped
- 1 cup grated carrots
- ½ cup parsley, finely chopped
Instructions
- Cut the fish into large chunks and place in a food processor
- Pulse until finely ground; do not puree
- Heat oil in a large frying pan
- Sauté onion over medium-low heat until soft and transparent, cool for 10 minutes
- Pulse onions, eggs, salt, pepper, and lemon juice into fish mixture
- Pulse in dill, carrots and parsley
- Refrigerate mixture for 3 hours
- Heat a large pot of water and bring to a boil
- Shape fish mixture into 1½-inch balls
- Drop balls into water and cook for 15-20 minutes until cooked through
- Place balls in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and refrigerate to cool
- Serve with Horseradish Sauce and garnish with fresh sprigs of parsley
This Gefilte Fish recipe was inspired by one from Ellyn Goodrich called “Alaskan Halibut and Salmon Gefilte Fish Terrine.” While Goodrich’s recipe makes a “loaf,” mine is made into the more traditional balls. I’ve also added more vegetables to make the dish lighter. Finally, while hers contains gluten, I’ve created a gluten-free Gefilte Fish.
What are Gefilte Fish? They are simply fish balls made from a mixture of deboned fish that is then ground. This traditional dish is popular with Ashkenazi Jews and is served on Shabbat as well as Jewish holidays such as Passover.
Here are some of my other healthy Paleo Passover recipes:
Free exclusive eBook, plus recipes and health tips, delivered to your inbox.
Sprinzette @ Ginger and Almonds says
Your recipes are always so inspiring – such a pleasure to visit every time.
kathy says
i’ll be making these for Easter!
Leah says
Elana — what is holding them together? I also use vegetables and do not use matzah meal in the gefilte fish on Pesach, but use potato starch, and ground nuts to hold the fish together. Does frying the onions eliminate some of the liquid which occurs when using raw onions?
Zingara: Yes — usually matzah meal is an ingredient, or during the year except for Passover, some people use bread crumbs.
zingara says
i love gefilte fish! when i was a little kid, mrs. soloman lived next door to us. i loved her, too. she used to let me watch her cook & sometimes help, also. on friday nights, my mother, who was not jewish, went over to turn on mrs. soloman’s stove, b/c mrs. S. was very orthodox & could not perform tasks on sabbath. when mrs.S made the fish balls, i distinctly recall that she used some sort of bread or cracker crumbs in the ingredients. could i have been mistaken? is there a recipe for gefilte fish that uses crumbs?
Mia says
This recipe looks great. Thank you!
Katie @ Nourishing Flourishing says
I’ve never seen gefilte fish that looks so appetizing! Lovely.
dena berko says
I’d like to share a source for kosher for passover almond flour!
http://www.digestivewellness.com/subcategoryitems-digestive_wellness_scd_legal_food-kosher_for_passover_products-24-35.html
Erin says
I am not Jewish, but our church has a Passover meal that this would be wonderful for! This looks so much better than the gefilte I remember from growing up. thanks!
Jennifer and Jaclyn @ sketch-free vegan says
I never used to like gefilte fish, but I think I’m starting to warm up to it…your photos are beautiful by the way…
We just started a heath food photo sharing website and would love if you would submit some of your photos!
http://www.healthfreakfood.com
Yaelian says
I am not a big friend of gefilte-fish,but yours look both delicious and beautiful:)