Gefilte fish for Passover

Homemade gefilte fish is a highlight of Ashkenazic Jewish holiday meals, but preparing it is becoming a lost art. It's time-consuming but not difficult.

I'd love to convince some of you to try your hand at it by sharing my family recipe passed down from my paternal Jewish boubi (grandmother), Sarah Chase (née Meyer), originally from Riga, Latvia.

Tips for making Gefilte fish
You can save time by purchasing whole fish from a Jewish fishmonger, who will fillet, bone and grind them, saving heads, skins and bones for your stock. By meticulously boning them yourself, however, you can get about 20 per cent more ground fish. This is also cheaper, but adds a few hours.

This combination of fish is my favourite, but you can change the proportions to suit your taste and what's available; 15 lb/6.75 kg of whole fish makes almost 5 lb/2.2 kg of boned fish, enough to feed a large holiday crowd -- and fill the "doggy bags" inevitably requested by guests.