Stuffed Carp – Gefillte Fish

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 1 carp
• 2 onions
• 2 carrots
• 1 roll
• 2 tbsp semolina
• 1 egg(s)
• salt and pepper
• some oil

Instructions

Working time approx. 2 hours; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 4 hours

Riba farshirovana – a Jewish dish in Ukrainian style

Scale the fish, taking care not to damage the skin. Gut the fish. Cut out the eyes and gills with a knife. Make an incision from the inside around the pelvic fins. Do not cut through the skin, so that the fins remain attached to the skin. Run your fingers under the skin at the cut point and carefully separate it from the flesh, if possible without damaging the skin. Break the backbone at the nape of the neck with your hands. Continue to separate the flesh from the skin with a knife, continuing along the inside. Cut through the backbone just before the tail. The skin should be removed from the fish so that you have the skin, head, and tail in one piece for stuffing, and the removed fish meat attached to the carcass. Scrape the fish meat off the carcass with a tablespoon or cut the fillets off. Carefully remove the bones with tongs. Refrigerate the fish. Dice the onions. Grate the carrots on a coarse grater. Sauté both in a pan with a little oil until golden brown. Soak the bread roll in water. Put the fish fillets, along with the cooled onions, carrots, and squeezed bread roll, through a meat grinder. Crack an egg into the mixture. Season with salt and pepper, and mix well. If the mixture is too runny, add 2-3 tablespoons of semolina. If the filling seems too small, put some chicken breast fillets or fish fillets through a meat grinder and add to the mixture. Fill the fish casing with the stuffing. Brush with oil, place in a roasting bag, add half a cup of water, and seal the bag. Finish cooking in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F). Let cool, then cut into pieces. Arrange the fish on a serving platter to create a whole fish, decorate, and serve. Sometimes the stuffed fish is poured over with aspic. This dish is served cold. Serve with mashed potatoes and tartar sauce. Tip: Other large fish can also be prepared in this way. In Ukraine, large freshwater fish are usually used for this purpose.