Faux Poisson or Fake Fish

Name: Faux Poisson or Fake Fish
Yield: 15 meatballs
Ingredients: 1/2 pound ground veal; 1/4 pound ground beef; 2 large eggs; 2 heaping tablespoons matzo meal; 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste; 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste; 2/3 cup sugar; 1/2 onion, peeled and finely diced, plus 1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped; 2 carrots, peeled and cut into rounds; Horseradish for garnish

December 9, 2011

It is common knowledge that Jews should usher in the Sabbath with a little bit of fish. But in the village in Poland from which Danielle’s mother hailed, they often could not get carp in the winter, because the lake was frozen. The story goes that the Jews thought they could make an arrangement with God to create falshe fish (Yiddish for “fake fish”). So they made meat patties, shaped in ovals or balls, depending on the family tradition, and simmered them in a broth with salt, sugar, pepper, and a little carrot, so they would look and taste like sweet-and-sour gefilte fish. “Because the intentions were good, the benevolent God agreed with the Jews and said that he would make believe that it was fish,” said Danielle. (In this recipe, sugar is used as a seasoning, as it was in past centuries.)

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