Monday night marks the start of the Jewish holiday of Passover. Across the world, Jews will sit down to meals of ceremonial food. There's matzo, symbolizing the exodus from Egypt, and wine to celebrate freedom. Then there's gefilte fish.
These poached fish patties have been called the national dish of the Ashkenazi, the Jews of Eastern Europe. But as tastes change and Jews travel far from Europe — to places like the West Coast of the United States — they have found ways to keep the tradition alive.
That doesn't have to mean gefilte fish in a jar. Robert Sternberg, a cookbook author, culinary historian and rabbi, finds the stuff inedible.
"Wouldn't touch it," he says. "Once you've had the real thing, you can tell the difference."
Sternberg's grandmother came from a small town in Lithuania and used to make her traditional gefilte fish from carp, whitefish and pike — all fresh. Really fresh.
"When she would make gefilte fish, and that was nearly every other week," Sternberg says, "I knew it was going to be a gefilte fish week, because on Thursday live fish would be swimming in the bathtub."
Even if Jews on the West Coast wanted to fill their bathtubs with fresh fish, it's hard to find many lakes with pike and whitefish. So they look toward the Pacific Ocean instead.
Tinkering With Tradition
Like many West Coasters, Jenn Louis, who runs Lincoln Restaurant in north Portland, Ore., makes her gefilte fish out of salmon and halibut, which usually start their spring runs right around Passover.
"The salmon has a little more fat content to it, a little bit more structure and a little bit more of a bold flavor. And the halibut is a really, really lean fish. It's very, very delicate," Louis says. "But together, I think, they just complement each other very well."
Louis' recipe initially came from a family of fourth-generation Oregon Jews. But she has added her own touches.
"I like a little more updated version, with some lemon zest, which kind of gives a brighter flavor, [and] some fennel frond. And then I use a court bouillon, which is an acidic poaching liquid, with white wine, fennel seed, peppercorn ..."
Louis doesn't have qualms about tinkering with many people's traditional idea of gefilte fish. Jewish cuisine reflects a range of flavors, she says, even within her own household.
"My husband is Sephardic — his family is from Greece by way of Spain — and my family is Ashkenazi, mostly Russia and Poland. And so we grew up with really different food," she says. "He didn't grow up with bagels, lox and cream cheese, and I did. He grew up with a representation of more of a Mediterranean diet."
So while Louis' West Coast gefilte fish may sound strange, to culinary historians like Sternberg, it is very much a part of Jewish tradition.
"Jewish cooking will always look first at local ingredients, at seasonal ingredients," he says. "You know, using what's regionally available, and working with it in the traditional ways, which is really a cornerstone of all cuisine."
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