1,000 Jewish Recipes (192 page)

1
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to 1
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pounds red trout fillets, 1-inch thick

2 tablespoons strained fresh lemon juice

1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 green onion, chopped

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cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Cayenne pepper, to taste

Lemon wedges

1.
Cut each asparagus spear into 3 pieces. Rinse asparagus. Put pieces in a saucepan of boiling water. Boil 2 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.

2.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly oil a baking dish in which fish and asparagus can fit easily in one layer. Put fish in dish and sprinkle it with 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon olive oil, salt, pepper, and chopped green onion. Add 2 tablespoons water to dish.

3.
Bake fish uncovered for 7 minutes. Add asparagus to baking dish around fish. Cover lightly with foil and bake 5 minutes or until asparagus is tender and the thickest part of the fish is opaque inside; check with a sharp knife. Cover fish to keep it warm.

4.
In a small bowl combine remaining lemon juice, olive oil, and parsley and whisk to blend. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Spoon sauce over fish. Garnish with lemon wedges.

Tovah's Trout with Paprika Oil and Cilantro

3 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil

2 teaspoons paprika

4 large cloves garlic, minced

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cup chopped fresh cilantro

4 whole trout, butterflied

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1.
Mix oil with paprika in a small bowl. Let stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour, preferably several hours. Stir it occasionally. Add garlic and cilantro to paprika oil and mix well.

2.
If trout still has fins, snip them with sturdy scissors and trim tails straight. Rinse fish inside and out, removing any scales, and pat dry.

3.
Put trout on a large tray. Sprinkle trout inside and out with salt and pepper. Set trout on tray skin side down. Using about half the garlic mixture, spoon it over the trout. Fold each trout in half, re-forming it. Set each trout on a piece of foil large enough to wrap it. Spoon remaining garlic mixture over trout and rub it in lightly. Wrap each trout tightly in foil. Set wrapped trout in a roasting pan.

4.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake trout about 20 minutes or until a thin skewer inserted into thickest part of fish comes out hot to touch. Serve hot, in foil packets.

Baked Trout with Spinach Stuffing
 
or
 

2 pounds spinach, stems discarded, leaves rinsed thoroughly

1 tablespoon butter or vegetable oil

3 shallots, chopped

1 large egg

2 tablespoons matzo meal or bread crumbs

Freshly grated nutmeg

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

4 small trout (each about
¹
⁄
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pound), butterflied

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cup dry white wine or broth from a jar of unsweetened gefilte fish

4 lemon slices

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1.
Boil spinach leaves in a large pan of boiling salted water about 1 minute until wilted. Rinse under cold running water and drain well. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Coarsely chop spinach.

2.
Melt butter in a skillet or sauté pan, add
²
⁄
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of chopped shallots, and cook over low heat, stirring often, about 3 minutes or until soft but not browned. Add spinach and stir over low heat for 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl and let cool slightly. Add egg and matzo meal and mix well. Add nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

3.
Preheat oven to 425°F. Cut off trout fins and shorten tails. Remove heads if you prefer. Run your finger along trout about
³
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-inch from backbone line, on both sides of it, until you find a row of small bones running parallel to backbone. Run point of boning knife along both sides of each row of bones. Pull out bones with aid of tweezers. Sprinkle trout with salt and pepper inside and outside. Spoon stuffing into trout.

4.
Lightly butter a shallow baking dish and add remaining shallot. Set stuffed trout in dish on their sides. Add wine. Bake uncovered about 15 minutes or until trout are just tender and a skewer inserted into fish and filling comes out hot. Top each trout with a lemon slice, and sprinkle lemon with chopped parsley.

Grilled Whole Salmon

One 4-pound whole salmon

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

4 sprigs fresh thyme (optional)

3 lemons, halved

1.
Clean barbecue well and preheat it. If it has a thermometer, heat it to 450°F.

2.
Snip salmon fins with sturdy scissors and trim tails straight. Rinse fish inside and out, removing any scales, and pat it dry.

3.
Put salmon on a large tray. Sprinkle it inside with salt and pepper. Put thyme sprigs, if using, in the fish. Measure thickest point of fish in inches and calculate the grilling time of 9 or 10 minutes per inch. (If the fish is 2
¹
⁄
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inches thick, it will take about 22 to 25 minutes.)

4.
Lightly oil barbecue. Put fish on barbecue on its side. Grill it for about half the time. Turn the fish over and grill it for the remaining time. Check if fish is done by inserting a skewer into its thickest part; the skewer should come out hot; or cut into the thickest part of the fish, near its backbone, it should be less pink. Remove thyme sprigs, if using.

5.
To serve fish, slit skin along backbone. Use a broad spatula to remove portions of fish, putting spatula under a piece of fillet and lifting the piece off the bones. Serve with lemon halves.

Broiled Salmon with Walnut Sauce

Walnut and Garlic Sauce

2 pounds salmon fillet, preferably tail section, about 1 inch thick

2 tablespoons strained fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Lemon wedges

Fresh parsley sprigs

1.
Prepare sauce. Sprinkle salmon with lemon juice and oil and rub over fillet. Sprinkle fish evenly with coriander, oregano, salt, and pepper.

2.
Preheat broiler. Line broiler rack with foil if you like, or brush rack lightly with oil. Set fish on broiler rack and broil 4 minutes. Turn over and broil 4 to 5 more minutes or until the thickest part of fish is less pink inside; check with a sharp knife.

3.
To serve, cut fish into 6 portions and top each with a small dollop of sauce. Garnish with lemon wedges and parsley sprigs.

Kosher Fish Tacos