Gefilte Fish Pate

 For more than 20 years I have been not making gefilte fish for Passover.  Our friend that we always celebrate did not come home until the first night of Passover and she asked us to hots it--what?  Make gefilte fish?  I don't think so.  But this recipe is very simple, came out beautifully, and is more flexible in terms of serving size options.  It slices like a dream.  The only thing is that this amount of gefilte fish did not fit into my bundt pan, so I did two of them, and it was at least enough to serve 25 or more people.  Halving the recipe and putting it in a 7-cup or 8-cup bundt pan will do nicely for most celebrations.

This comes from Joan Nathan, a trusted name in Jewish Holiday cooking.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 medium sweet onions (about 2 pounds), peeled and chopped
• 3 pounds whitefish fillet, bones removed, finely ground (I used the food processor to grind, but it is a fine grind that way.  I also used a 1/4 lb. of smoked salmon to add a little bit of that flavor, which I like, and you can eliminate the sugar that way because it adds a bit of sweetness)
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups cold water
• 6 tablespoons matzah meal
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground white pepper
• 2 tablespoons sugar (or less)
• 2 large carrots, peeled and grated (I chopped in food processor)
• Fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
• Horseradish, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
   
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until translucent. Remove from heat and let cool.
   
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine fish, cooled onions, eggs, water, matzah meal, salt, pepper, and sugar. Beat on medium speed for 15 minutes. Add grated carrots and mix until well combined.
   
4. Transfer mixture to 12-cup bundt pan, smoothing top with a spatula. Place bundt pan in a larger baking dish and fill baking dish 2-inches high with water. Transfer to oven and bake for 1 hour. Cover bundt pan with parchment paper-lined foil and continue baking until center feels solid when a wooden skewer is inserted into the center, about 1 hour more.
   
5. Remove bundt pan from oven and let stand 5 minutes. Invert onto a flat serving plate and refrigerate overnight. Slice and serve garnished with parsley.