Gefilte Fish- My mum's recipe

Ok, So here is the deal:

I live in Sydney, but my mother lives in Brazil. Thanks G. for Msn! :)

I asked her how to make Gefilte Fish, and she explained me via MSN, Mother style, you put a little bit of this, a little bit of that.
So here is the recipe, based on what she said / how I made it.
But first, what is Gefilte Fish? For people that doesn't know (From wikipedia) Gefilte fish are poached fish patties or fish balls made from a mixture of ground deboned fish and very popular in the Ashkenazim Jewish community.


So here is the recipe:
This quantity is enough to make what you see in this photo (Around 15 balls  - in the photo I cut them in Half)

Ingredients:

 - 1 kg of fish, deboned and without the skin. Preference for Carp / Cod / Snapper. I used 5 types. Snapper, Barramundi, Trout, Cod and something else I don't remember the name.

 - 3 eggs

 - 3 onions

 - Salt and Pepper to taste

 - 2 tbps caster sugar

 - 4 to 5 tbsp cold water

 - 4 tbsp flour (Matzomeal during passover)

For the Fish Stock:

 - water

 - 1 fish head (Yacki, I know)

 - Carrots cut in round slices like the photo

 - an extra onion cut in edges

Or you can use ready fish stock, it should work out fine.

METHOD:

 - Prepare fish stock. Use the biggest pan you have at home.

 - in a food processor put onions and fish. Process it until looks homogeneous (Like baby food)

 - In a large bowl, beat lightly the eggs with a spoon. than add Sugar (If you beat the eggs with sugar you can burn the egg yolks), salt and pepper and bit a little bit more. 

 - add the Fish puree to the beaten eggs, than on the top put the flour and start mixing, here you can you a wooden spoon but hands are your best friends.

 - add a little bit of water if the mixture is to hard / dry.

 - Leave the mixture to rest for a couple of minutes (Maybe 10)

Now, put water in a bowl, you will need to wet your hands to make the balls / patties.

Get a Tablespoon to use it as a measurement, so you can have all the Gefilte fish in the same size. Make little balls / oval shapes and place it in the fish stock pan to cook. (Fish stock should be hot, and in the stove, if it was put aside before)

Leave it to cook for around 1 hour in a medium high heat.

Discard the Stock. 

Tradition says you should put one slice of carrot on the top of each fish ball, to simbolize gold. :)

My family serves it cold. 

It can be frozen for around 4 weeks.

Black Bean Burger Recipe with Cilantro-Lime Mayo

That recipe comes from CuisineNie

Black Bean Burger Recipe with Cilantro-Lime Mayo

Burgers:

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse 4 slices stale or toasted whole wheat sandwich bread to form breadcrumbs. Pour into a bowl and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive or canola oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add 1 medium onion, chopped, and sauté until soft. Add 2 cloves garlic, minced, 2 tablespoons minced jalapeno pepper (membranes and seeds removed – unless you like more heat), and 1 teaspoon ground cumin. Saute for additional 2 minutes.



Scrape the mixture into the food processor. Add 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed, 1 ¼ cups cooked brown rice, 2 teaspoon fresh lime juice, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Pulse until the beans are chopped, but not pureed.

Scrape the black bean mixture into a large bowl. Add ½ of the breadcrumbs and ¼ cup chopped cilantro. Using a wooden spoon, stir the mixture until combined.




Divide the mixture into 4 equal portions and form into patties. If the mixture is too moist to form patties, add more breadcrumbs. Place the patties on a baking sheet lined with plastic wrap and cover with additional plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour.




Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a large skillet (preferably not nonstick, so a good crust can form) set over medium heat. Add the burgers and cook for 4 minutes per side.

Cilantro-Lime Mayo

In a small bowl, combine ½ cup mayonnaise, 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro, and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Stir well.

Lightly toast 4 whole wheat buns. Spread 2 tablespoons cilantro-lime mayo on each bun, and top each with a black bean patty, 2 tablespoons crumbled cotija cheese (found in most supermarkets), 1 slice large tomato, and 3 slices avocado. Serve.

Mushroom and Parmesan Risotto

That's one of Ben's favorites recipes and it's fair easy to make.
Here it goes, with my comments.

For 4 People:
Ingredientes:
2 litres of vegetable stocks - ready - hot
2 tbsp of olive oil
100g butter, chopped
1 brown onion - chopped
2 garlic cloves- finely chopped
250g of mushrooms - Swiss brown or cup (or any regular) sliced
2 cups of arborio rice (Raw)
3/4 cup of a dry white wine
1/2 cup of shreded parmesan cheese
3 sprigs of fresh thyme (Just the "leaves"  - when I buy a bunch, I freeze the rest so can be frozen as well)
2 tbsp parsley - chopped (again, when I buy a bunch, I freeze the rest so can be frozen as well)
1 tbsp of lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1 - if you have ready Stock, bring to a low simmer and leave it aside. If you have powder or other type of stock, prepare it and leave it aside.
2 - Heat the oil in a large saucepan in a medium heat. Add chopped onion, the garlic, and the thyme, and cook it for 2 minutes, or until the onions start to get tender, but not brown.
3 - Add the rice and coat it in the oil, stirring all the time, for around 30 seconds. Stir in the wine, and cook for around 3 minutes.
4 - Now add the stock: You gonna add ladle by ladle, stirring all the time. You have to keep adding more stock when it gets almost dry.  That process will go for around 20 minutes and not necessarily you will use all your stock. The rice should be " Al dente" .
5 - Add your sliced mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes.
6 - Remove the Pan from the heat, and immediately add the Parmesan and butter. Stir well to combine
7  - Add parsley and lemon juice, and season to taste.
 8  - Serve and you can add more Parmesan if you wish.

Yum Yum

Love,
Vic

Mushroom Strudel

I made this for Rosh Hashana and people liked it.
The recipe is for 10, and it is really for 10.

Here is the recipe with all my comments.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1.5kg cup mushrooms, sliced- ADVISE: mushrooms absorve a lot of water when washing, and you will need to dry this water while cooking so better squeeze them with your hands 
• 100g butter, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 large brown onions, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup Beef stock (PARVE) (Could be chicken)
• 2/3 cup thickened cream -Check out for Gelatine in the ingredients, Gelatine is "meat" 
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar or red vinegar
• 1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
• 50g parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 2/3 cup fresh white breadcrumbs
• 12 sheets filo pastry - THAWED
• olive oil cooking spray or Regular Olive oil and a brush

METHOD
Have all the ingredients separated in bowls before you start.

1. start melting butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Once is Melted, add the garlic and onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until feels soft. Add the mushrooms. Unless you have a very huge saucepan, you will need to put them in batches.  Cook, stirring often, for 10 to 15 minutes or until juice evaporates. or at least most of it. You can also take a little bit of the juice with a cup. 
2. Add the stock and cook for 2 minutes. then add the cream and vinegar. Simmer for 3 minutes or until sauce thickens. If it doesnt, you can add a little bit of flour to make it thicker. 
3. Transfer mushroom mixture to a bowl. Add parsley, parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well. Set aside to cool completely.
4. Preheat oven to 190°C. Place 1 sheet pastry on a workbench. be sure is thawed. Spray with oil. Top with another pastry sheet and spray with oil. Repeat using 4 more pastry sheets. Spoon half the mushroom mixture along 1 long edge of pastry. Fold ends in and roll up tightly to enclose filling. Place strudel on a flat, lined baking tray. Repeat with remaining pastry, oil and mushroom filling to make a second strudel. be sure you have a long enough baking device and it fits your oven. alternatevily you can cut the pastry in half. 
5. Spray strudel tops with oil and you can add some sesame or poppy seeds. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden and crisp. 

Let me know how it goes.

Love,

Vic