Gelfite Fish with Mango and Purple Cabbage salad with beet horseradish

Dear: Food adventurer!

 

I am so relieved the stormy sea has passed and Iam sailing smoothly ( cross my finger)…. Moving on from one project to the next could be overwhelming.  Today, at last I have my peace of mind when everything is done. Don’t get me wrong,  I love school and interesting projects, especially one involving food challenges. Well I go to school for that, so that is expected!

 The highlights of this week were in fact presenting food demonstration and food intelligence test! The first really worn me out just because I had this little perfect idea how it supposed to be done and presented…and off course there were thousand little reasons turns in to a giant catastrophe why it did not turn out as I expected it. Let just say kitchen and whatever comes out of it  equal to my sanctuary and my greatest obsession! I am like a mama bear ready to eat someone alive when they come to mess with my cub ( read : food). But we cant always win can we? So… whatever passed I shall let it drain in the sink. The second challenge could have been more exciting: It involved more traveling than cooking! I was given a task to present kosher food for Passover.

The real challenge: it has to contain secret ingredient for audience to guess.

The problem: there aren’t really any secret ingredients for Jewish food! Besides matzo meal ,gelfite fish and horseradish!

So I managed to deal with that anyway, and served the traditional Gelfite fish with beets horseradish. See http://erasofelegance.com/cooking/ancientrecipes.html

 

Unfortunately with 100 eater expected, only few dare to try, and I was left with piles of Gelfite fish. Enough to feed the whole village, not to mention the flavor is a little bit off my palate. Gelfite fish tastes sweet, almost like a sweet boiled fishcake.

Devastated, I had to come up with a plan to use up all the left over.

 

Texture and flavor are most desirable components to taste in food. So I decided to revive the soft gelfite fish with a crunchier,and more savoury  exterior to give that crispiness to the skin, but keeping the soft filling.  I also added some love of liquorish fennel to the mixture which was perfect to give a depth to the dish. Lastly I presented the Gelfite fishcake with its traditional beet horse radish sauce with mango chutney and purple cabbage coleslaw to give it a balance. 

 The ingredients:

• 600 grams of Gelfite Fish
  
• 1cups of bread crumbs
  
• 2 tbsp  light soy sauce
  
• half of fennel bulb, cored and chopped 
  
• 2 eggs
  
• ¼ tsp of pepper
  
• Dash of lemon pepper seasoning
  

A blend of oatmeal, all purpose flour and nori seaweed, and paprika in the food processor  to make crispy skin.           

 

The “execution”

• Mix the all the ingredients and make into paddies
• Toss it in a blend of our savory flours and then to the frying pan with olive oil
• Once served, slice it with beet horseradish and light mayonnaise

Ps: this edition might  be an eye opener to other culture's traditional food!

Passion + Patience

*Gastrobutterfly*

A food to your soul.