For my semi-Seder this year I made a sweet brisket as our main course but since the Seder fell on Good Friday and at least one of my guests doesn't eat meat on G.F. I felt I had to make a fish dish as well and home made Gefilte Fish out of Tuna seemed like a great way to go.
Brisket recipe: about a 3.5 lbs brisket. (I got mine at the W.F. on Union Square), 2 large onions, 1lb white mushrooms, 3 or 4 carrots, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste, 12oz can of apricot nectar, 2 cups sweet red wine (I used kosher wine because we had some in the house for D.D.'s charoset, but any sweet wine will work.) Preheat oven to 325. Chop onions and carrots into one inch pieces. Remove mushroom stems. Put all the vegetables in an oven safe pot or baking sheet. Cover brisket with garlic powder, salt and pepper and place over vegetables in pot. Add apricot nectar and wine. Cover and roast long and slow at 325 for at least 5-6 hours. If your oven runs hot lower to 275-300. After cooking for at least 5 hours remove from oven, and let cool. Remove meat from pot and let rest on a board. Meanwhile skim as much fat off the pot as possible. When the meat has cooled, cut it into slices across the bias and add to the vegetables and sauce. Let cool and store in fridge overnight. Before serving the NEXT day, reheat again low and slow at 325 or so until warm throughout-at least an hour or two. The meat needs to be cooked, sliced, and stored overnight to get all the flavors. You can substitute liquids you prefer if apricot nectar or sweet kosher wine are not on hand. Only must is low and slow and storing sliced overnight.
Fortunately this Gefilte Tuna recipe is not quite as time consuming. i got a 1.5 lbs of packaged frozen spicy orange tuna at W.F. on Union Square. I defrosted, cut in pieces and placed it in the food processor along with 1/2 an large onion, two scallions, an egg, and half a package of Streitz's Matzo Ball mix. I processed thoroughly into a thick doughy consistency. I let the mixture rest in the fridge for about 15 minutes and meanwhile boiled two quarts of water. When the water boiled I generously salted and then added 4oz of hot sauce and 4 or 5 bay leaves. Using a teaspoon I shaped 12 small ellipses and gently dropped into the spicy boiling water mixture. Once the water came back to a boil I lowered the heat to low and cooked the fish for about 45-60 minutes at low heat. I removed the fish and strained the cooking liquid of all solids then returned the water to the pot. I reduced the liquid until less than two cups remained. Let it cool and then poured it over the fish and cooled in the fridge overnight. Serve cold with lots of horseradish and the sauce. Nouvelle style gefilte a la Uzi...
One of the photos in the series LOVE AT THE BEACH