Veganized Gefilte Fish -Fun and Healthy!

Why did I veganize this gefilte fish recipe? I do not eat fish!!!!

But gefilte fish is traditional holiday food of German and Eastern European origin that is popular to serve on Jewish holidays such as the Jewish New Year, (Rosh Hashanah), Passover and the Sabbath. 

AND Passover is a few weeks away! Read more 

Interestingly, gefilte fish did not originate in the Jewish culture. The recipe for "gefuelten hechden" was a popular dish with Catholic families during lent when eating meat was forbidden. In fact, this type of recipe was found in a non-Jewish German cookbook over 700 years ago.

It only started to gain popularity in the Eastern European Jewish community in the late 1500's.

It's always fun for me to try to "veganize" familiar and meaningful holiday foods for vegetarians/ vegans/ those who are gluten-free to enjoy. 

My favorite Jewish holiday "veganized" food is my vegetarian/vegan chopped liver. I think it really looks and  tastes like chopped liver. In fact, I've had meat eaters challenge me saying, " come on Judee, this is the real thing."

Today, I am presenting a"veganized "gefilte fish recipe. 

I must admit that it really looks like the real thing. Doesn't it??

HOWEVER, 

As much as it looks like gefilte fish, it DOES NOT TASTE anything like gefilte fish. It is not a substitute for the gefilte fish. 

But that's ok with me.  Before becoming a vegan, I never liked the taste of real gefilte fish anyway. However, I have seen recipes where they add seaweed to give it a "fishier" taste.

This "veganized" recipe triggers all the feeling of the tradition for me with the look of the traditional holiday food but with a brand new completely different vegan taste that I like better..

It's a low-fat healthy appetizer or side dish (oil-free) loaded with protein and vegetables. Perfect for vegans and perhaps those who do not like the taste of gefilte fish. 

Author of this blog: Judee Algazi

Recipe: Inspired and adapted from a recipe on One Green Planet

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 4 additional minutes for sautéing onions in water

Serves: 7 medium 

I adapted my recipe from a recipe on One Green Planet which did not require cooking, just chilling. 

 There are other recipes online for vegan gefilte fish. 

Jaime Geller , a popular Jewish kosher blog, has a vegan gefilte fish recipe  that is baked and made with potatoes, parsnips, and carrots.

PETA ( people for the ethical treatment of Animals) has a vegan gefilte fish recipe on their blog that is baked and made with potatoes and eggplant. 

Jewish Vegetarian Society has a vegan gefilte fish recipe that is made with cauliflower, potato, and parsnip. It is not baked. Instead it is cooked in broth for about 4 minutes.

Ingredients:

 

1 cup of chopped onion

2 tablespoons of water 

1 stalk of celery, sliced

1 large carrot, sliced

15 ounces (or 1 can) of cooked chickpeas

1 teaspoon of garlic powder 

1 heaping tablespoon of chickpea miso paste 

Salt and cracked pepper

Directions: 

Lightly sauté the chopped onion in the water without allowing the onion to darken for about 4 minutes. Remove from heat, place in a bowl, and set aside. Place carrot and celery in the food processor and process until carrots form small pieces. Add chickpeas, garlic powder, miso, and salt and pepper. Process until smooth. Remove from food processor and place in a medium bowl in the refrigerator for about an hour. After an hour, remove from the refrigerator and shape into gefilte fish shapes and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours. Garnish with cooked sliced carrots and place in a lettuce leaf to serve.

My Notes: 

Are these Kosher for Passover?

1. This recipe uses chickpeas and chickpea miso. Even though in 2016 the Rabbinical Assembly for Conservative Judaism ruled that it is now ok to eat kinyot (legumes, beans, quinoa etc.) on Passover, those items may be hard to find with a kosher for Passover certification for the holiday. If that is important to you, do not make these fun little gefilte fishes on Passover. Make them on Rosh Hashanah or Shabbos. 

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