My husband, z”l was not fond of fish, but certain types of fish are good for our diet. I began experimenting with a fish dish I had been making for company for many years in Israel, then adapted it to the U.S. when I lived there. I first tasted it in the home of a member of a food group to which I belonged in Jerusalem in the 1970s. In this period of abstaining from meat before Shavuot, these are special dishes to try.
French Fish With Mushroom Sauce
8 servings
Dairy
- 1 can mushroom soup
- ⅔ can milk
- 8 pieces filet fish
- ¼ cup chopped green onions
- 3 T. margarine pieces
- 1 cup white wine or vermouth
- 6 T. margarine
- 5 T. flour
- 1 cup whipping cream
- ½ t. lemon juice
- sliced mushrooms
- ½ cup grated Swiss cheese
- 2 T. margarine pieces
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a baking dish.
2. In a saucepan, combine mushroom soup and milk and blend until it thickens.
3. Arrange fish in the greased baking dish. Sprinkle green onions on top, then pour on mushroom soup and dot with 3 T. margarine pieces. Bake in oven for 10 minutes.
4. Melt 6 T. margarine in a pan, add flour and blend. Pour off fish liquid into pan. Add whipping cream and bring to a boil. Add lemon juice. Spoon over fish. Add a few sliced mushrooms.
5. Sprinkle cheese on top. Dot with 2 T. margarine pieces. Bake for 20 minutes. Broil top a few minutes to brown.
Serve over rice.
Sea Bass “Sabayon”
4 servings
Dairy
I received this recipe from the Hilton Hotel in Jerusalem over 40 years ago.
- 1 T. margarine
- 1 T. cornstarch
- 1 cup fish stock
- 2 egg yolks
- 3 T. whipped cream without sugar
- 3 T. chopped parsley
- 2 t. chopped chives
- 2 t. lemon juice
- 8 very thin slices sea bass
- 1 cup fish stock
1. Melt margarine in a saucepan. Add cornstarch and stir until light yellow. Add 1 cup fish stock and bring to a boil.
2. Blend egg yolks and whipping cream to a smooth consistency. Add to cornstarch/fish stock. Add parsley, chives and lemon juice and set aside.
3. Place fish in a pan with 1 cup fish stock and poach for 1 minute. Drain.
Serve immediately with sauce on the side.
French Fish Stew
4-6 servings
Dairy or Pareve
- 5 T. butter or margarine or pareve margarine
- 1 sliced onions
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 sprigs chopped parsley
- 2 small sprigs chopped dill
- 2 mashed garlic cloves
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8 small potatoes, cut-up
- 2 cups dry white wine or 1 cup wine and 1 cup water
- 6 pieces white fish
1. Melt butter or margarine in a soup pot. Add onions and sauté 5 minutes.
2. Add bay leaves, parsley, dill, garlic, salt, pepper and potatoes. Cover with wine or wine and water and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.
4. Add fish, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 25 minutes more.
Sybil Kaplan is a journalist, author, compiler/contributor/editor of nine kosher cookbooks (working on a 10th) and food writer for North American Jewish publications. She lives in Jerusalem, where she has led weekly walks of the Jewish food market, Machaneh Yehudah, in English since 2009. She wrote the kosher Jerusalem restaurant features for Janglo.net, the oldest, largest website for English speakers from 2014 to 2020.
