Uncompromised gefilte fish, as grandma made it, no shortcuts, no cheating.
Start with a whole, scaled 2-3 pound fish, gutted or not. The recipe scales well, just add more vegetables to the stuffing for bigger fish. I choose the cheapest one, because, frankly, it makes no sense to cook good fish this much. It can be whitefish, or carp. If you have any choice, use less bony one.
Cut the head and tail off and save. Remove the guts if the fish was not gutted before. Cut the rest of the fish in 2.5-3 inch thick slices. With a paring knife, cut the meat out, leaving a thin layer next to skin and backbone. Sew the skin on the belly together if the fish was previously gutted. You will have round pieces with three sections.
Cut the meat or grind in a meat grinder. Add a large carrot chopped in small cubes or ground in a meat grinder. Add a large onion, grated. Add one egg white, beaten. Add enough crushed matzo (not matzo mill from the box) to make the mix thick. Add salt, black pepper, parsley and celery. Form small balls and stuff in the empty sections in fish.
Layer the skillet's bottom with onion rings and slices of red beet. Put pieces of stuffed fish, head and tail on top in one layer. Put slices of beet around, add chopped parsley and celery, add enough water to almost cover the fish. Add whole bay leaf and black pepper. Cover the skillet. Cook for about 40 minutes. Serve hot or cold; if cold, serve with its beautiful red jelly.
See also: kitchen, challah, chicken soup, knedle, almond macaroons.