Name: Fish Quenelles with Herbs
Prep time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h
Yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 1 bay leaf; 2 carrots, roughly chopped; 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped; Salt and black pepper to taste; Stalks from a bunch of dill or chervil; 10 peppercorns; 2 egg whites; 1½ pounds assorted white fish fillets, carefully picked over for bones, rinsed, and patted dry; 1 cup snipped fresh dill leaves or minced chervil; 1 onion, peeled and quartered; 2 to 3 pounds fish heads, bones, and skin; 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice; 4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter, cut into bits; 1½ cups heavy cream

Preparation info

Makes
6 to 8
servings

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
1 hr

Appears in

The Best Recipes in the World

By Mark Bittman

Published 2005

About

Quenelles, like gefilte fish, are fish balls, but they are elegant fish balls, containing cream, herbs, and butter. As a result, they’re more expensive and more caloric than gefilte fish, but faster and easier to make. Also like gefilte fish, they traditionally were made from freshwater fish (especially pike), but you can use any delicate white-fleshed fish you like. This is a big, fancy first course, best followed with something light and simple, unl