Fish with edible bones

I got inspiration for this dish from the old gefilte fish recipe.
But I prefer my fish whole, hence no grinding.

Fish whole 4-6 lb., once cut into pieces, should make a nice round in a wide pot. 

Beets, carrots, onions. 

Bay leaf, whole white pepper, salt, sugar. 

I did it with whitefish, I did it with salmon. It should work with carp and pike but I haven't tried it in my kitchen.
Depending on the size and the thickness of the bones the cooking time may vary.
It took 3 hours to make the bones of 4 lb whitefish fragile and chewable.
Salmon bones gave in only partially but it was a bigger fish with much thicker spine. 

Take one whole gutted and scaled fish. Cut it into portions: cut through skin and bones. Peel raw beets. Put slices of beets on the bottom of a wide pot - a single layer will suffice. Arrange the fish with the tail and head on the top of beets (well, my salmon was missing the head, but the dish still came out beautifully).  Peel a thick carrot, cut it into think rounds. Put slices of carrot between fish slices. Put carrot slices and beet slices between fish and the walls of the pot. The fish shouldn't touch metal anywhere. Cut a big onion or a couple of medium size onions  into rounds and arrange on top of the fish in single layer. Mix generous amount of salt and a hint of sugar (1 teaspoon) with water and pour over the dish. Add more water as to cover the fish completely. Bring to boil and then simmer on low for about 3-4 hours. If you need to add water, do so. If you need to add salt, mix it with water first. Add bay leaf and white pepper an hour before you think you are done.
Once you are done, let the fish cool down.
Prepare a big serving dish. With your own hands take the fish slices out one by one and arrange on the dish, head and tail and everything else in between. Decorate with carrot slices (surprisingly, they won't fall apart after all that cooking).
Now, take out whatever elements are left in the pot or put the stock through the colander. Peel some medium or small potatoes and boil them whole in this fish-vegetable stock. After they cool down, add potatoes to the serving dish.
I can imagine you cook this dish a day before actually serving it. 
Unlike fish cooked fast, this fish will be very appealing on day three and even four.
Once you have it available, it's a true mouth-watering experience.

Labels: food, recipes, fish.