A guide to modern cookery

980—HUÎTRES A LA FAVORITE

Poach the oysters (cleared of their beards) in their own liquor, which should have been carefully collected when opening them. Clean their hollow shells, and place them on a tray covered with a layer of salt one-half inch thick. Garnish them with Béchamel; upon the latter, in each shell, lay an oyster decked with a slice of truffle; cover with the same sauce; besprinkle with grated Parmesan and melted butter, and set to glaze quickly. Serve immediately.

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981—HUÎTRES AU GRATIN

Open the oysters; cut them free, and lay them in the hollow halves of their shells, which should be incrusted in a layer of salt covering a tray. On each oyster put a drop of lemon juice, a pinch of fried bread-crumbs, a little melted butter, and a piece of fresh butter the size of a pea.

Set the gratin to form in a fierce oven or at the salamander, and serve immediately.

982—HUÎTRES A LA MORNAY

Poach the oysters, and allow two per shell.

Set the hollow shells, thoroughly cleansed, on a tray covered with salt. Cover the bottom of the shells with Mornay sauce; put two poached oysters into each; cover with the same sauce; sprinkle with grated cheese and melted butter, and set to glaze quickly. Serve instantly.

983—HUÎTRES SOUFFLÉES

Make a preparation of Soufflé au Parmesan (No. 2295a). Slightly poach the oysters, clean their hollow shells, and set these on a tray covered with kitchen salt. Spread a layer of the preparation on each shell; put an oyster thereon, and cover the latter with the soufflé au Parmesan.

Heat the base of the tray on the stove, and, when the soufflé begins to rise, put the tray in the oven, that the soufflé may cook and colour at the same time. Serve at once.

984—HUÎTRES A LA FLORENTINE

Poach the oysters. Set their hollow shells on a tray as above; garnish the bottom of each of these with shredded spinach stewed in butter; lay an oyster on the spinach in each shell; cover with Mornay sauce, and set to glaze quickly. Serve immediately.

985—HUÎTRES GRILLÉES

Open the oysters, and leave them in their hollow shells; lay them (very straight) on a tray covered with salt, incrusting them in the latter; besprinkle with a drop of lemon juice and a little mignonette pepper and put them in a fierce oven, that their top surfaces may be speedily poached.

Dish them on a napkin; pour a coffeespoonful of “Sauce Diable Escoffier” over each, and serve directly.

986—QUENELLES D’HUÎTRES A LA REINE

With four oz. of chicken fillets and six raw oysters, prepare a mousseline forcemeat in accordance with the directions given [335] under No. 195. Mould this forcemeat, by means of a tablespoon, into large quenelles, in the centre of which lay two cold poached oysters.

Poach these quenelles after the manner of ordinary mousselines. This done, drain them on a piece of linen; arrange them in a circle on a round dish, and cover them with highly-seasoned Suprême sauce. Decorate each quenelle with a fine slice of truffle, and garnish the middle of the dish with some asparagus-tops, cohered with butter.

987—BASS (Bar)

This excellent fish is very little known, and, consequently, rarely sought after in England.

The large specimens are served, boiled, with the same kind of sauce as for turbot. The smaller ones are chiefly served à la Meunière or fried.

988—BRILL (Barbue)

Served whole, brill may be looked upon as the understudy, as it were, of the chicken-turbot, and all the preparations given for the latter may be adapted to the former.

If it be preferred filleted, it may be treated after the recipes given for fillets of sole. Hence for brill cooked whole refer to chicken-turbot and the recipes Nos. 925 to 938, and for filleted brill see recipes Nos. 865 to 922.

989—BLOATERS

Bloaters, or herrings partially dried in smoke, form one of the nicest breakfast dishes. As a rule, they are simply grilled over a moderate fire. It should be borne in mind that, as these fish are only partially salted and smoked, they will not keep very long.

COD. (CABILLAUD.)

If cod were less common, it would be held in as high esteem as salmon; for, when it is really fresh and of good quality, the delicacy and delicious flavour of its flesh admit of its ranking among the finest of fish.

990—CABILLAUD BOUILLI

Fresh cod is mostly served boiled, either whole, in sections, or in darnes, and the directions given under “The Boiling of Fish” (No. 776) apply particularly to this fish.

Boiled fresh cod is always accompanied by its liver, poached in salted water, and very floury potatoes, boiled at the last minute, must always be sent to the table with it.

Served thus with an oyster sauce, a Hollandaise sauce, or [336] melted butter, fresh cod constitutes a Relevé which would satisfy the most exacting of gourmets.

991—CABILLAUD GRILLÉ

Cut the fish into slices one inch or two inches thick. Season these slices; dredge them; sprinkle them copiously with melted butter, and set them to grill, remembering to baste them frequently the while with melted butter.

Serve them on a hot dish; garnish them with slices of lemon, and surround with bunches of parsley.

Send a Maître-d’Hôtel or Anchovy butter, or a grilled-fish sauce to the table with the dish.

992—CABILLAUD FRIT

Cut some slices of fresh cod, from one inch to one and one-half inches thick. Season them, treat them à l’anglaise, and fry them sufficiently to allow of their being well cooked all through. Dish them on a napkin with fried parsley and lemon, and send a butter sauce (No. 66), a tartare sauce, or a tomato sauce to the table at the same time as the fish.

993—CABILLAUD CRÈME GRATIN

For ten people take two lbs. of boiled fresh cod divided into small pieces; clear these of all bones and skin, and keep them hot in a little of their cooking-liquor.

Now, with the necessary quantity of Duchesse potatoes (No. 221), and by means of a piping-bag fitted with a grooved pipe, lay a border, one and one-half inches high, round a dish, shaping it in such wise that it is thickest at its base. The dish may be either round or oval. Carefully gild this border with egg-yolks.

This done, pour a few tablespoonfuls of Mornay sauce on the dish; lay thereon the drained pieces of cod, and cover the latter with enough Mornay sauce to reach within one-third of an inch of the brim of the border. If more sauce were used, it would flow over the border during the process of glazing.

Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and melted butter; set to glaze, and see that the border gets evenly coloured.

Serve the moment the dish is withdrawn from the oven.

N.B.—This mode of preparation is not restricted to fresh cod. It may be applied to all other boiled fish—turbot, chicken-turbot, brill, bass, salmon, &c.

994—CABILLAUD A LA FLAMANDE

Cut the fresh cod into slices one inch thick; season them with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and put them in a sautépan or a [337] deep, liberally-buttered tray. Moisten with white wine to the height of the slices; add chopped shallots and “fines herbes,” and garnish the fish with roundels of pipped lemon, peeled to the pulp.

Set to boil, and then poach in the oven for twelve minutes. Place the slices on a dish; thicken their cooking-liquor with crushed biscotte; cook it for five minutes; pour it over the slices, and serve.

995—CABILLAUD A LA PORTUGAISE

For ten people, cut five slices of fresh cod, each weighing one-half lb., and season them with salt and pepper. Put these slices into a sautépan containing the following garnish, into which they should be pressed:—Three oz. of butter and one-sixth pint of oil; one large onion, chopped and lightly coloured in butter; a bit of crushed garlic the size of a pea; one faggot; two pinches of concassed parsley; eight medium-sized, peeled, pressed, and minced tomatoes, and one-third pint of white wine.

Cover the sautépan, and set to boil on an open fire for five minutes.

Now take the lid off the saucepan, and leave it to cook for twelve minutes on the side of the fire, in order that the liquid may be reduced and the fish cooked at the same moment of time.

Set the slices on a long dish; withdraw the faggot, and pour the garnish and the cooking-liquor over the fish.

996—LAITANCES DE CARPE (Carp’s Milt)

The milt of a carp makes a very delicate dish. It is served either as a second fish at a dinner; as a garnish to large fish Relevés, after having been poached in salted water; or cut while raw into slices which are generally treated à la Meunière.

997—LAITANCES A LA MEUNIÈRE

Prepare them whole or in collops, in pursuance of the directions given under “The Cooking of Fish à la Meunière” (No. 778).

998—BARQUETTES DE LAITANCES A LA FLORENTINE

Poach the milts in salted water; cut them into small, long slices, and set them in barquette crusts prepared in advance.

Cover the sliced milts with a soufflé au Parmesan (No. 2295a), and shape the latter slightly after the manner of a dome.

Arrange the barquettes on a dish, and put them in a moderate oven, that they may cook and the soufflé be glazed at the same [338] time. When taking them out of the oven, dish them on a napkin and serve immediately.

999—CAISSES DE LAITANCES A LA NANTUA

Poach the milts in salted water. Drain them, and cut them into small slices thicker than their length.

Place these slices in small pleated porcelain cases with two crayfish tails in each. Fill up the cases with Nantua sauce, and lay a fine slice of truffle over the centre of each case.

1000—JOHN DORY (St. Pierre)

This fish, which is in the highest degree unsightly, is possessed of flesh whose firmness, whiteness, and delicacy are of the rarest excellence; and, when quite fresh, its fillets are certainly equal in quality to those of the chicken-turbot and the sole.

Albeit the dory is not as popular as it deserves to be, and this is owing either to its unsightliness, which may prejudice the opinion of gourmets against it, to people’s indifference with regard to it, or to a mere trick of fashion.

While I admit its unpopularity, however, I should strongly recommend all lovers of fish to give it a trial. Let them prepare the dory’s fillets after the recipes given under Fillets of Sole and Chicken-turbot, and, provided the directions be properly carried out, I venture to believe that the prevailing aversion to dory will very soon be found to have no warrant in fact.

1001—FRESH HADDOCK (Eglefin)

This fish is chiefly eaten smoked, under the name of haddock.

When it is fresh, it may be prepared after the recipes given for cod, to which it is quite equal in the matter of delicacy.

1002—SMELT (Éperlans)

Owing to their small size, smelts only lend themselves to a very limited number of preparations. They are usually served either on little skewers or dished in a heap on a napkin, with fried parsley and grooved half-lemons; those on skewers are dished flat with the same garnish.

Large smelts may be treated after the recipes immediately following.

1003—ÉPERLANS A L’ANGLAISE

Open the smelts down the back and carefully bone, without disfiguring them. Treat them à l’anglaise with fine bread-crumbs, and pat them lightly with the flat of a knife, that the bread-crumbs may adhere well.

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Cook them in clarified butter; set them on a long hot dish, and besprinkle them with half-melted butter à la Maître-d’Hôtel (No. 150).

1004—ÉPERLANS AU GRATIN

Proceed as for “Merlans au Gratin” (No. 1018), but allowing for the difference between the sizes of the two fish, put the smelts in a fiercer oven than the whiting, in order that they may be cooked simultaneously with the formation of the gratin.

1005—ÉPERLANS GRILLÉS

Open them down the back, and remove the bulk of their spine, leaving a small piece only in the region of the tail, and another small piece at the head. Season, dredge, and sprinkle them with melted butter, and grill them quickly.

Set them on a long, hot dish; surround them with slices of lemon and bunches of fried parsley, and serve separately either some half-melted butter à la Maître-d’Hôtel, or a sauce suited to grilled fish.

1006—MOUSSELINES D’ÉPERLANS

Proceed exactly as for Mousselines de Saumon (No. 797). To prepare the forcemeat, follow the directions under No. 195; but note the following changes:—Of the whole quantity of the meat of fish, that of the smelt should only measure one-third; the other two-thirds should be supplied by the sole, dory, or whiting.

The object of this disproportion has already been explained under “Velouté d’Éperlans” (No. 680). The flesh of the smelt is of a much too decided flavour to be used alone, and when this flavour dominates, it becomes positively disagreeable; hence the need of a fish whose flesh is almost neutral in so far as taste is concerned. But this addition of a fish foreign to the base of the preparation fulfils a double purpose; for, while it effectually weakens the pungency of the smelt’s flesh, it also enables the whole preparation to absorb a much larger quantity of cream, and this last circumstance can only allow of the mousselines being lighter and mellower.

1007—MOUSSE CHAUDE D’ÉPERLANS A LA ROYALE

Take a Charlotte-mould, of a size in proportion to the number of people to be served, and butter its bottom and sides. Cover the bottom of the mould with a round piece of buttered kitchen paper, and do the same on the sides.

Prepare the required quantity of smelts’ fillets; slightly flatten them in order to break their fibres, and trim them all to the same length and width.

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Then garnish the bottom of the mould with the fillets of smelt, placing them so that their skin-sides are against the mould. Between each of the fillets set a small strip of truffle, one quarter of the width of the former.

Garnish the sides in the same way, putting a strip of truffle between each; but take care to place the fillets aslant instead of upright. Having thus lined the mould with fillets of smelt and truffle, cover the whole with a layer of mousseline forcemeat, one-half inch thick.

Now fill the mould in the following way:—On the layer of forcemeat covering the fillets at the bottom of the mould set as many slices of truffle as will cover it; spread another layer of forcemeat on the truffle, and over that lay, alternately, a sufficient quantity of fillets of smelt and anchovy. Follow with a fresh layer of forcemeat, slices of truffle, &c., until the mould is full, and finish with a layer of forcemeat.

Poach the mousse (covered) in a moderate oven, and allow fifty minutes for one prepared in a quart-mould. It is very easy, however, to tell when the mousse is done, by simply thrusting a small knife into it; if the blade of the knife withdraws quite clean, the mousse is cooked.

As soon as it is ready, turn the mould upside-down on a dish, and raise it a little in order to allow the liquid, which always accumulates in more or less large quantities, to drain away. Soak up this liquid; gently draw off the mould; take off the paper, and remove the froth which may have formed on the fillets by means of a wet brush.

Lay a fine, grooved mushroom on the top of the mousse; surround it with mousseline sauce (No. 92), finished with crayfish butter, and send a sauceboat of the same mousseline sauce to the table with the dish.

N.B.—This mousse may also be prepared with fillets of sole, of salmon, or of trout, &c.

1008—HADDOCK

Sometimes the fish is grilled, but, after having boned it and removed its fins and the greater part of its belly, it is more often cooked in water or milk, either of which moistening is usually short.

It is plunged in slightly salted boiling water, and then it is moved to the side of the fire to poach, with lid on. Allow about fifteen minutes for a fish weighing one and one-half lbs.

Dish it with a few tablespoonfuls of its cooking-liquor, and, subject to the consumer’s taste, serve some fresh or melted butter separately.

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When haddock is served at lunch, send to the table with it an egg-sauce and a timbale of potatoes, freshly cooked à l’anglaise.

Mackerel (Maquereau)

1009—MAQUEREAU BOUILLI, SAUCE AUX GROSEILLES

Cut the mackerels into three, crosswise, and poach them in court-bouillon with vinegar (No. 163), seasoned with a pinch of fennel per pint. Drain them on a napkin; skin them, and dish them with curled-leaf parsley all round.

With the mackerels serve a gooseberry sauce prepared as follows:—

Green Gooseberry Sauce proper to Mackerel.—Cook one lb. of green gooseberries in a copper sugar boiler with three oz. of sugar and enough water to cover them, and then rub them through tammy.

1010—MAQUEREAU GRILLÉ

Cut off the extremity of the mackerels’ mouths; open them down the back, without dividing them into two.

Season them; sprinkle them with melted butter, and grill them gently, taking care to baste them by means of a brush with melted butter while they are cooking.

Set them on a round, hot dish, and sprinkle them with half-melted butter à la Maître-d’Hôtel, after having drawn their halves together, that they may seem natural and untouched.

Or surround them with grooved slices of lemon, and send a “Sauce Diable Escoffier” to the table separately. This sauce constitutes an excellent adjunct to grilled mackerel.

1011—FILETS DE MAQUEREAU AUX FINES HERBES

Raise some mackerels’ fillets in such wise as to leave the bones quite clean. Arrange the fillets on a buttered dish, and poach them in white wine and the cooking-liquor of mushrooms in equal quantities. Take care to cover them while they are being poached.

This done, drain them; skin them; set them on a long dish, and cover them with a herb sauce (No. 83), combined with their cooking-liquor strained through linen and reduced.

1012—FILETS DE MAQUEREAU AU PERSIL

Raise the fillets as before, and poach them in a white-wine court-bouillon with one-half oz. of parsley leaves per pint. Drain them; skin them; set them on a long dish, and cover [342] them with a parsley sauce. This latter is a butter sauce (No. 66) to which some freshly-chopped parsley is added at the last moment.

1013—FILETS DE MAQUEREAU A LA VÉNITIENNE

Poach the fillets in a court-bouillon with white wine. Drain them; skin them; set them on a long dish, and cover them with a Venetian sauce (No. 107).

Whiting (Merlan)

1014—MERLAN A L’ANGLAISE

Open the whitings down the back; loosen the spine, and completely remove it. Season them inside, and treat them à l’anglaise with very fresh and fine bread-crumbs.

Cook the whitings very quickly in clarified butter; set them on a long dish, and sprinkle them with half-melted butter à la Maître-d’Hôtel.

N.B.—Whitings à l’anglaise may also be grilled, but it is preferable to cook them in clarified butter.

1015—MERLAN A LA BERCY

Slightly open the whitings down the back, with the view of promoting their cooking process. Lay them on a buttered dish sprinkled with finely-chopped shallots, and moisten them with white wine and fish fumet. Add one-half oz. of butter per whiting, and cook in the oven, basting often the while. The moment when the whitings are quite done should be coincident with the almost complete reduction of their cooking-liquor.

Set to glaze at the last moment.

When taking the whitings out of the oven, sprinkle them with a few drops of lemon juice and a little chopped parsley.

1016—MERLAN A LA COLBERT

Open the whitings down the back, and bone them. Season them; dip them in milk; roll them in flour; and treat them à l’anglaise. Fry them; drain them; set them on a long dish; garnish the openings in their backs with butter à la Maître-d’Hôtel and border the dish with grooved slices of lemon.

1017—MOUSSELINES DE MERLAN

For the preparation of the mousseline forcemeat, refer to No. 195. The moulding and poaching of these mousselines [343] are the same as for salmon mousselines, and the preparations suited to the latter may likewise be applied to mousselines de merlans. (See Mousselines de Saumon, Nos. 797 to 799.)

1018—FILETS DE MERLAN AU GRATIN

Raise the fillets from some whitings, and leave the bones quite clean. Lay them on a buttered dish besprinkled with chopped shallots, the bottom of which should have been covered with a few tablespoonfuls of gratin sauce. Surround the fillets with slices of raw mushrooms; set two small, cooked mushrooms upon each fillet; pour a few tablespoonfuls of white wine into the dish, and cover the whole with gratin sauce.

Sprinkle with fine raspings and melted butter, and put the dish in a sufficiently fierce oven to (1) reduce the sauce; (2) allow the gratin to form; and (3) cook the fillets at the same moment of time. In respect of this operation, refer to Complete Gratin, No. 269.

When taking the dish from the oven, sprinkle a little chopped parsley and a few drops of lemon juice over it.

N.B.—If the whiting be treated whole, the procedure remains the same.

1019—PAUPIETTES DE MERLAN AU GRATIN

Raise some fillets of whiting; coat them with a fish forcemeat combined with fine herbs, and roll them into scrolls. Set these rolled fillets on a round, buttered gratin dish sprinkled with chopped shallots, the bottom of which should have been covered with gratin sauce.

Surround them with a border of sliced, raw mushrooms; place a small, cooked mushroom on each fillet, and proceed for the rest of the operation exactly as explained under “Filets de Merlan au Gratin.”

1020—MERLAN EN LORGNETTE AU GRATIN

Separate the fillets from the bones, proceeding from the tail to the head, and completely remove the spine near the head. Cover the fillets with fish forcemeat “aux fines herbes,” and roll them into scrolls with their tail-ends inside.

Set them on a round dish sprinkled with chopped shallots and covered with gratin sauce, placing them side by side, all round the dish, with the whitings’ heads in the centre; and proceed for the rest of the operation as explained under No. 1018.

N.B.—Whitings prepared in this way may be treated with white wine, Dieppoise, Bercy, fried, &c.

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1021—FILETS DE MERLAN ORLY

Raise the fillets and proceed as for “Filets de Soles Olga,” No. 893.

1022—MERLAN SUR LE PLAT

Proceed as for “Sole sur le Plat,” No. 837.

1023—MERLAN A LA RICHELIEU

Prepare six “Merlans à l’anglaise,” No. 1014. Lay thereon a few slices of truffle. Or dish them simply on their sides; garnish their top surfaces with the butter prescribed above, and put a row of truffle slices on the butter.

1024—MORUE AND SALTED COD (Morue et Cabillaud Salé)

Salted cod bought in England has generally been fished somewhere along the English coast, and is, as a rule, of recent salting. It has not the peculiar flavour of the Icelandic morue, or that of the Newfoundland specimens, and it does not lend itself to such a large variety of preparations as these two.

At the end of each of the following recipes, I indicate the kind of cod to which the procedure may be applied.

Morue, especially the Newfoundland kind, should be set to soak at least twelve hours before being used, and the water during that time should be frequently changed.

When about to cook it, suppress its fins, and cut it up in a way befitting the selected mode of preparation.

Allow four oz. gross of the fish for each person.

1024a—SALTED COD AND MORUE A L’ANGLAISE

Put the fish into cold water; set to boil, and as soon as this point is reached, leave the fish to poach on the side of the fire for fifteen minutes.

Drain, skin, dish on a napkin, and serve, separately, a timbale of parsnips and an egg-sauce à l’Écossaise.

Both kinds of cod may be used for this dish.

1025—MORUE A LA BÉNÉDICTINE

Poach one and one-half lbs. of morue as above; drain it and cut into small pieces, cleared of all skin and bone. Pound it quickly while it is still hot, and add to it half its weight of potatoes cooked as for a purée, drained, and dried in the oven for a few minutes. When the whole has been reduced to a fine paste, add one-sixth pint of oil, and one-quarter pint of boiled milk. The oil and the milk should be added little by little, and the paste should be more mellow than stiff.

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Serve in a buttered gratin dish; arrange the preparation in the form of a dome; sprinkle with melted butter, and set to colour in the oven.

Icelandic and Newfoundland morue.

1026—MORUE AU BEURRE NOIR OU AU BEURRE NOISETTE

Cut the morue into squares or rectangles; roll these into paupiettes or scrolls, and bind these with a piece of string. Poach them in the usual way; drain them; scrape their skins, and dish them. Sprinkle with concassed parsley; add lemon juice, and cover with brown or lightly-browned butter. Either kind of cod may be used.

1027—BRANDADE DE MORUE

Cut one lb. of morue into pieces, and poach these for eight minutes. The eight minutes should be counted from the time the water begins to boil.

Drain on a sieve, and clear the pieces of all skin and bones. Heat in a sautépan one-sixth pint of oil until the latter smokes; throw the cleaned pieces of morue into the oil; add a piece of crushed garlic the size of a haricot-bean, and stir over a brisk fire with a wooden spoon until the morue is reduced to shreds.

Then take the saucepan off the fire, and, without ceasing to stir the paste, add thereto, little by little, as for a mayonnaise, about one-half pint of oil. When the paste begins to stiffen through the addition of the oil, now and again add a tablespoonful of milk. For the amount of morue used, one-quarter pint of boiling milk should thus be added by degrees.

When the Brandade is finished, it should have the consistence of an ordinary potato purée. When about to serve, taste the preparation, and rectify its seasoning.

Dish the Brandade in a hot timbale, building it up in the shape of a pyramid, and set thereon a crown of bread-crumb triangles fried in butter just before dishing up.

N.B.—The triangles of fried bread may, with advantage, be replaced by lozenges made from puff-paste, which are baked without colouration. For the Brandade use only well-soaked Icelandic or Newfoundland morue.

1028—BRANDADE DE MORUE A LA CRÈME

Follow the directions given above, but instead of oil and milk, use two-thirds pint of cream, which should be added to the morue paste by spoonfuls.

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1029—MORUE A LA CRÉOLE

Finely mince an onion, and cook it gently in butter until it is of a nice golden colour. Spread it on the bottom of a little oval earthenware dish, and set three tomatoes prepared à la Provençale (No. 2268) upon it.

Poach one lb. of morue; drain it as soon as ready, and flake it while clearing it of all skin and bones. Lay this flaked morue on the slices of tomato; cover it with three mild capsicums, split and broiled; sprinkle the whole with a few drops of lemon juice and one oz. of lightly-browned butter, and put the dish in the oven for a few minutes. Serve very hot.

Icelandic or Newfoundland morue may be used.

1030—CABILLAUD SALE, OR MORUE A LA HOLLANDAISE

Proceed exactly as for “Sole à la Hollandaise” (No. 829). Both kinds suit this preparation.

1031—CABILLAUD SALE, OR MORUE A L’INDIENNE

Poach one lb. of salted cod or morue, and flake it while clearing it of all skin and bones. Mix this flaked fish with two-thirds pint of Indienne sauce, and dish it in a hot timbale.

Serve some rice à l’Indienne separately.

Both kinds of fish are suited to this dish.

1032—MORUE A LA LYONNAISE

Poach one lb. of morue, and flake it as explained above. Finely mince a medium-sized onion, and toss it in butter. Also toss three medium-sized potatoes cut into roundels. Heat one oz. of butter and two tablespoonfuls of oil in a frying-pan; put therein the flaked morue and the potatoes, and toss the whole over a brisk fire for a few minutes.

When about to dish up, add a few drops of vinegar.

Dish in a hot timbale, and sprinkle the morue with a pinch of chopped parsley. Use either the Icelandic or the Newfoundland fish for this preparation.

1033—SOUFFLÉ DE MORUE

Finely pound one-quarter lb. of freshly poached and flaked morue, and add thereto, little by little, two tablespoonfuls of hot and very thick Béchamel sauce. When the paste is very smooth, season it; put into a saucepan, heat it, and add the yolks of three eggs, and four whites beaten to a stiff froth.

Put the whole into a buttered soufflé-saucepan, and cook after the manner of an ordinary soufflé. Take either Icelandic or Newfoundland morue for this dish.

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1034—CHAR (Ombre-Chevalier)

The char is a fish of the salmon family, which is culinarily treated in exactly the same way as the trout. When it is large, the recipes given for salmon trout may be adapted to it, but it is mostly used small—that is to say, from five inches to ten inches long. The fishing of char is restricted chiefly to lake countries, such as Scotland and Switzerland, and it is only in season during two months of the year. Moreover, as this fish loses much of its quality in transit, its scarcity on the market will be easily understood. The lake of Zug, in Switzerland, supplies the most famous specimens, which are called Rothel by the people of the locality. The delicacy of the fish is remarkable, and in this it may vie even with the best river trout.

The char of the Scotch lakes may be treated after the same recipes as the Swiss specimens, but they are more often used in the preparation of potted char, the recipe for which is as follows:—

1035—POTTED CHAR

Cook the chars in a fine mirepoix with white wine, exactly after the manner of trout. When the fish are cooked, leave them to cool completely in their cooking-liquor. Drain them; skin them; separate their fillets, and thoroughly bone them. Set the fillets in a special earthenware pot; entirely cover them with clarified butter, and put them in a moderate oven for one quarter of an hour.

Leave them to cool until the next day, and add sufficient clarified butter to cover them with a layer one-third inch thick.

If Potted Char be left in the cool, it will keep for some considerable time.

RED MULLETS (ROUGETS)

Red mullet, especially the Mediterranean rock kind, is one of the greatest fish delicacies known; and the surname “Sea Woodcock,” which gourmets sometimes give it, is quite justified, not only by its quality, but by the fact that, except for its gills, it is generally left whole, and not even emptied.

It is best grilled.

1035a—GRILLED RED MULLET

Carefully wipe the mullet; cisel it on either side to a depth in proportion to the thickness of its flesh and at closer intervals the thicker the latter is, in order to facilitate the cooking; season it with salt and pepper; sprinkle it with a little oil and a few drops of lemon juice; spread a few slices of lemon and a few [348] parsley stalks upon and beneath it; and let it marinade for an hour or two, turning it over frequently the while.

Twenty minutes before serving, set the red mullet on a double fish grill, and cook it over a rather fierce fire, sprinkling it often the while with its marinade. Dish and serve it as soon as it is ready, and serve a little half-melted maître-d’hôtel butter separately.

1035b—ROUGET A LA BORDELAISE

Grill or sauté the red mullet. At the same time serve a sauce Bordelaise Bonnefoy (No. 67).

1035c—ROUGET AU FENOUIL

Cisel and marinade the red mullet as directed under No. 1035a, and add a certain quantity of chopped fennel to the aromatics. Twenty minutes before serving, add two oz. of roughly-chopped raw pork fat and a little parsley to the marinade; wrap the red mullets in strong, oiled paper, together with its marinade, grill it gently, and serve it as it stands.

1035d—ROUGET A LA NIÇOISE

Grill it as directed above, and serve it with the garnish given under “Sole à la Niçoise.”

1035e—ROUGET EN PAPILLOTE

Grill and wrap it in strong, oiled paper between two layers of somewhat thick Duxelle sauce. When about to serve, put the papillote for five minutes in the oven, that it may be souffléd.

1036—WHITEBAIT

Thames whitebait, which has many points in common with the “Nonat” of the Mediterranean, is one of the riddles of ichthyology; for, while it is generally admitted that it is the fry of one of the many species of fish, its real parentage is quite unknown.

At dinners in London it usually stands as a second fish-course, and, fried after the customary manner, it constitutes a dish the delicacy of which is incomparable. Whitebait, like the nonat, are extremely fragile, and ought to be cooked as soon as they are caught. They are always served fried, and the frying-medium used in their preparation should be fresh, abundant, and just smoking when the fish are plunged into it. Previous to this operation, however, the whitebait ought to be thoroughly dredged with flour and placed in a special sieve [349] or frying basket, either of which should be well shaken, in order to rid the fish of any superfluous flour.

They are then plunged into the smoking frying-medium, in small quantities at a time, and one minute’s stay therein suffices to render them sufficiently crisp.

Draining is the next operation, effected upon a spread piece of linen, that the fish may be easily seasoned with table-salt and cayenne, mixed. This done, the whitebait are dished upon a napkin and sent to the table with very green, fried parsley.

VARIOUS PREPARATIONS OF FISH