The Century Cook Book Part 22

Boil two pounds of fish in court bouillon until tender enough to flake.

Make a white sauce of one tablespoonful b.u.t.ter, one tablespoonful flour, one cupful of milk, salt, pepper, and cayenne. (See white sauce, page 278.) Boil four medium-sized potatoes, mash them, and season with one half teaspoonful of salt, one quarter teaspoonful of pepper, and a little cream or milk; beat them until light, then add the whites of four eggs beaten stiff.

Fill a baking dish one half full of the flaked fish, pour over it the white sauce, and cover the top with potato, leaving the potato rough and irregular. Place in the oven for fifteen minutes, or until browned.

Cream may be subst.i.tuted for the white sauce, and enough used to moisten well the fish. Sh.e.l.ls or individual cups may be used instead of a baking dish.

=SCALLOPED FISH AU GRATIN=

Make a Bechamel sauce (see page 279). Take some seasoned mashed potato, and mix with it one beaten egg. Make with the potato a border around a flat dish. In the center of the ring of potato spread a layer of sauce, over this a layer of flaked cod fish, then another layer of sauce and fish, cover the top with sauce, sprinkle it with bread crumbs and grated cheese (parmesan or dairy), and a few pieces of b.u.t.ter. Bake in a hot oven until browned, and serve in the same dish. The potato border may be made ornamental by pressing the potato through a pastry bag with tube, the same as is used for potato roses (see page 202). The potato will not hold its form unless egg is mixed with it.

White sauce may be used instead of Bechamel, but is not quite as good.

One layer of fish in large flakes, covered with sauce, crumbs, and cheese, and browned with a border of boiled potato b.a.l.l.s laid around regularly, is also a good way of serving it when a small quant.i.ty is needed.

=FISH CHOPS=

1 pound or 1 pint of fish.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

1/2 teaspoonful of pepper.

1/2 teaspoonful of onion juice.

1 cupful of milk or cream.

1 tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter.

2 rounded tablespoonfuls flour.

Yolks of two eggs.

1 tablespoonful of chopped parsley.

Put in a double boiler one cupful of cream or milk; when scalded, stir into it the b.u.t.ter and flour rubbed together, and cook for five minutes.

Remove from the fire and mix in, stirring all the time, the beaten yolks of two eggs, put again on the fire, and stir until thickened.

Take one pound or pint of shredded boiled fish, sprinkle over it one teaspoonful of salt, one half teaspoonful of pepper, one tablespoonful of chopped parsley, ten drops of lemon juice. Mix the seasoned fish with the white sauce, then spread it on a dish and set aside for several hours to cool and stiffen. It will not be difficult to mold if it stands long enough. Take a tablespoonful of the mixture in the hands, and mold into the form of chops, round at one end and pointed at the other; roll the chops in crumbs, then in beaten egg, then in coa.r.s.e bread crumbs grated from the loaf (see croquettes, page 293). After the chops are molded let them stand for a time to stiffen before frying. Place them in a basket four at a time, and immerse in hot fat until an amber color.

Place on a paper to dry. When all are done pierce a small hole in the pointed end with a fork, and insert a sprig of parsley. Dress on a napkin, and serve with tomato, Bearnaise, or Hollandaise sauce. Any kind of fish may be used for the chops. (See ill.u.s.tration facing page 130.)

[Ill.u.s.tration: FISH CHOPS. (SEE PAGE 121.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FISH CHOPS.]

=FILLETS BAKED WITH CUSTARD OR TOMATOES=

Remove the fillets from any white fish, dredge them with salt and pepper, and lay them in a baking pan, one on top of the other. Beat two eggs, and add to them

2 cupfuls of milk, 1 saltspoonful of salt, 1 saltspoonful of pepper, 1 saltspoonful of nutmeg, 3 soda crackers rolled to powder.

Put two tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter into the pan with the fish, and set it in the oven. When the b.u.t.ter is melted, add one half the milk mixture, and baste the fish with it frequently. When the custard becomes set add a little more of the milk, and continue the operation until the fish is cooked. Lift the fish carefully from the pan with a pancake turner and broad knife. Place it on a hot dish, and pile on the top the flakes of custard. Instead of the milk mixture tomato may be used if preferred.

To one half can of tomato add

1 teaspoonful of salt, 1/2 teaspoonful of thyme, 1/4 teaspoonful of pepper, 1 slice of onion, 1 bay-leaf, 3 cloves.

The whole of the tomato mixture may be put in the pan as soon as the b.u.t.ter is melted.

=COLD FISH=

Any kind of fish which is good boiled may be served cold, and in summer is often more acceptable in this way. Ba.s.s, trout, halibut, salmon, and bluefish are recommended. Serve with cold Bearnaise, Mayonnaise, or Tartare sauce. Garnish with lettuce leaves or water-cresses, and hard-boiled eggs.

=FISH PUDDING=

1 pound or pint boiled halibut.

1/2 cupful of cream or milk.

1-1/2 tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter.

1/2 tablespoonful of flour.

1-1/2 teaspoonfuls salt.

1/4 teaspoonful pepper.

1/2 teaspoonful onion juice.

2 eggs.

Pound the fish in a mortar until it is thoroughly mashed, then rub it through a puree sieve; season the fish pulp with salt, pepper, and onion juice. Put the b.u.t.ter into a saucepan when melted, add the flour, and cook for a few minutes, then add slowly the cream or milk, stirring constantly until well scalded; then add the fish pulp, take from the fire, add the beaten eggs, and mix thoroughly.

b.u.t.ter well a border or ring mold holding a pint or little more; put in the mixture, pressing it well against the sides to remove any air bubbles. Cover the mold with a greased paper, and set in a pan of warm water covering one half the mold. Place in moderate oven for thirty minutes, and do not let the water boil. Place the form of fish on a hot dish, fill the center with boiled potato b.a.l.l.s (see page 203), pour over the potato b.a.l.l.s some Bechamel or some white sauce, sprinkle chopped parsley over the top. Serve with the fish a generous amount of Bechamel or of white sauce. This is a very good dish.

=FISH TIMBALE=

Cut one pound of very fresh white uncooked fish into small pieces, put it in a mortar, and pound until the fiber is well separated from the meat, then press it through a puree sieve. To every cupful of fish pulp add one tablespoonful of bread crumbs soaked in milk or cream until soft and then pressed through a sieve; add also the beaten yolk of one egg, ten drops of onion juice, one teaspoonful of salt, one quarter teaspoonful of pepper, and a dash of nutmeg. Beat all well together and for some time, to make it light; then for every cupful of pulp beat in lightly the whites of two eggs whipped very stiff. Put the mixture into a well b.u.t.tered mold, filling it only three quarters full, set it into a pan of warm water, covering three quarters of the mold, cover the mold with a greased paper, and place in a moderate oven for twenty minutes.

Do not let the water boil. Turn the timbale on to a hot dish, and pour around, but not over it, a Bechamel or a tomato sauce. This is a very delicate fish dish, and is particularly good when made of shad.

=FISH DISH FOR A PINK LUNCHEON=

Cut halibut or any firm white fish into cutlets three quarters of an inch thick, two inches wide, and three inches long. Dredge with salt, pepper, and paprica. Lay them in a pan so they do not touch, cover with salted water, cover the pan, and let them steam in the oven for ten or fifteen minutes until cooked, but remove while they are still firm enough to retain shape. Pound the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs of the fish in a mortar, pa.s.s it through a sieve, and to one half cupful of the fish pulp add a thickening made as follows: put a dessert-spoonful of b.u.t.ter in a saucepan on the fire; when it is melted add a dessert-spoonful of flour, cook for a minute without coloring, add three tablespoonfuls of cream or milk, a quarter teaspoonful of salt and a dash of pepper, remove it from the fire. Stir in the half cupful of fish pulp and one beaten egg; color it a delicate pink with a few drops of cochineal, beat the whole until light, and spread the cutlets of fish with this mixture one quarter inch thick; smooth it carefully on top and sides with a wet knife. Place the pieces in a pan, cover, set it into another pan containing hot water, and let steam in the oven for ten or fifteen minutes. Range the pieces standing on end around a socle of rice or hominy (see page 326); mask the top of the socle with prawns, or with parsley, or with water cresses, and a few pink roses or pink carnations. Serve with Hollandaise sauce, colored green or pink.

The pink cutlets may be garnished with capers, or with a thin slice of pickle cut into fancy shape with cutter.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FISH STEAKS SAUTeD OR BOILED, GARNISHED WITH POTATO b.a.l.l.s, WATER-CRESS, AND LEMON.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: CREAMED FISH IN Sh.e.l.lS.]

=ROLLED FILLETS OF FLOUNDER=

Select flounders of uniform size, and large enough to make two strips about two and a half inches wide on each side, each fish giving four fillets. Marinate them, or else dredge with salt and pepper, and dip into b.u.t.ter. Roll them, beginning at the broad end, and fasten with a wooden tooth-pick. Egg and bread-crumb them, and fry in hot fat for seven minutes. Fry only four at a time, that the fat may not be too much cooled when they go in. Remove the skewer carefully, and serve with remoulade, Tartare, or tomato sauce.

[Ill.u.s.tration: TURBANS, OR ROLLED FILLETS OF FISH. (SEE PAGE 125.)]

=SHAD=