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.
[344]
][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[!-- TN: original reads "BÉNEDICTINE" --]
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.
[345]
]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.
[346]
][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.
[347]
][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
[1037—MATELOTE AU VIN ROUGE]
The fish used for the Matelote are eel, carp, tench, bream, perch, &c.
It may be prepared from one or many kinds of fish.
Put the fish, cut into sections, into a sautépan. For two lbs. of it, add one minced onion, one faggot, two cloves of garlic, one pint of red wine, a pinch of salt, and another of pepper or four peppercorns.
Set to boil; add three tablespoonfuls of heated and burnt brandy; cover the sautépan, and complete the cooking of the fish.
This done, transfer the pieces to another saucepan; strain the cooking-liquor, reduce it by a third, and thicken it with [manied] butter (consisting of one and one-half oz. of butter and one tablespoonful of flour), cut into small pieces.
When the leason has been properly effected, pour the resulting sauce over the pieces of fish; heat, and dish in a timbale.
[1038—MATELOTE AU VIN BLANC]
Prepare the fish as above, but use white wine instead of red
, and burn the brandy as before. When the pieces of fish are cooked, transfer them to another saucepan with small onions, previously cooked in butter, and small, cooked mushrooms. Strain the cooking-liquor, reduce it to a little less than half, thicken it with fish velouté, and finish with one oz. of butter.
Pour this sauce over the fish and the garnish; dish the whole in a timbale or a deep dish, and surround with crayfish, cooked in court-bouillon, and little crusts in the shape of hearts, fried in butter.
[350]
][1039—BOUILLABAISSE A LA MARSEILLAISE]
The fish for Bouillabaisse are rascasse, chapon, dory, whiting, fiélas
, boudreuil, spiny lobster, red mullet, gurnet, &c.
Cut the larger fish into slices; leave the smaller ones whole, and with the exception of the whiting and the red mullet, which cook more speedily than the others, put them all into a saucepan.
For two lbs. of fish, add one small onion, the chopped white of one leek, one small, peeled, pressed and chopped tomato, two crushed cloves of garlic, a large pinch of [concassed] parsley, a pinch of powdered saffron, a bit of bay, a little savory and fennel, and two tablespoonfuls of oil.
Moisten the fish with just enough cold water to cover it, and season with one-third oz. of salt and a pinch of pepper per quart of water.
Set to boil, and cook over a brisk fire. At the end of eight minutes add the pieces of whiting and red mullet, and leave to cook for a further seven minutes.
Pour the liquor of the bouillabaisse over some slices of household bread lying on the bottom of a deep dish; set the fish on another dish with the sections of spiny lobster all round, and serve.
[1040—QUENELLES DE BROCHET A LA LYONNAISE]
Pound separately one lb. of the meat of pike, cleared of all skin and bones, and one lb. of the fat of kidney of beef, very dry, cleaned, and cut into small pieces. If desired, half of the weight of the fat of kidney of beef may be replaced by one-half lb. of beef marrow.
Put the pounded meat of the pike and the kidney fat on separate plates. Now pound one lb. of frangipan
Panada (No. [192]) and add thereto, little by little, the white of four little eggs. Put the pike meat and the fat back into the mortar, and finely pound the whole until a fine, smooth paste is obtained. Rub the latter through a sieve; put the resulting purée into a basin, and work it well with a wooden spoon in order to smooth it.
With this forcemeat mould some quenelles with a spoon, and poach them in salted water.
If these quenelles are to be served with an ordinary fish sauce, put them into it as soon as they are poached and drained, and simmer them in it for ten minutes that they may swell.
If the sauce intended for them is to be thickened with egg-yolks, and buttered at the last moment, put them into a saucepan [351] ]with a few tablespoonfuls of [fumet], and simmer them as directed in the case of an ordinary fish sauce, taking care to keep the saucepan well covered that the concentrated steam may assist the swelling of the quenelles. In this case they are added to the sauce at the last moment.
N.B.—Slices of truffle may always be added to the sauce. The quenelles are dished either in a silver timbale, in a shallow timbale-crust, or in a fine vol-au-vent crust, in accordance with the arrangement of the menu.
[1041—FISH CAKES]
Fish cakes or balls, which are greatly appreciated in both England and America, are made from any boiled fish. Salted cod, however, is best suited to their preparation, and is therefore used much more often than other kinds of fish.
Flake one lb. of cooked cod, and clear it of all skin and bones; pound it with one-half lb. of freshly-cooked, floury potatoes, two tablespoonfuls of reduced Béchamel sauce, and two whole eggs. Season with salt and pepper. When the paste has been well beaten and is smooth, take it out of the mortar and divide it into portions weighing about two oz. Roll these portions into balls upon a flour-dusted mixing-board, flatten them out to the shape of thick quoits, and treat them [à l’anglaise].
Fry them at the last moment in very hot fat, and dish them on a napkin with fried parsley all round.
[1042—WATERZOI]
In order to prepare Waterzoi, it is best, when possible, to have live fish at one’s disposal, not only because these are better able to resist the cooking process, but also owing to the fact that they are richer in gelatine in the live state.
The fish more generally used are the eel, the perch, the tench, the carp, the pike, &c.
After having scaled and emptied them, trim them and cut off their heads and tails. Cut the fish into sections; moisten these with just enough cold water to cover them; add a piece of butter, sufficient parsley roots or stalks to produce a decided taste, a few peppercorns, and some salt.
Set to cook on a brisk fire, and take care that the cooking-liquor be reduced and sufficiently thickened when the fish are cooked.
Serve in a timbale or on a dish, and send some slices of bread and butter to the table at the same time.
[352]
]CHAPTER XV
RELEVÉS AND ENTRÉES
The difference between Relevés and Entrées needs only to be examined very superficially in order for it to be seen how entirely the classification hangs on the question of bulk. Indeed, with very few exceptions, the same alimentary products—butcher’s meat, fish, poultry, and game—may be used with perfect propriety in the preparation of either Relevés or Entrées. And if the mode of preparation and the nature of the garnishing ingredients are sometimes dissimilar, it is owing to that difference in bulk referred to above, on account of which the Relevés, being more voluminous, are usually braised, [poëled], poached, or roasted; while the Entrées, consisting of smaller pieces, are chiefly [sautéd], poached, or grilled.
In the menus of old-fashioned dinners à la Française, the line of demarcation between Relevés and Entrées was far more clearly defined, the latter being generally twice, if not thrice, as numerous as the former. The first service of a dinner for twenty people, for instance, comprised eight or twelve Entrées and four soups, all of which were set on the dining-table before the admission of the diners. As soon as the soups were served, the Relevés, to the number of four, two of which consisted of fish, took the place of the soups on the table; they relieved the soups; hence their name, which now, of course, is quite meaningless.
The Russian method of serving greatly simplified the practice just described. Nowadays a dinner rarely consists of more than two soups, two Relevés (one of which is fish), and two or three Entrées for the first service. Very often the fish Relevé, instead of being a large piece of fish, only consists of fillets of sole, of chicken-turbots, &c., or timbales, which are real entrées; while the Relevés (consisting of large pieces of butcher’s meat or game), instead of being served as common sense would dictate, i.e., after the fish Relevé, when the diner’s appetite is still keen, are placed, according to English custom, after the Entrées.
[353]
]Thus, as the two above examples show, the parts played by the Relevés and Entrées respectively are very far from being clearly defined; and I therefore resolved to treat of them both in the same chapter, and to append a few grills (usually accompanied by various sauces and garnishes), which are really only luncheon-roasts. The indications given concerning the class to which the recipes belong will suffice to avoid confusion.