RECIPES.
CHAPTER VIII.
FISH.
[Nothing is more difficult than to give the average prices of Fish, inasmuch as a few hours of bad weather at sea will, in the space of one day, cause such a difference in its supply, that the same fish—a turbot for instance—which may be bought to-day for six or seven shillings, will, to-morrow, be, in the London markets, worth, perhaps, almost as many pounds. The average costs, therefore, which will be found appended to each recipe, must be understood as about the average price for the different kinds of fish, when the market is supplied upon an average, and when the various sorts are of an average size and quality.
GENERAL RULE IN CHOOSING FISH.—A proof of freshness and goodness in most fishes, is their being covered with scales; for, if deficient in this respect, it is a sign of their being stale, or having been ill-used.]
FRIED ANCHOVIES.
226. INGREDIENTS.—1 tablespoonful of oil, 1/2 a glass of white wine, sufficient flour to thicken; 12 anchovies.
Mode.—Mix the oil and wine together, with sufficient flour to make them into a thickish paste; cleanse the anchovies, wipe them, dip them in the paste, and fry of a nice brown colour.
Time.—1/2 hour. Average cost for this quantity, 9d.
Seasonable all the year.
Sufficient for 2 persons.
[Illustration: THE ANCHOVY.]
THE ANCHOVY.—In his book of "British Fishes," Mr. Yarrell states that "the anchovy is a common fish in the Mediterranean, from Greece to Gibraltar, and was well known to the Greeks and Romans, by whom the liquor prepared from it, called garum, was in great estimation. Its extreme range is extended into the Black Sea. The fishing for them is carried on during the night, and lights are used with the nets. The anchovy is common on the coasts of Portugal, Spain, and France. It occurs, I have no doubt, at the Channel Islands, and has been taken on the Hampshire coast, and in the Bristol Channel." Other fish, of inferior quality, but resembling the real Gorgona anchovy, are frequently sold for it, and passed off as genuine.
ANCHOVY BUTTER OR PASTE.
227. INGREDIENTS.—2 dozen anchovies, 1/2 lb. of fresh butter.
Mode.—Wash the anchovies thoroughly; bone and dry them, and pound them in a mortar to a paste. Mix the butter gradually with them, and rub the whole through a sieve. Put it by in small pots for use, and carefully exclude the air with a bladder, as it soon changes the colour of anchovies, besides spoiling them.
Average cost for this quantity, 2s.