338. Bluefish à la Venitienne.
—Prepare the fish as for the above ([No. 337]), adding to it one tomato cut in pieces, half a pint of Espagnole sauce ([No. 151]) and six whole mushrooms. Besprinkle lightly with fresh bread-crumbs, and throw over all a few drops of clarified butter; put it in the oven for eight minutes, and serve with half a pinch of chopped parsley.
339. Sheep’s-head à la Créole.
—Put one chopped onion and one very finely chopped green pepper—the seed extracted—in a stewpan; brown them in a half gill of oil for five minutes, then add one tomato, cut in pieces, four sliced mushrooms, a good bouquet ([No. 254]), and a clove of garlic. Season well with a pinch of salt and half a pinch of pepper, then moisten with half a pint of Espagnole sauce ([No. 151]). Cut a fish weighing three pounds in six slices, lay them flat in the stewpan, with three tablespoonfuls of mushroom liquor (if any handy), and let cook for one hour on a very slow fire. When ready to serve, sprinkle over with a pinch of chopped parsley, and decorate with six pieces of heart-shaped croûton ([No. 133]). (All fish à la Créole are prepared the same way, the time allowed for cooking depending on the firmness of the fish. The fish can be left whole instead of dividing in slices, if desired.)
340. Bouille-à-Baisse, à la Marseillaise.
—Brown two sliced onions in a gill of oil for five minutes in a saucepan, then moisten with one quart of fish-stock ([No. 214]), adding a bouquet ([No. 254]), three cloves of garlic, bruised and minced exceedingly fine. Dilute a third of a pinch of powdered Spanish saffron in water, and add it to the gravy. Take one small eel, one very small bass, the same of sole, one raw lobster—in fact, all the firm fish ready at hand—cut them in slices, season with a pinch of salt and the third of a saltspoonful of cayenne pepper, and put them all together on a slow fire. Let cook for twenty minutes, and when ready, serve in a deep dish, on which you previously arrange six pieces of toast from a French loaf of bread.
N. B.—The above should be served exceedingly hot.
341. Bass à la Bordelaise.
—Cut a deep incision down the back of a three-pound sea-bass, put it in a baking-dish with half a glassful of red wine, half a pinch of salt, and a third of a pinch of pepper. Besprinkle with a finely chopped shallot, cover with a buttered paper, and cook in a moderate oven for fifteen minutes. Lay the bass on a dish, put the juice in a saucepan with a gill of good Espagnole ([No. 151]), four finely shred mushrooms, and a thin slice of finely chopped garlic; finish cooking for five minutes more, then pour it over the fish. Decorate with six cooked crawfish or shrimps, and serve very hot.