Roast eight plovers well wrapped up in thin slices of bacon, and tied up in paper; when done leave them to get cold in the bacon, then cut out the fillets as for woodcocks, and stick the pilon of the leg at the point of each fillet; let a piece of the bacon remain over each fillet, egg and bread-crumb twice over, and fry them a nice colour in salad oil; chop up the legs, bones, and trimmings of the birds, and put them in a stewpan with a glass of sherry, an onion in slices, and a little raw ham minced; place it on the fire a couple of minutes, then add a pint and a half of good white stock; place it again on the fire, and let it simmer half an hour, skim, and pass it through a cloth into another stewpan, reduce to a thin glaze, then mix a little arrow-root with three spoonfuls of white stock and the juice of half a lemon, pour it into the sauce, keeping it stirred till boiling, dress the fillets in crown on a circle of mashed potatoes, sauce round, and serve very hot and crisp.
No. 918. Filets de Pluviers aux truffes.
Proceed with the fillets exactly as in the last, make ten croutons of bread, upon which put the trail, see woodcocks (No. 905), dress the fillets round alternately with the croutons, put a pint and a half of demi-glace de gibier (No. 61), and a gill of consommé in a stewpan, reduce to half, then add six middling-sized truffles in slices, and a little sugar, sauce over and serve.
No. 919. Filets de Pluviers aux champignons.
Proceed exactly as in the last, only using mushrooms instead of truffles.
No. 920. Fillets de Pluviers à la Régence.
Roast three plovers in bacon as before, and when done have three larded lambs’ sweetbreads nicely cooked, dress them alternately on a border of mashed potatoes in a ring, put half a pint of demi-glace de gibier (No. 61) in a stewpan, boil it a minute, then add twelve stoned French olives, season with a little sugar, sauce in the centre, glaze the sweetbreads, and serve.
No. 921. Pâté chaud des Pluviers.
Make a paste as directed for pâté chaud, see Flancs (No. 618), build up a crust with the hand or in a small round mould to match your dish, then fillet twelve plovers, season them with a little pepper, salt, and chopped eschalots, cut some thin slices of fat bacon, with which line the interior of your crust, which has stood a good hour after building to get firm, lay the fillets round, placing a thin slice of fat bacon between each; the pâté must not be more than three inches in height when filled; add four spoonfuls of game sauce, and a few raw mushrooms, cover with a thin sheet of the paste, and ornament the exterior to your fancy, forming a lid with a round piece of puff paste (No. 1132); bake it an hour and a half in a moderate oven, take off the lid and as much fat as possible from the top, add half a pint of game sauce (No. 60) quite hot, and serve either with or without the lid.