Cook the turbot as before, then take an ounce of lobster spawn and pound it in a mortar with a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, rub it through a hair sieve with a wooden spoon upon a plate, have ready a pint of good melted butter nearly boiling, into which put the red butter, and season with a teaspoonful of essence of anchovy, a little Harvey sauce, cayenne pepper, and salt, then cut up the flesh of the lobster in dice and put in the sauce; serve it in a boat very hot.
No. 206. Turbot à la Hollandaise.
Cook the turbot as before, and dish without a napkin; then put the yolks of four eggs in a stewpan with half a pound of fresh butter, the juice of a lemon, half a teaspoonful of salt and a quarter of one of white pepper; set it over a slow fire stirring it the whole time quickly; when the butter is half melted take it off the fire for a few seconds, (still keeping it stirred), till the butter is quite melted, then place it again on the fire till it thickens, then add a quart of melted butter, stir it again on the fire, (but do not let it boil, or it would curdle and be useless), then pass it through a tammie into another stewpan, make it hot in the bain marie, stirring all the time pour it over the fish or serve in a boat. The sauce must be rather sharp, add more seasoning if required.
No. 207. Turbot à la Mazarine.
Cook the fish as above, then have all the spawn from two fine hen lobsters; if not sufficient get some live spawn from the fishmonger’s, making altogether about two ounces, pound it well in the mortar and mix it with half a pound of fresh butter, rub it through a hair sieve, place it upon ice until firm, then put it in a stewpan with the yolks of four eggs, a little pepper, half a teaspoonful of salt, and four tablespoonfuls of lemon juice, place it over the fire and proceed as for the sauce Hollandaise, adding the same quantity of melted butter, and two teaspoonfuls of essence of anchovy, pass it through a tammie into a clean stewpan to make it hot, dish the fish without a napkin, soaking up the water in the dish with a clean cloth, and pour the sauce over it; be careful the sauce does not boil or it will curdle.
This dish is one of the most elegant, and is the best way of dressing a turbot, for I have always remarked that notwithstanding its simplicity, it has given the greatest satisfaction, both for its delicateness and appearance, causing no trouble only requiring care.
No. 208. Turbot en matelote Normande.
Procure a smallish turbot, one weighing about ten pounds would be the best, cut off part of the fins and make an incision in the back, butter a sauté-pan, (large enough to lay the turbot in quite flat), and put three tablespoonfuls of chopped eschalots, three glasses of sherry or Madeira, half a teaspoonful of salt, a little white pepper, and about half a pint of white broth into it, then lay in the turbot and cover it over with white sauce (No. 7), start it to boil over a slow fire, then put it into a moderate oven about an hour, try whether it is done with a skewer, if the skewer goes through it easily it is done, if not, bake it a little longer, then give it a light brown tinge with the salamander, place the fish upon a dish to keep it hot, then put a pint of white sauce in the sauté-pan and boil it fifteen minutes, stirring it all the time, then pass it through a tammie into a clean stewpan, and add a little cayenne pepper, two tablespoonfuls of essence of anchovies, two dozen of oysters, (blanched), two dozen of small mushrooms, two dozen quenelles (No. 120), six spoonfuls of milk, and a teaspoonful of sugar, reduce it till about the thickness of bechamel sauce, then add eight tablespoonfuls of cream and the juice of a lemon, pour over the turbot; have ready twenty croûtons of bread cut triangularly from the crust of a French roll, and fried in butter; place them round the dish and pass the salamander over it and serve.
No. 209. Turbot en Matelote vierge.
Boil a turbot as before, dish it up without a napkin, and have ready the following sauce; chop two onions very fine and put them in a stewpan with four glasses of sherry, a sole cut in four pieces, two cloves, one blade of mace, a little grated nutmeg, some parsley, and one bay-leaf; boil altogether five minutes, then add a quart of white sauce (No. 7), boil twenty minutes stirring all the time, then put a tammie over a clean stewpan, and colander over the tammie, pass the sauce, take the meat off the sole and rub it through the tammie with two spoons into the sauce, add half a pint of broth, boil it again until it is rather thick, season with a teaspoonful of salt, one of sugar, the juice of a lemon, and finish with half a pint of cream whipped, mix it quickly and pour over the fish; garnish with white-bait and fried oysters (that have been egged and bread-crumbed,) or, if there is no white-bait, smelts will do.