Pound to a very smooth paste the inside coral of a lobster with a small slice of butter, and some cayenne; rub it through a hair-sieve, gather it together, and mix it very smoothly with from half to three-quarters of a pint of sauce tournée or of cream fish-sauce, previously well seasoned with cayenne and salt, and moderately with pounded mace; bring it to the point of boiling only; stir in quickly, but gradually, a tablespoonful of strained lemon-juice, and serve it very hot. When neither cream nor gravy is at hand, substitute rich melted butter mixed with a dessertspoonful or two of essence of anchovies, and well seasoned. The fine colour of the coral will be destroyed by boiling. This sauce, which the French call Sauce à l’Aurore, may be served with brill, boiled soles, gray mullet, and some few other kinds of fish: it is quickly made when the lobster butter of Chapter [VI.] is in the house.
Coral of lobster, pounded; cream sauce, or sauce tournée (thickened pale veal gravy), 1/2 to 3/4 pint; lemon-juice, 1 tablespoonful; salt, cayenne, and mace, as needed. Or: rich melted butter, instead of other sauce; essence of anchovies, 2 dessertspoonsful; other seasoning, as above.
Obs.—The proportion of spices here must, of course, depend on the flavouring which the gravy or sauce may already have received.
GENEVESE SAUCE, OR SAUCE GÉNÉVOISE.
Cut into dice three ounces of the lean of a well-flavoured ham, and put them with half a small carrot, four cloves, a blade of mace, two or three very small sprigs of lemon thyme and of parsley, and rather more than an ounce of butter, into a stewpan; just simmer them from three-quarters of an hour to a whole hour, then stir in a teaspoonful of flour; continue the slow stewing for about five minutes, and pour in by degrees a pint of good boiling veal gravy, and let the sauce again simmer softly for nearly an hour. Strain it off, heat it in a clean saucepan, and when it boils, stir in a wineglassful and a half of good sherry or Madeira, two tablespoonsful of lemon-juice, some cayenne, a little salt if needed, and a small tablespoonful of flour very smoothly mixed with two ounces of butter. Give the whole a boil after the thickening is added, pour a portion of the sauce over the fish (it is served principally with salmon and trout), and send the remainder very hot to table in a tureen.
Lean of ham, 3 oz.; 1/2 small carrot; 4 to 6 cloves; mace, 1 large blade; thyme and parsley, 3 or 4 small sprigs of each; butter, 1 to 1-1/2 oz.: 50 to 60 minutes. Veal gravy, 1 pint: 3/4 to 1 hour. Sherry or Madeira, 1-1/2 glassful; lemon-juice, 2 tablespoonsful; seasoning of cayenne and salt; flour, 1 tablespoonful; butter, 2 oz.: 1 minute.
Obs.—A teaspoonful or more of essence of anchovies is usually added to the sauce, though it is scarcely required.
SAUCE ROBERT.
Cut four or five large onions into small dice, and brown them in a stewpan, with three ounces of butter and a dessertspoonful of flour. When of a deep yellow brown, pour to them half a pint of beef or of veal gravy, and let them simmer for fifteen minutes; skim the sauce, add a seasoning of salt and pepper, and at the moment of serving, mix a dessertspoonful of made mustard with it.
Large onions, 4 or 5; butter, 3 oz.; flour, dessertspoonful; 10 to 15 minutes. Gravy, 1/2 pint: 15 minutes. Mustard, dessertspoonful.