WHITING WITH ANCHOVY SAUCE
(Merluzzo alla Palermitana)
Take one whiting, one pound or a little more, and trim all the fins, leaving the tail and the head. Split it to remove the bone, and season with a little salt and pepper. Turn it on the back, grease with oil, season with salt and pepper, dust with bread crumbs then lay it with two tablespoonfuls of oil on a fireproof plate or baking tin.
Take three or four good sized anchovies, bone and clean them, chop them and put on the fire with two tablespoonfuls of oil, but do not allow it to boil. With this sauce cover the back of the fish and dust it all with bread crumbs, putting also some leaves of rosemary. Bake in the oven, allowing a little crust to form over, but see that it doesn't dry up, pouring over to this purpose more oil. Before removing from the tin squeeze half a lemon over.
This dish can be served surrounded by little toast with caviar, or anchovies and butter.
118
STEWED EEL
(Anguille in umido)
For this dish it is preferable to have good sized eels that must not be skinned, but cut in small pieces.
Chop some onion and parsley, put it on the fire with oil, salt, and pepper, and when the onion is browned, add the pieces of eel. Wait until it has absorbed the taste of the onion sauce and then complete the cooking with tomato sauce (No. 12).