Choose the herrings with soft roes. Having scraped and washed them, cut off the heads, split open, take out the roes, and cleanse the fish. Hold one in the left hand, and, with thumb and finger of the right, press the backbone to loosen it, then lay flat on the board and draw out the bone; it will come out whole, leaving none behind. Dissolve a little fresh butter, pass the inner side of the fish through it, sprinkle pepper and salt lightly over, then roll it up tightly with the fin and tail outwards, roll it in flour and sprinkle a little pepper and salt, then put a small game skewer to keep the herring in shape. Have ready a good quantity of boiling fat; it is best to do the herrings in a wire-basket, and fry them quickly for ten minutes. Take them up and set them on a plate before the fire, in order that all the fat may drain from them. Pass the roes through flour mixed with a sufficient quantity of pepper and salt, fry them brown, and garnish the fish with them and crisp parsley. A difficulty is often felt in introducing herrings at dinner on account of the number of small bones in them, but this is obviated by the above method of dressing, as with care not one bone should be left in.
GALANTINE OF FISH.
Procure a fine large fresh haddock and two smaller, of which to make forcemeat. Take off the head and open the large fish. Carefully press the meat from the backbone, which must be removed without breaking the skin; trim away the rough parts and small bones at the sides. Cover the inside of the fish with a layer of forcemeat, and at intervals place lengthways a few fillets of anchovies, between which sprinkle a little lobster coral which has been passed through a wire sieve; fold the haddock into its original form, and sew it up with a needle and strong thread. Dip a cloth in hot water, wring it as dry as possible, butter sufficient space to cover the fish, then fold it up, tie each end, and put a small safety pin in the middle to keep it firm. Braise the galantine for an hour in stock made from the bones of the fish. Let it stay in the liquor until cold, when take it up and draw out the sewing thread. Reduce and strain the liquor, mix with cream and aspic jelly, or Nelson's Gelatine, dissolved in the proportion of half-an-ounce to a pint. When this sauce is on the point of setting, coat the galantine with it, sprinkle with little passed lobster coral, dish in a bed of shred salad, tastefully interspersed with beetroot cut in dice and dipped in oil and vinegar.
To make the forcemeat, pound the fillets of the small haddocks till fine, then work in about half its quantity of bread panada, an ounce of butter, and the fillets of two anchovies; season with salt and pepper, mix in one egg and a yolk, pass through a wire sieve, and work into it a gill of cream.
FILLETS OF SOLE EN ASPIC.
Aspic jelly, or meat jelly, may be made very good, and at a moderate cost, by boiling lean beef or veal in water with a little vegetable and spice. To make it according to the standard recipes is so expensive and tedious that few persons care to attempt it. The following directions will enable a cook to make an excellent and clear aspic.
Cut two pounds of lean beefsteak or veal cutlet into dice, put it on in two quarts of cold water, and as soon as it boils, take off the scum as it rises. Let it simmer gently for half-an-hour; then add four onions, a turnip, carrot, small bundle of sweet herbs, blade of mace, half-a-dozen white peppercorns, and when it has again boiled for an hour strain it through a napkin. Let it stand until cold, remove all the fat, boil it up, and to a quart of the liquor put an ounce of Nelson's Gelatine, previously soaked in cold water. Add salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper, and when the jelly is cool stir in the whites and shells of two eggs well beaten. Let the jelly boil briskly for two minutes, let it stand off the fire for a few minutes, then strain through a jelly-bag and use as directed. Take the fillets of a pair of large thick soles, cut them into neat square pieces, leaving the trimmings for other dishes, and lay them in vinegar with a little salt for an hour. As they must be kept very white the best French vinegar should be used. Boil the fillets gently in salted water, with a little vinegar, till done; take them up and dry them on a cloth. Have ready some picked parsley and hard-boiled eggs cut in quarters; arrange these neatly at the bottom of a plain mould so as to form a pretty pattern. Pour in very gently enough jelly to cover the first layer, let it stand until beginning to set, then put another layer of fish, eggs, and parsley, then more jelly, and so on until the mould is full. When done set the mould on ice, or allow it to stand some hours in a cold place to get well set. Turn it out, ornament with parsley, beetroot, and cut lemon.
COLLARED EELS.
Clean and boil the eels in water highly seasoned with pepper and salt, an onion, bay-leaf, a clove, and a little vinegar. When the eels are done enough, slip out the bones and cut them up into pieces about two inches long. Take the liquor in which the fish is boiled, strain it, let it boil in the stewpan without the lid, skimming it until it becomes clear. Dissolve a quarter of an ounce of Nelson's Gelatine to each half-pint of the fish gravy, and boil together for a minute, let it then stand until cool. Arrange the pieces of eel tastefully in a plain mould with small sprigs of curled parsley and slices of hard-boiled eggs, and, if you like, a fillet or two of anchovies cut up into dice. When all the fish is thus arranged in the mould, pour the jelly in very gently, a tablespoonful at a time, in order not to disturb the solid material. Let the mould stand in cold water for seven or eight hours, when it can be turned out. Ornament with parsley, lemon, and beetroot.