Ingredients.—Endive, mustard-and-cress, boiled beetroot, 3 or 4 hard-boiled eggs, celery. Mode.—The above ingredients form the principal constituents of a winter salad, and may be converted into a very pretty dish, by nicely contrasting the various colours, and by tastefully garnishing it. Shred the celery into thin pieces, after having carefully washed and cut away all worm-eaten pieces; cleanse the endive and mustard-and-cress free from grit, and arrange these high in the centre of a salad-bowl or dish; garnish with the hard-boiled eggs and beetroot, both of which should be cut in slices; and pour into the dish, but not over the salad, either of the salad dressings. Never dress a salad long before it is required for table, as, by standing, it loses its freshness and pretty crisp and light appearance; the sauce, however, may always be prepared a few hours beforehand, and when required to use, the herbs laid lightly over it. Average cost, 9d. for a salad for 5 or 6 persons. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable from the end of September to March.
SALMON (à la Genévése).
Ingredients.—2 slices of salmon, 2 chopped shalots, a little parsley, a small bunch of herbs, 2 bay-leaves, 2 carrots, pounded mace, pepper and salt to taste, 4 tablespoonfuls of Madeira, ½ pint of white stock, thickening of butter and flour, 1 teaspoonful of essence of anchovies, the juice of 1 lemon, cayenne and salt to taste. Mode.—Rub the bottom of a stewpan over with butter, and put in the shalots, herbs, bay-leaves, carrots, mace, and seasoning; stir them for 10 minutes over a clear fire, and add the Madeira or sherry; simmer gently for ½ hour, and strain through a sieve over the fish, which stew in this gravy. As soon as the fish is sufficiently cooked, take away all the liquor, except a little to keep the salmon moist, and put it into another stewpan; add the stock, thicken with butter and flour, and put in the anchovies, lemon-juice, cayenne, and salt; lay the salmon on a hot dish, pour over it part of the sauce, and serve the remainder in a tureen. Time.—1½ hour. Average cost for this quantity, 3s. 6d. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons.
SALMON, Boiled.
Ingredients.—6 oz. of salt to each gallon of water,—sufficient water to cover the fish. Mode.—Scale and clean the fish, and be particular that no blood is left inside; lay it in the fish-kettle with sufficient cold water to cover it, adding salt in the above proportion. Bring it quickly to a boil, take off all the scum, and let it simmer gently till the fish is done, which will be when the meat separates easily from the bone. Experience alone can teach the cook to fix the time for boiling fish; but it is especially to be remembered, that it should never be under-dressed, as then nothing is more unwholesome. Neither let it remain in the kettle after it is sufficiently cooked, as that would render it insipid, watery, and colourless. Drain it, and if not wanted for a few minutes, keep it warm by means of warm cloths laid over it. Serve on a hot napkin, garnish with cut lemon and parsley, and send lobster or shrimp sauce, and plain melted butter to table with it. A dish of dressed cucumber usually accompanies this fish. Time.—8 minutes to each lb. for large thick salmon; 6 minutes for thin fish. Average cost, in full season, 1s. 3d. per lb. Sufficient, ½ lb., or rather less, for each person. Seasonable from April to August.
Note.—Cut lemon should be put on the table with this fish; and a little of the juice squeezed over it is regarded by many persons as a most agreeable addition. Boiled peas are also, by some connoisseurs, considered especially adapted to be served with salmon.
To Choose Salmon.—To be good, the belly should be firm and thick, which may readily be ascertained by feeling it with the thumb and finger. The circumstance of this fish having red gills, though given as a standing rule in most cookery-books, as a sign of its goodness, is not at all to be relied on, as this quality can be easily given them by art.
SALMON AND CAPER SAUCE.
Ingredients.—2 slices of salmon, ¼ lb. butter, ½ teaspoonful of chopped parsley, 1 shalot; salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg to taste. Mode.—Lay the salmon in a baking-dish, place pieces of butter over it, and add the other ingredients, rubbing a little of the seasoning into the fish; baste it frequently; when done, take it out and drain for a minute or two; lay it in a dish, pour caper sauce over it, and serve. Salmon dressed in this way, with tomato sauce, is very delicious. Time.—About ¾ hour. Average cost, 1s. 3d. per lb. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable from April to August.