Prepare and clean a small shad and soak it for two or three hours in a marinade of oil and lemon-juice seasoned with onion and parsley. Put it in a buttered stewpan with half a wineglassful of white wine, three tablespoonfuls of mushroom liquor, four sprigs of parsley, a sprig of celery, a bay-leaf, a sprig of thyme, and two cloves. Add two handfuls of picked and washed sorrel or spinach, chopped fine. Season with salt and pepper and simmer slowly for two hours. Take up the fish, thicken the gravy with butter and flour cooked together, pour over the fish and serve.
PICKLED SHAD—I
Boil a shad in salted water to cover, drain and cool. Add to the water in which it was boiled half as much vinegar and a red pepper pod, whole cloves, allspice, and mace to season. Boil for an hour. Cut the fish into large pieces, put into an earthen jar and pour the boiling spiced liquid over the fish. Cover and let stand for two days before using.
PICKLED SHAD—II
Cut a large shad into pieces, put a layer in the bottom of an earthen crock, sprinkle with salt, and add a few whole cloves, allspice, peppers, and bay-leaves. Cover with fish, add more spices, and pour on strong vinegar to cover. Cover the dish, bake for four hours in a moderate oven, and let stand for three or four days before using. Serve cold.
CREAMED SHAD
Cook together a tablespoonful each of butter and flour, add two cupfuls of milk and cook until thick, stirring constantly. Add a teaspoonful of grated onion, take from the fire and add the beaten yolks of two eggs, and salt, pepper, and minced parsley to season. Add two cupfuls of cold cooked shad flaked fine, put into a buttered baking-dish, sprinkle with crumbs and brown in the oven.
SHAD VERT-PRÉ
Prepare and clean a small shad and put into a buttered baking-dish with salt and pepper to season, two finely chopped shallots and half a wineglassful of white wine. Cover with buttered paper and bake in a moderate oven. Take up the fish, add the juice to a cupful of Allemande Sauce and tint green with minced parsley and spinach juice. Pour over the fish and serve.