Soak two halibut steaks for an hour in lemon-juice, seasoned with salt, pepper, and minced parsley. Mix together two tablespoonfuls of butter, one tablespoonful of flour, and two cupfuls of boiling water. Cook until thick, stirring constantly. Put the slices of halibut into a buttered pan, cover with the sauce, and bake for twenty minutes, basting as required. Serve with any preferred sauce.
BAKED HALIBUT
Soak six pounds of halibut in salt water for two hours. Wipe dry and score the outer skin. Bake for an hour in a moderately hot oven, basting with melted butter and hot water. Add a little boiling water to the gravy, a tablespoonful of walnut catsup, a teaspoonful of Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper to season, and the juice of a lemon. Cook while stirring with browned flour rubbed smooth with a little cold water.
HALIBUT STEAK À LA JARDINIÈRE
Soak halibut steaks for an hour in salt and water. Wipe dry and rub with melted butter. Butter a china baking-dish, sprinkle chopped onion on the bottom, and put in the steaks. On top put a boiled carrot cut into dice, half a dozen sliced tomatoes, a shredded green pepper, and half a cupful of green peas. Add enough salted boiling water to keep the fish from scorching, put a tablespoonful of butter on top, cover, and bake until done. Drain the liquor carefully from the pan, add three tablespoonfuls of white wine, and thicken with a teaspoonful of butter rolled in browned flour. Serve separately as a sauce.
FRESH BOILED MACKEREL
Clean the mackerel, sprinkle with vinegar, wrap in a floured cloth, and baste closely. Boil for three-quarters of an hour in salted water, drain, and take off the cloth. Strain a cupful of the water in which the fish was boiled, and bring to the boil with a tablespoonful of walnut catsup, a teaspoonful of anchovy paste, and the juice of half a lemon. Thicken with butter and browned flour.
PIKE BAKED IN SOUR CREAM
Clean a four-pound pike, cut into steaks, and free from skin and bone. Put into a buttered baking-dish with two small onions chopped and two bay-leaves. Season with salt and cayenne, add one cupful of sour cream, and bake. Put on a serving-dish, cover with crumbs and dots of butter, and brown in the oven. Add enough stock to the liquid to make the required quantity of sauce, thicken with butter and flour, season, add a dash of lemon-juice, pour around the fish, sprinkle with minced parsley, and serve.