Boiled.—Rub off the slime with salt and water, cut away gills and fins, draw, &c., and put into a fish kettle a handful of salt, 2 dr. cloves, also of mace, 2 sliced nutmegs, the peel of a lemon, and a small quantity of ginger peeled and sliced, 2 dr. whole pepper, 4 or 5 onions, a faggot of sweet herbs, equal quantities of rosemary, marjoram, thyme, winter savory and parsley, enough liquor, 3 parts water and one white wine, to cover the fish. Let it boil, put in the fish, and cook slowly. When done drain the liquor from it, and dish with the herbs and spices on it, sliced lemons and lemon peel, and with either of the following sauces: Sauce.—(1) To 1 ladleful melted butter add 2 of the boiling liquor in which the fish was cooked. (2) Add to the above some slices of lemon, and an anchovy or two pounded quite smooth. Garnish the fish with powdered ginger. (3) Add to the above some oysters, some sliced horseradish, and a small quantity of white wine, lastly, add the yolks of 2 or 3 eggs.
Broiled: see Carp.
Carbonade.—Slices of pike, neatly cut and cleared of skin and bone, must be coated with fine herbs and oiled butter; after which sprinkle with breadcrumbs, and ladle over some beaten egg with a spoon. Bake them a pale brown, and serve with a good sprinkling of lemon juice and a little gravy made in the baking dish.
Fried.—Choose small pike not more than 15 in. long, fry them until brown and crisp, drain off the butter, and put them into a pan with nutmeg, sliced ginger, a few anchovies, salt, and just sufficient claret to cover them. Boil until the liquor be half consumed, then add a piece of butter and a sliced lemon or orange. Serve on a dish previously rubbed with shallot, and garnish with lemon or orange.
Larded.—Choose a large fish. When cleaned, lard it thickly over with fresh bacon; put butter in a baking-dish with a little water; lay in the fish in a ring, with the tail in its mouth, and bake in a brisk oven; when half-done, strew fine breadcrumbs over, with pepper and salt; baste occasionally, and when done a delicate brown move the fish carefully on to a flat dish; pour into the baking-dish a brown caper sauce or a sardine sauce; add a good sprinkling of lemon juice; scrape in the crusting of the dish; pour the sauce over the fish, and serve.
Roast.—Stuff a large pike with veal stuffing, rather highly seasoned, and sew it up. Skewer its tail into its mouth and put it in a round baking tin. Pour over a teacupful of cream, and roast it in the oven, basting it frequently. Serve in a tureen melted butter sauce, with the liquor out of the dish added, and the juice of half a lemon. Hake would be good cooked in this way; one of moderate size must be chosen if it is to be cooked whole.
Soused: see Carp.
Stewed.—Having cleaned and scaled the pike, lay it in plenty of salted water. Put a good-sized piece of butter in a stewpan, with a large tablespoonful of chopped parsley and either a shallot, an onion, a clove of garlic, or some minced chives, 2 slices of lemon, 2 or 3 cloves, salt and pepper; cut up the fish into good-sized pieces. A pike of about 4 lb. weight is best this way. Add a glass of wine, the same of vinegar, and a large cup of broth or water to the stewed herbs. Lay in the fish packed closely together, cover, and let it simmer about ½ hour. Mix 3 or 4 yolks of eggs, with a cup of milk or cream, pour this over the fish; strew in breadcrumbs to thicken the sauce. Let it come to the boil; dish the fish carefully, put a piece of butter to melt in the sauce, and pour it over.
Prawns (Crevettes).—Prawns are in this country generally boiled for about 10 minutes, and served cold. Very pretty they look when built up over a buisson of parsley, and very nice they taste as a preparation for more serious dishes. In India and America, where they grow to a very large size, prawns are often curried or served in an omelette. In both of these cases they are first boiled, allowed to cool, and carefully picked. For an omelette they are then tossed in butter seasoned with a little pepper, and inserted into the fold of the omelette, and in curry are treated precisely like curried lobster. In the first form they are exquisitely delicate; in the second simply delicious.
Aspic.—Make a savoury jelly with 2-3 lb. knuckle of veal, an oxfoot, some lean bacon, carrots, onions, shallots, a faggot of herbs, spices, pepper, and salt, and 2 qt. water; stew till quite strong, strain, when cold remove all fat, and clear with the whites of 2 or 3 eggs, and a glass of sherry; strain through a jelly bag, and when nearly set pour a little into a jelly mould, put a layer of cooked prawns, another layer of jelly and so on, filling up the mould with alternate layers of jelly and prawns; when quite firm (it will require icing) dip the mould in hot water for an instant, and turn it out very carefully. Crayfish may be cooked in the same way.