Sandwiches.—Take 2 boxes sardines, and throw the contents into hot water, having first drained away all the oil. A few minutes will free the sardines from grease. Pour away the water, and dry the fish in a cloth; then scrape away the skins, and pound the sardines in a mortar till reduced to paste; add pepper, salt, and some tiny pieces of lettuce, and spread on the sandwiches, which have been previously cut as above. The lettuce adds very much to the flavour of the sardines.
Toast.—Place them with some of the oil out of the box between 2 plates in a hot oven; when thoroughly hot through place on toast cut in long slices the length of the sardine; shake a little cayenne and salt mixed over them, with a gentle squeeze of lemon.
Scallops (Pitoncles).—Scallops are to be obtained during the colder months of the year, and in January and February are in full roe and at their best. Like all shell fish, scallops must be eaten quite fresh, or they are a failure; the flesh should be firm and white, the roe deep orange-coloured. In full season they are 6-8d. a doz., sometimes less, and being thick and fleshy, 1 doz. is generally considered enough for 4 persons.
Baked.—Trim off the beards and black part of the fish, and lay them in their own deep shells, or tin shells, 3 scallops in each; put a little vinegar in each, and pour over them the following mixture: a teacupful of breadcrumbs, a tablespoonful of chopped and scalded parsley, pepper, salt, and sufficient milk to make a thin paste; sprinkle a few dry crumbs, and put a tiny lump of butter on each shell; bake 20 minutes. Where vegetables are scarce and dear, or, as in this case, the bill of fare does not demand them, fried bread can be substituted. It should be cut into neat broad “fingers,” fried in bacon fat or beef dripping, and well drained before sending to table. A neat and pretty dish can be made by chopping up any remains of green vegetables, such as cabbage or sprouts, frying in a small proportion of fat, and piling it in the centre of a dish, with the bread round.
Fried.—Clean and beard them very carefully, and set them to drain; get ready a panful of boiling lard; flour the scallops thoroughly, put them in a frying basket, and fry to a light brown colour; garnish with fried parsley.
Stewed.—Put the scallops into a small saucepan with as much water as will thoroughly cover them, a little mace, and a little sugar. Let them stew gently till tender (probably about ½ hour), you can feel with your finger when they are sufficiently done. Make a sauce with 1-1½ oz. of butter dredged with flour and some of the liquor in which the scallops were stewed, add some cream and a little nutmeg. Stir this over the fire till it boils; then put the scallops in, and let them stew a little longer in the sauce beside the fire. In dishing up pour the sauce so as to cover the scallops.
Shad (Alose).—This fine and delicate fish is found in greater perfection and richer abundance in the United States than in Europe; nevertheless, Europe is not devoid of shad, the Loire and the Severn being perhaps the most highly favoured rivers. The shad of the Thames—called the “twaite”—is a poor fish, but the “allice,” or Severn shad, is a great delicacy.
Take a fine shad, firm and bright in the scale; empty from the gills, and wash it thoroughly. Now make a forcemeat—either whiting or oyster—mixed with the roe of the shad, fill the fish, and either sew or skewer it up carefully, wrap it in strong writing paper thickly buttered, broil gently for an hour over a smokeless fire, either of charcoal or coke, and serve with caper sauce.
Skate (Raie).—Boil some crimped skate in salted water, with some vinegar in it. Put a large piece of butter into a saucepan, and leave it on the fire until the butter becomes of a dark brown colour, but do not let it burn; then throw in some finely-chopped parsley, a wineglassful of tarragon vinegar, a little salt, and some powdered white pepper. Serve the sauce in a boat piping hot, with the fish on a napkin.
Smelts (Eperlans) Fried.—Carefully flour, and fry in plenty of hot lard. When done, drain well in front of the fire, sprinkle all over with very fine salt, and serve with fried parsley and lemon cut into “quarters.”