I have not given recipes for plain boiling and frying; most
cooks know how to do this perfectly well, and it would only
be repeating what is in other books. I will only add that
most of the sauces poured over plain boiled fish seem to
change its character entirely; for instance, boiled fillets of
skate smothered in onion sauce taste very much like white
meat. Some of the brown sauces, too, poured over good
firm fleshed fish, seem very much like chicken or rabbit.
I have put all the fish recipes together, both those suited to
entrées and the more substantial. I have done this because it
is rather a difficult matter to arrange how the different dishes
are to be served. Some are quite content with an entrée
after the soup; others want something more substantial to
take the place of the usual joint; they can, however, have
fish pies, baked fish, boiled fish, fried fish, etc., which
answer the purpose very well, and the lighter dishes can
be used as entrées, and some even as savouries. A dinner
of four or five courses can easily be had from these recipes.
Clean and skin two pounds of eels; cut them into pieces
two inches in length, put them in a pie dish thus: a layer of
fish, then sliced onions, a few cloves, and sliced tomatoes,
some sliced hard-boiled eggs, and so on till the dish is full.
Mix some salt and Nepaul pepper to taste, in a little warm
water, say a small tea-cup; pour it over the fish. Cover
with a nice crust either light or short, and bake a nice
brown. Serve with a nice frill round the dish.
This is a very substantial and delicious dish. The short
crust is more digestible and satisfying than the light, but
this is a matter of individual taste.
Clean and skin two pounds of eels; cut them into two-inch
pieces. Chop one onion and two beads of garlic very
small, fry in three ounces of butter with one tablespoon of
flour till it is a nice brown; add half a pint of water and let it
thicken; strain, then add the eels to the sauce. One tablespoon
of tarragon vinegar, one tablespoon of cloves, one
tablespoon of chervil, Nepaul pepper and salt to taste, the
grated rind of half a lemon, and a little grated nutmeg. A
few turned olives and button mushrooms considerably improve
it, but where expense is an object these may be left out.
Get a good dry salt fish about three pounds. Soak it all
night in water, then put it in the oven till soft enough to
handle, remove all skin and bone, and make into nice large
flakes; put a layer of this in a pie dish, then a layer of sliced
onions, a few cloves, a sprinkling of lemon thyme, some
sliced hard-boiled eggs, and so on till the dish is full. Now
mix half a cup of water with half a cup of good thick
tomato conserve, add Nepaul pepper to it to taste; pour it
over the pie, and cover with either a light or a short crust,
and bake a nice brown.
Treat the fish as in previous recipe. Peel and boil two
pounds of potatoes, mash them thoroughly, and mix them
with the fish. Three hard-boiled eggs chopped fine, one
tablespoon of chopped onion, three ounces of butter, and a
teaspoon of herbs as for veal stuffing. Mix all thoroughly
together, then put it in a well-greased pie dish, smooth it
down, and score it with a fork, put a few dabs of butter over
it here and there, and bake a nice brown.
Get a good sized smoked haddock; put it in the oven for
a few minutes till it is cooked enough to handle, remove the
skin and bone, flake it, and mix it with mashed potatoes,
three ounces of butter, the grated peel of half a lemon, a
little lemon thyme, some grated nutmeg, and salt and
Nepaul pepper to taste. Put it in a greased pie dish;
smooth the top, and score it with a fork, and bake a nice
brown.
Cut up an onion into rings, chop one bead of garlic, fry
in two ounces of butter with twelve cloves and two bay-leaves,
a pale yellow. Add half a pint of milk, draw it
aside, and let the milk cook very gently ten minutes;
strain. Now mix smooth a tablespoon of flour with a little
cold milk; pour it into the other just as it is boiling up;
stir till it thickens. Add one pound of filleted skate, the
grated rind of half a lemon, a grated nutmeg; let it cook
gently till the fish is done. When a little cool, i.e., when
it is off the boil, add the yolk of an egg well beaten, and salt
and Nepaul pepper to taste. Stir well, and thoroughly
warm it, taking care the egg does not curdle; it is best to
put the pan into a larger one containing hot water; this
prevents the curdling of the egg. Serve this with a dish
of mashed potatoes, or potato snow. It is a delicate and
delicious dish and, skate being very nutritious, it is well
suited for an invalid.
Cut up an onion into thin rings, chop two beads of garlic,
and fry, in three ounces of butter with one tablespoon of
flour and twelve cloves, a nice brown, quite a rich colour,
then add half a pint of water, a blade of mace, a stick of
cinnamon, the grated rind of half a lemon, three bay-leaves;
stir, and let it thicken well, then add two tablespoons of
mushroom ketchup, Nepaul pepper and salt to taste; let it
simmer very gently for half an hour; strain, put it back in
the pan, and add one pound of nicely crimped skate to the
sauce; let the fish cook very gently until done, which will
take from twenty minutes to half an hour. Serve with
sippets of fried bread and parsley round the dish.
Make the sauce just the same as in preceding recipe, only
add the juice of the oysters to it; strain, and add the
oysters themselves. A few drops of tarragon and Chili
vinegar are an improvement, and the juice of half a lemon.
This is a delicate dish, and much liked.
Well pound the flesh of a good fresh lobster in a mortar
(the best brand of tin lobster will answer as well), mix with
it about two ounces of butter, one small cup of bread
crumbs, salt and Nepaul pepper to taste, the grated rind of
a lemon and half a nutmeg grated, mix all together with
two well beaten eggs; form into cutlet shapes, and egg
and bread crumb them, fry a golden brown in boiling fat or
butter. Lay them on a sieve to drain off any fat there may
be. Serve neatly on a dish, and decorate with fried bread
and parsley.
Stew one dozen oysters in their own liquor gently, till
tender enough to chop very small; mix with them one cup of
bread crumbs, some grated nutmeg and lemon peel, salt and
pepper to taste; bind all together with a well-beaten egg or
two, form into cutlets, and fry in butter a pale yellow;
drain on a sieve. Serve with fried sippets of bread and
parsley round them. These are very delicious and simple.
Take as many oysters as you need, dip each into well
beaten egg, and then into bread crumbs, fry in butter a
golden colour, sprinkle with pepper and salt.
Have ready as many pieces of fried bread, cut out with a
round cutter, as you have oysters, lay an oyster on each;
garnish the top with a sprinkling of chopped green parsley
and a piece or two of lemon cut in dice shape.
Remove the skin and bone from any cold fish you may
have remaining; well pound the flesh in a mortar; add one
cup of bread crumbs, salt and Nepaul pepper to taste, a
teaspoon of chopped onion, a teaspoon of chopped parsley,
mix all well together with one or two well beaten eggs, shape
into cutlets, sausages, or rounds, and fry a pale golden colour.
Serve neatly garnished with parsley, and slices of lemon on
a stand of potato.
Get a good sized smoked haddock, put it in the oven a few
minutes, pick out all bones and skin, pound the flesh in a
mortar, add one teaspoon chopped onion, one teaspoon of
herbs as for veal stuffing, the grated rind of half a lemon,
pepper and salt to taste, one tea-cup of fine bread crumbs;
mix well, bind all with one or two well beaten eggs, form
into croquets, egg and bread crumb them, fry in butter a
delicate gold colour. Serve round a wall of mashed potatoes;
garnish with parsley and fried bread.
Get a good sized gurnet, stuff it with the following mixture;
tie it carefully round with tape (string cuts the fish),
put it in a baking tin, cover over with little dotes of butter
here and there and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Put it
into the oven, and bake till well done; remove the tape
carefully, so as not to spoil the look of the fish. Ornament
with tufts of parsley, and serve with a dish of mashed
potatoes, or fried potato chips.
Fish Stuffing.
One cup of fine bread crumbs, three ounces of butter well
worked in, one teaspoon of herbs, as for veal stuffing,
pepper and salt to taste, the yolks of two eggs. Mix all
well together, and stuff the fish neatly.
Get a good sized haddock, stuff it with the following
mixture, and proceed as in above recipe.
Fish Stuffing.
One tea-cup of fine bread crumbs, two well boiled onions
chopped and mashed to pulp, three ounces of butter, a
small quantity of sage to taste chopped very fine, pepper
and salt to taste. Mix all well together, and stuff the fish.
Put a smoked haddock in the oven for a few minutes;
free it of bone and skin and set it aside.
Cut up an onion very small, also two beads of garlic
chopped, two bay-leaves chopped; fry in three ounces of
butter with twenty-four cloves a nice brown, then add one
tablespoon of best currie powder; stir; and, lastly, add the
fish. Stir well, and keep frying till the fish is almost dry.
Serve with a separate dish of plain boiled rice.
Cut up an onion, two beads of garlic, two bay-leaves, and
fry, in two ounces of butter with twenty-four cloves, a nice
colour, then add one tablespoon of best currie powder.
Let it all fry for two or three minutes, then add two tablespoons
of tomato pulp, a blade of mace, and a cup of
water; let it simmer gently for one hour, then just before
serving add salt to taste, and a squeeze of lemon, and the
contents of a best brand tin of lobster. Serve with a
separate dish of boiled rice.
Cut up an onion, two beads of garlic, two bay-leaves, and
fry in two ounces of butter and twenty-four cloves a nice
brown; then add one tablespoon or a little less of best
currie powder; stir; then add one cup of water, and a two-penny
packet of Edwards' Tomato Soup. Let it simmer
gently for one hour. Then add one pound of eels that
have been nicely skinned and cleaned. Let the fish
thoroughly cook in the sauce, and about five minutes before
it is ready add the milk of a cocoa-nut. Serve with a dish
of plain boiled rice.
Well clean and skin one pound of eels, cut into two-inch
lengths, roll in flour, sprinkle well with salt and Nepaul
pepper. Fry in butter a nice colour. Serve, neatly heaped
one on the other, with bits of parsley in between. Fried or
mashed potatoes is the right accompaniment for this dish,
or plain boiled rice.
Mash some potatoes, take any cold fish, free it of skin and
bone. Mix them together with one teaspoon of chopped
onion, one teaspoon of herbs as for veal stuffing, salt and
pepper to taste, the grated rind of half a lemon. Form
into cutlet shape, egg and bread crumb them, and fry a
nice golden brown. Decorate with fried parsley.
Get one pound of filleted hake. Chop up an onion
very small, mix with a teaspoon of herbs, chopped parsley,
lemon thyme and basil, and pepper and salt to taste. Sprinkle
each fillet with this rather thickly, then roll it up and tie
with a tape. Now put it aside. Cut up an onion, two
beads of garlic, two bay-leaves, fry in two ounces of butter
a nice yellow, then add one tea-cup of water and one packet
Edwards' Tomato Soup. Let it simmer gently twenty
minutes. Add your fillets, and let them cook in the sauce.
Before serving untie the tape with great care.
Bake as many hard solid herrings as you require in vinegar,
with a pinch of Nepaul pepper and salt, and two or three
bay-leaves. When done, split each fish down the back,
remove the bone, and then sprinkle with some chopped
onion and green parsley, and put it together so that it looks
as before. Serve cold, with a nice sauce made of equal
parts of olive oil and vinegar. This is very nice served
with salads of any kind.
Get one pound of fillets of skate or crimped skate.
Sprinkle them with a little chopped onion, parsley and a
hard boiled egg chopped; pepper and salt to taste. Roll
the fish up, and tie with tape.
Cut up an onion into rings, chop two beads of garlic and
fry in two ounces of butter a nice brown. Add two tablespoons
of tomato pulp, one tea-cup of water, twelve cloves,
twelve peppercorns, and two bay-leaves. Let it simmer
gently half an hour, then add the skate, and cook it in
the sauce. Before serving, remove the tape and the bay
leaves.
Get some fine mackerel, sprinkle it over with Nepaul
pepper and salt, chopped onion, two bay-leaves, two beads
of garlic chopped fine, then pour over all one cup of tomato
pulp. Bake in the oven till the fish is done. Dish the fish
very neatly, and strain the liquor over them.
Take some good sized pieces of cod, but not too large,
roll them in flour and fry a nice colour. Then fry some
onions as for beef steak, and smother the fish with them.
This is liked very much by children.
Free some cold haddock of bone and skin. Pound the
flesh in a mortar. Mix with it one dessertspoon of chopped
onion, two beads of chopped garlic, one teaspoon of best
currie powder. Mix well. If not quite sufficiently firm to
handle, stir in a well beaten egg. Form into cutlets, and
fry in butter a nice colour. Serve with a separate dish of
plain boiled rice or as a kedgree, as per recipe given.
Well pound any cold white fish you may have in a
mortar. Add the grated peel of half a lemon, half a nutmeg
grated, pepper and salt to taste. Mix well. Then add a
well-beaten egg to bind the mixture, form into cutlets or
flat cakes, and poach in milk till set. Serve with shrimp
sauce over.
Get some red or grey mullet. Plain boil, and serve
them in the middle of the dish. While hot melt some
butter over them, and sprinkle with pepper and salt. Then
surround them with small baked tomatoes all round the
dish. Sprinkle over all some finely chopped parsley.
Serve with potato snow.
Well pound the flesh of some nice white fish. Mix with
it one cup of bread crumbs, one teaspoon of herbs as for
veal stuffing, three ounces of butter, the grated rind of
half a lemon, some grated nutmeg, Nepaul pepper and salt
to taste. Well beat four eggs. Mix all together, put in a
plain buttered mould, and bake till set. Turn out on to a
paper. Garnish with parsley and slices of lemon and
tomato.
Well pound the contents of a tin of lobsters. Mix with
one cup of bread crumbs, one teaspoon of herbs, the
grated peel of half a lemon, some grated nutmeg, pepper
and salt to taste, three ounces of butter. Well beat three
eggs. Mix together, and put into a plain well-buttered
mould. Steam till quite set. Turn out on to a round dish.
Pour over a shrimp sauce.
N.B.—I have always said butter for all my fish dishes, as
the butter imparts a better flavour, and in these days it
can be had so cheaply; but if lard and dripping is substituted
by those who do not object to their use, it answers
quite as well.