Take three pounds of fish (weakfish or carp, pickerel or haddock or whitefish, any fat fish with a fish poor in it). Remove skin and bones from the fish and chop flesh very fine, add a good-sized onion, minced or grated, make a depression in the centre of the chopped fish and add three-quarters cup of water, one-half cup of soft bread crumbs, salt and pepper to taste, one-fourth cup of sugar, two egg whites and two tablespoons of melted b.u.t.ter. Chop until very smooth and form into cakes containing a generous tablespoonful each. Put the bones and skins into a saucepan with an onion sliced and a tablespoon of b.u.t.ter and add the fish cakes. Cover with water and simmer for one and a quarter hours.
Then remove the cakes and strain off the gravy into the two egg yolks which have been slightly beaten together with one teaspoon of sugar; stir over the heat until thickened, but do not boil it. Pour over fish cakes and serve either hot or cold. The b.u.t.ter and sugar may be omitted if so desired.
GEFILLTE FISCH WITH EGG SAUCE
Cut a five-pound haddock into four-inch slices. Cut a big hole into each slice, preserving the backbone and skin. Put this meat, cut from the fish, into a wooden tray, add to it four large onions and a sprig of parsley. Chop until very fine, then add two eggs, a dash of pepper and cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and a tablespoon of sugar. To this add enough cracker dust to stiffen it. Put this filling into the holes cut in the fish.
Take a saucepan, put in one sliced onion, a sprig of parsley, a small sliced carrot, a dash of pepper, and a pinch of salt. Put the fish into the saucepan, cover with cold water, and let it boil slowly for one hour. At the end of the hour take out the fish, and put on a platter.
Preserve the water or gravy in which the fish was boiled for the sauce.
Egg sauce for fish: Beat the yokes of two eggs thoroughly. Into the beaten yolks slowly pour the gravy in which the fish was boiled, stirring constantly. Stand this on the back of the stove to boil for five minutes, stirring constantly so as to prevent burning.
FILLED FISH--TURKISH STYLE
No. 1. Bone some fat fish, boil in salt and water; when done take a little of the fish soup, one egg, beat until light, add gradually the juice of one-half lemon.
FRITADA
No. 2. Steam the fish and bone. Take four good-sized tomatoes, cut them up, add chopped parsley, scallions or leeks cut in small pieces, a little celery, salt and pepper to taste and four eggs well-beaten; mix all these ingredients very well with the boned fish, form in omelet shape. Place in oven in pan greased with olive oil and bake until well browned.
HECHT (PICKEREL)
This fish is best prepared "scharf." Clean your fish thoroughly and salt the day previous; wrap it in a clean towel and lay it on ice until wanted. Line a kettle with celery and parsley roots; cut up an onion, add a lump of fresh b.u.t.ter, and pack the fish in the kettle, head first, either whole or cut up; sprinkle a little salt and white pepper over all and add about a dozen peppercorns; put on enough water to just cover, and add a whole lemon cut in slices. Do not let the fish boil quickly.
Add about a dozen pounded almonds. By this time the fish will be ready to turn, then beat up the yolks of two eggs in a bowl, to be added to the sauce after the fish is boiled. Try the fish with a fork and if the meat loosens readily it is done. Take up each peace carefully, if it has been cut up, and arrange on a large platter, head first and so on, make the fish appear whole, and garnish with the slices of lemon and sprigs of parsley; then mince up some parsley and garnish top of the fish, around the lemon slices. Thicken the gravy by adding the beaten yolks, add a tablespoon of cold water to the yolks before adding to the boiling sauce; stir, remove from the fire at once and pour over the fish. If you prefer the sauce strained, then strain before adding the yolks of the eggs and almonds.
Haddock, sea-ba.s.s, pike, perch, weakfish and porgies may be cooked "scharf."
FRESH COD OR STRIPED Ba.s.s
Cut into pieces ready to serve, after which salt them for an hour. Into the fish kettle put a quant.i.ty of water, large onion sliced, carrot also sliced, turnip, celery root, and boil fifteen minutes. Add the fish and two tablespoons of b.u.t.ter, tiny piece of cinnamon, pepper to taste. Boil fifteen minutes longer, then add teaspoon of flour mixed with cold water. Boil up well and add salt or pepper if needed. Remove fish and arrange on platter. Beat yolks of two eggs with a tablespoon of cold water; after straining out vegetables, add the hot gravy in which fish was boiled. Return to fire and stir till thick enough. Garnish with chopped parsley.
AHILADO SAUCE (TURKISH)
Mix some tomato sauce, olive oil, parsley, salt and pepper. Boil sauce first, and add boiled sea-ba.s.s or flounders.
BOILED TROUT
Cut up a celery root, one onion, and a sprig of parsley, tie the fish in a napkin and lay it on this bed of roots; pour in enough water to cover and add a dash of vinegar--the vinegar keeps the fish firm--then boil over a quick fire and add more salt to the water in which the fish has been boiled. Lay your fish on a hot platter and prepare the following sauce: set a cup of sweet cream in a kettle, heat it, add a tablespoon of fresh b.u.t.ter, salt and pepper, and thicken with a tablespoon of flour which has been wet with a little cold milk, stir this paste into the cream and boil about one minute, stirring constantly; pour over the fish. Boil two eggs, and while they are boiling, blanch about a dozen or more almonds and stick them into the fish, points up; cover the eggs with cold water, peel them, separate the whites from the yolks, chop each separately; garnish the fish, first with a row of chopped yolks, then whites, until all is used: lay chopped parsley all around the platter.
Fresh cod and striped ba.s.s may be cooked in this way.
FISH PIQUANT
Cook any large fish in salt water--salmon is particularly nice prepared in this style--add one cup of vinegar, onions, celery root and parsley.
When the fish is cooked enough, remove it from the fire, kettle and all--letting the fish remain in its sauce until the following sauce is prepared:--
Take the yolks of two eggs, one-half teaspoon of Colman"s mustard (dry), salt, pepper, a tablespoon of b.u.t.ter, a tablespoon of vinegar, one-half gla.s.s water and some fish gravy. Boil in double boiler until thick. Take some parsley, green onions, capers, shallots and one large vinegar pickle and some astragon, chop all up very fine; chop up the hard-boiled whites separately and then add the sauce; mix all this together thoroughly, then taste to see if seasoned to suit.
SALMON CUTLETS
Take the remains of some boiled salmon or a small can of salmon, three tablespoons of mashed potatoes, one of bread crumbs, one of chopped parsley, a little flour, mace, an egg, pepper and salt.
Mix the ingredients well together, bind with the egg, let stand an hour, then form into little flat cutlets, roll in bread crumbs and fry in hot oil, drain on paper and send to table garnished with parsley.
PAPRIKA CARP
Slice and salt three pounds of carp. Steam four sliced onions with one cup of water, to which has been added one teaspoon of paprika, add the sliced carp and cook very slowly until the fish is done.
REDSNAPPER WITH TOMATO SAUCE
Scale thoroughly, salt and pepper inside and out, and lay upon ice, wrapped in a clean cloth overnight. When ready to cook cut up the celery or parsley root, or both, two large onions, a carrot or two, and let this come to a boil in about one quart of water, then lay in the fish, whole or in pieces; let the water almost cover the fish; add a lump of fresh b.u.t.ter and three or four tomatoes (out of season you may use canned tomatoes, say three or four large spoonfuls); let the fish boil half an hour, turning it occasionally. Try it by taking hold of the fins, if they come out readily, the fish is done. Take it up carefully; lay on a large platter and strain the sauce; let it boil, thicken it with the well-beaten yolks of two eggs, adding the sauce gradually to the eggs and stirring constantly. Garnish the fish with chopped parsley, letting a quant.i.ty mix with the sauce.
Redsnapper is also very good fried.
BONED SMELTS, SAUTeD
Take a dozen raw smelts; split them from the back lengthwise, leaving the head and tail intact; take out the large center bone without opening the stomach and season with salt. Put four ounces of b.u.t.ter into a saucepan, and when quite hot place the smelts in it, so that the side which was cut open is underneath. When they have attained a nice color, turn them over and finish cooking. When ready, arrange them on a very hot dish, pour the b.u.t.ter in which they were cooked over them, squeeze a little lemon on them, then add over all some finely chopped green parsley. Serve.
FISH WITH HORSERADISH SAUCE
Clean three pounds of fresh salmon, bone, salt and let stand several hours. Place in fish kettle with boiling salt water (one teaspoon of salt to one quart of water), and let boil one-half hour or until well cooked. Lift out carefully, place on hot platter and pour over one-fourth cup of melted b.u.t.ter and sprinkle well with one tablespoon of parsley. Serve in a separate bowl the following sauce; a large spoonful with each portion of fish: Peel one-half pound of horseradish root, grate and mix well with one pint of cream beaten stiff. The fish must be hot and the sauce cold.
FISH WITH SAUERKRAUT
Fry an onion in b.u.t.ter (or vegetable oil), add sauerkraut and cook. Boil the fish in salt water, then bone and shred. Fry two minced onions in b.u.t.ter or oil, put them into the kettle with the fish, add two egg yolks, b.u.t.ter or oil, a little pepper and a tablespoon of breadcrumbs; steam for half hour and serve with the kraut.
FILLET OF SOLE a LA MOUQUIN
Thoroughly wash and pick over a pound of spinach, put it over the fire with no more water than clings to the leaves and cook for ten minutes; at the end of that time drain the spinach and chop it fine. Have ready thin fillets of flounder, halibut, or whitefish. Cover them with acidulated warm water--a slice of lemon in the water is all that is wanted, and add a slice of onion, a sprig of parsley and a bit of bay leaf. Simmer for ten minutes and drain. Put the minced spinach into the bottom of the b.u.t.tered baking-dish, arrange the fillets on it, cover with a cream sauce to which a tablespoon of grated cheese has been added, and brown in the oven.
FILLET DE SOLE a LA CREOLE
Fillet some large flounders, and have fishman send you all the bones; put the bones on to boil; wash, dry, and season the fillets; roll them (putting in some bits of b.u.t.ter), and fasten each one with a wooden toothpick. Strain the water from the bones; thicken with a little brown flour and onion; add to this one-half can of tomatoes, a little cayenne pepper, salt, and chopped green peppers. Let this sauce simmer for a couple of hours (this need not be strained); put the fillets in a ca.s.serole, and pour some of this sauce over them, and put in the oven for about fifteen minutes. Then pour over the rest of the tomato sauce, sprinkle a little chopped parsley and serve. One can add a few mushrooms to the sauce. The mushrooms must be fried in b.u.t.ter before being added to the sauce.