Cookery for every household

Prepare a small onion and cut it in very thin slices. Slice also some red carrot very thinly, and stamp out some fancy shapes with a small vegetable cutter. Put this prepared carrot and onion into a small saucepan with the water, half the butter, and a little well-washed parsley, picked free from the stalks and left in small sprigs. Add a little salt, and cook these vegetables for a few minutes until they are tender. Meanwhile prepare the fish. Wash and clean the whiting without opening them, trim them neatly, and place them on a greased fireproof dish. Pour the white wine over and then the vegetables and liquid from the saucepan. Then place the fish in the oven, and cook them until tender. When ready, lift the fish on to the dish on which it is to be served, reduce the liquid in the baking dish, add the remainder of the butter at the last, but without boiling again, and pour all over the fish. Notes. — Sometimes a little sour cream is added at the last instead of the butter. Other kinds of fish may be cooked in the same way. FRESHWATER FISH Barbel (Barbeau) This is a river fish which takes its name from the four barbels or fleshy appendages which fringe its mouth. It is common to most rivers, and, as it burrows in the mud, it requires careful cleaning, and should be soaked in water for some time before using. It is poor in flavour, and requires a good sauce, or to be cooked with wine. A. Barbel B. Bream Bream (Breme) A freshwater fish not much esteemed. It is found in ponds and slow-running rivers. The flesh is dry and bony, without much taste, and a good buttery sauce is required to make it palatable. See also Sea Bream, p. 95. Carp (Carpe) A freshwater fish, which frequently grows to a very large size. A medium-sized one is best. The carp has the habit of burying itself in the mud, which sometimes gives it a disagreeable flavour — in fact the flavour will be influenced by the char- Carp acter of its habitat. It requires careful cleaning, and should be soaked for an hour or two in salt and water, and then washed in vinegar and water before being cooked. It requires a piquant sauce or some other tasty accompaniment to make it taste well. 272. Carp with Cream Sauce (Carpe a l’Allemande) 1 medium-sized carp. Pepper and salt. Lemon juice. | pt. sour cream. I tea-sp. meat extract. A little butter. Bread-crumbs. 1 onion. 1 bay-leaf. 1 or 2 sprigs of parsley. Clean the fish thoroughly, cutting off the head and fins. Place it in a well-greased baking dish or tin, season it with pepper, salt, and lemon juice, and let it stand for half an hour. Then brush the fish over with a little melted butter, sprinkle it with bread-crumbs, and put some more butter on the top. Pour the cream round, and add the onion cut in quarters and the bay-leaf. Place the fish in a moderate oven, and bake until the flesh w ill come away easily from the bone, basting several times with the cream. When ready, lift the fish carefully on to a hot dish, add the meat extract to the sauce, also a little water if it has become too thick, and strain over the fish. Garnish with fresh or fried parsley. Time to bake, 30 to 40 minutes. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. 273, Carp, To Stew (Carpe au Jus) 1 carp. 1 table-sp. flour. Salt. 2 or 3 gills white or fish stock. 1 onion. A bunch of herbs.