Cassell's dictionary of cookery

Cleanse, scale, skin, trim, and dry a thick sole, and with a sharp knife make an incision down each side of the back-bone. Season with pepper and salt, put it into a baking-dish thickly buttered, and pour upon it half a pint of French white wine, or, where economy is a consideration, a pint of cider or perry. Bake the fish in a moderate oven. When done enough, stir the liquor into half a pint of good melted butter, let it boil up, and add a dessertspoonful of chopped parsley. Take the sauce off the fire, and stir into it until dissolved an ounce of fresh butter. Lift the fish carefully with a fish-slice upon a hot dish, pour the sauce over, and serve very hot. Time to bake, about half an hour, according to size. Probable cost, a large sole, Is. or Is. 6d. Sufficient for three persons. Sole, Boiled. — The flesh of a boiled sole is tender and delicate, and somewhat resembles turbot in flavour. It is particularly suited for invalids and convalescents. Choose the fish fresh, and very thick — a sole for boiling should weigh at least two pounds. Scale and clean it, remove the fms and gills, but do not take off the brown skin. Put it into plenty of cold water with a table- spoonful of salt and a tablespoonful of vinegar ; let the liquor boil, skim carefully, then draw the pan to the side, and I let its contents simmer very gently till the fish is done enough. When this point is reached, the flesh will shrink from the bone. In taking up the sole, set the fish-drainer across the kettle for a minute, then lay the fish on a dish, covered with a warm napkin. The white side must be uppermost. Garnish with parsley and cut lemon, and send melted butter, or shrimp, anchovy, caper, lobster, or oyster sauce to table in a tureen. Some cooks plunge the fish into boiling water, and boil it gently until done enough, but it is more usual to put it into cold water. Time to boil the fish, according to size. A good-sized fish will take seven or eight minutes from the time the water boils. Sole, Buttered. — Clean, scale, skin, and dry the fish. Rub a tin dish quickly with a clove of garlic freshly cut, lay the soles in it, and dredge flour npon them. Put little pieces of butter here and there upon them, allowing three ounces of butter for each moderate-sized sole, and bake them until done enough in a moderate oven. Lay them on a hot dish, pour the butter over, and sprinkle on them a teaspoonful of finely-minced parslej-. Serve very hot. Time to bake, half an hour or more, according to size. Probable cost, soles, Is. 6d. to '2s. 6d. per pair. Sole, Choosing of.— Soles should be chosen thick, firm, and fresh, with the under part of a delicate cream-colour. The colour, aa weU as the smeU, is a test of freshness. Mediumsized fish are the best. Sole, Cold. — Divide the cold fish into fillets. Put a lump of clarified fat or butter into the saucepan. When melted, dredge in half a table-spoonful of flour, and let it fry till brown. SOL ( 892 ) SOL