Handbook of practical cookery

Remove the bone and skin of the fish, and place it upon a flat dish, cut into irregular pieces. Melt in a sauce-pan the butter, stirring in the dry flour, to which add by degrees the milk, stirring constantly, to prevent the flour from lumping, until it boils. When boiliug, add the cream, and a little of the pepper and salt; allow all to cook for two minutes, after which pour the mixture over the pieces of fish in the flat dish. Sprinkle over this the grated cheese, the remainder of the pepper and salt, and the nutmeg; place the dish into a moderate oven, and bake for ten minutes. NOTE. — Turbot done in this manner must be prepared in the dish in which it is to be sent to the table, as it cannot be moved. Salmon Pie. — For this will be required two pounds of salmon, one-fourth pound of bread crumbs, one table-spoonful of chopped parsley, two ounces of butter, two eggs, one gill of cold water, one tea-spoonful of pepper, one teaspoonful of salt. First mix well together the chopped parsley, bread crumbs, the pepper and the salt, and put a layer of this into the bottom of a flat dish. The salmon must then be cut into thin slices, and a layer of it put next to the bread crumbs and parsley. In this way alternate layers must be placed in the dish until all of the material is used ; then beat until very light the two eggs, add to them the water, and pour this mixture over the dish already arranged. Place upon the top of this the butter in small pieces, and bake in a moderate oven three quarters of an hour. NOTE. — Flounder, haddock, and halibut may also be done in this way. Potted Halibut. — For this provide two pounds of halibut, one tea-spoonful of salt, one tea-spoonful of black pepper, one half tea-spoonful of spice for potted meats,* one half tea-cupful of vinegar, one half tea-cupful of Bass ale, one tea-spoonful of tarragon vinegar, one ounce of butter. Lay the fish in layers in a deep dish, putting between each layer a little of the spice and pepper and salt ; press the contents well down in the dish, then mix well together the vinegar, Bass ale, and tarragon vinegar, and pour this composition over the halibut. Place the butter in small pieces over the top, and bake in a moderate oven for thirty minutes. Kedgeree. — For this will be required one pound of cold boiled fish, two ounces of butter, two eggs, one tea-cupful of rice, one tea-spoonful of curry powder, one salt-spoonful of salt, one half salt-spoonful of pepper. Boil the eggs for ten minutes, and the rice for a quarter of an hour. Chop the eggs into irregular pieces, and removing the skin and bone of the fish, melt the butter in a sauce-pan, and add thereto the hard-boiled eggs, the fish, and rice. Stir all now together over the fire until it is very hot, taking care that the mixture does not burn, it being very dry and apt to spoil, since the only moisture in it is the butter. * The spice for potted meats is composed of the following ingredients, thoroughly mixed : One ounce of ground cloves, one ounce pulverized mace, one ounce of Jamaica pepper, one ounce of grated lemon-rind, one-fourth ounce of cayenne, one grated nutmeg. STEWED COD-PISH — SALMON PUDDING. 41