Cookery for every household

Clean and wash the mackerel, cutting off the heads and fins. Lay them in a baking dish with the onion finely chopped, the spices, herbs, and salt. Cover with vinegar and bake in a good oven until thoroughly cooked. Lift the fish carefully on to a long, deep dish, strain the vinegar over them, and serve cold. Time to bake, 30 to 40 minutes. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Plaice (Plie) One of the commonest of our flat fish, and generally very moderate in price. The upper side is of a greyish brown colour, with bright orange spots. When these spots turn dark in colour it is a sign that the fish is no longer fresh. The flesh of the plaice is somewhat tasteless and watery, but as a rule it is a favourite. Choose one with a thick plump body. Besides the recipes given below it may be cooked according to any of the methods given for sole. 236. Plaice, To Stew 1 plaice. 1 gill milk. 1 gill water. 1 oz. butter. 2 table-sps. breadcrumbs. 1 dessert-sp. chopped parsley. Salt, pepper. 1 bay-leaf. 1 blade of mace. Wash and clean the fish thoroughly, scraping the skin well from the tail towards the head, and cutting off the fins and head. Then cut the plaice right through the bone into three or four pieces. Put the milk and water into a saucepan with the bay-leaf and blade of mace, warm these over the fire, and lay in the pieces of fish. There should be sufficient liquid to just cover the fish, so if the plaice is a large one, a larger proportion of milk and water may be necessary. Season the fish with white pepper and salt, put the lid on the pan and stew slowly about a quarter of an hour. When the fish comes away easily from the bone lift the pieces carefully on to a hot dish, arranging them in the form of the fish again. Remove the black skin, if this can be done without spoiling the appearance of the fish, and then keep hot over a pan of hot water. Remove the bay-leaf and mace from the liquid in the saucepan, add the bread-crumbs and butter, and stir over the fire until this boils and the sauce thickens. Sprinkle in the parsley at the last, and see that there is sufficient seasoning. Pour this sauce over the fish, garnish with sippets of toast and a few small sprigs of parsley, and serve hot. Time to cook, about | hour. Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. 237. Stuffed and Baked Plaice (Plie Farcie au Four) 1 plaice size. Stuffing. of medium 1 table -sp. browned bread-crumbs. 1 oz. dripping or butter. Wash and clean the fish thoroughly, scraping the skin well from tail to head. Cut off the fins and the head, and dry the fish in a cloth. Make the stuffing according to directions given under Recipe 1266. Make a slit down the centre of the fish on the black skin side, and right down to the bone. Slip in the knife close to the bone, and raise up the flesh on both sides, making pockets, so to speak. Put the stuffing into this, and pile it rather high in the centre. Melt the dripping or butter in a Yorkshire pudding tin, and lay the fish on to it. Brush over with the melted fat, and sprinkle with the browned bread-crumbs. Bake in a moderate oven from 20 to 30 minutes, basting occasionally to prevent the fish becoming dry. The fish will be ready when the skin begins to crack. Lift carefully on to a hot dish, and garnish with parsley and cut lemon.