plunge them immediately into boiling water
well salted ; let them remain in this bath over the fire
for one minute only, take them out, and dry them in
a napkin. This is an infallible recipe for the removal
of that peculiar taste which many people dislike in
kidneys ; it should be followed always, no matter how
you intend to cook them. Well, having thus blanched
the kidneys, proceed to simmer them gently in half a
pint of stock, with a bag containing a dessert-spoonful
of dried thyme, marjoram, and bay-leaf, mixed with a
saltspoonful of spice, &c., till they are very tender.
Take them out, mince and pound them in the mortar,
with one well-washed fillet of anchovy: when suffi-
ciently pounded, pass the paste through a wire sieve
to get rid of fibre, gristle, &c., then pound again, and
6 65
66
FIFTY DINNERS.
pass all through a hair sieve. When ready, place the
stock in a bowl handy, straining into it the broth in
which the kidneys were stewed, and keep the kidney
paste ready in a soup plate. Take a quart stewpan,
melt half an ounce of butter at the bottom of it over
the fire, stir in half an ounce of flour ; when nice and
creamy, add a cupful of the stock, stirring vigorously,
and continue to add stock and kidney paste by degrees,
working them well together, till you have used them
up ; now let the puree come to the boil, skim, and add
a tablespoonful of claret, a teaspoonful of red currant
jelly, half a teaspoonful of French vinegar, and suffi-
cient Parisian essence to give the soup a warm brown
tin✪ Kidney Soupt, stir well for a minute over the fire, and serve with
croMons of fried bread.
This is a good soup for the cold months immediately
following the end of the shooting season, for it partakes
very distinctly of the nature of a game puree. It is of
course too heavy for late spring or summer.
Plainly fried fish should be chosen after a soup of
this class, or a simple gratin. Let us take the latter.
Order a pair of whitings : see that the fish-
2. IVhnngs monger leaves them alone, or he will skin
oaeea tna , , , , r r • ,
dish, and curl them round for frying, and so
spoil them. All they require is cleaning.
Wipe them dry, and make a few cuts a quarter of an inch
deep transversely across one of their sides at intervals
of one and a half inch. This process is called “scoring ”
them. Butter a ^r^Z/Vz-dish or oval china baking-
dish ; sprinkle the surface with finely chopped parsley ;
lay the whitings on this with the scored sides upper-
RW-STEAK WITH VEGETABLES.
67
most ; brush a coating of melted butter over them,
and sprinkle over it a layer of finely grated Parmesan.
Let this rest while you flavour a gill of milk by boil-
ing it up with a teaspoonful of chopped shallot, a
pinch of salt, one of pepper, and one of mace. Use
this for moistening and basting the whiting, put the
dish in the Dutch oven, pour a tablespoonful of
melted butter✪ Gratin of Whitings over the fish, and set the oven in front
of the fire. Reverse the dish after five minutes, baste
freely, and finish in ten or twelve altogether. Then
serve in the dish as they are, laying it on a hot
napkin. No sauce is needed other than the juice in
the dish, but a lemon cut in quarters and brown bread
and butter should be at hand.
Fifty dinners
1895Page 30 · 2 recipe records on this page
Presented as published in 1895. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
plunge them immediately into boiling water well salted ; let them remain in this bath over the fire for one minute only, take them out, and dry them in a napkin. This is an infallible recipe for the removal of that peculiar taste which many people dislike in kidneys ; it should be followed always, no matter how you intend to cook them. Well, having thus blanched the kidneys, proceed to simmer them gently in half a pint of stock, with a bag containing a dessert-spoonful of dried thyme, marjoram, and bay-leaf, mixed with a saltspoonful of spice, &c., till they are very tender. Take them out, mince and pound them in the mortar, with one well-washed fillet of anchovy: when sufficiently pounded, pass the paste through a wire sieve to get rid of fibre, gristle, &c., then pound again, and
6 65
pass all through a hair sieve. When ready, place the stock in a bowl handy, straining into it the broth in which the kidneys were stewed, and keep the kidney paste ready in a soup plate. Take a quart stewpan, melt half an ounce of butter at the bottom of it over the fire, stir in half an ounce of flour ; when nice and creamy, add a cupful of the stock, stirring vigorously, and continue to add stock and kidney paste by degrees, working them well together, till you have used them up ; now let the puree come to the boil, skim, and add a tablespoonful of claret, a teaspoonful of red currant jelly, half a teaspoonful of French vinegar, and sufficient Parisian essence to give the soup a warm brown tint, stir well for a minute over the fire, and serve with croutons of fried bread.
This is a good soup for the cold months immediately following the end of the shooting season, for it partakes very distinctly of the nature of a game puree. It is of course too heavy for late spring or summer.
Plainly fried fish should be chosen after a soup of this class, or a simple gratin. Let us take the latter.
Order a pair of whitings : see that the fish- 2. IVhnngs monger leaves them alone, or he will skin
oaeea tna , , , , r r • ,
dish, and curl them round for frying, and so
spoil them. All they require is cleaning. Wipe them dry, and make a few cuts a quarter of an inch deep transversely across one of their sides at intervals of one and a half inch. This process is called “scoring ” them. Butter a ^r^Z/Vz-dish or oval china bakingdish ; sprinkle the surface with finely chopped parsley ; lay the whitings on this with the scored sides upper-
RW-STEAK WITH VEGETABLES.
most ; brush a coating of melted butter over them, and sprinkle over it a layer of finely grated Parmesan. Let this rest while you flavour a gill of milk by boiling it up with a teaspoonful of chopped shallot, a pinch of salt, one of pepper, and one of mace. Use this for moistening and basting the whiting, put the dish in the Dutch oven, pour a tablespoonful of melted butter over the fish, and set the oven in front of the fire. Reverse the dish after five minutes, baste freely, and finish in ten or twelve altogether. Then serve in the dish as they are, laying it on a hot napkin. No sauce is needed other than the juice in the dish, but a lemon cut in quarters and brown bread and butter should be at hand.
Records on this page
Kidney SoupGratin of Whitings