A guide to modern cookery

SOLES AND FILLETS OF SOLE (COLD) 915—ASPIC DE FILETS DE SOLES An essential point in the making of an aspic is the clearness of the fish jelly. For a sole aspic, take some white fish aspic, which is at once succulent, limpid, and just sufficiently viscous to allow of its being turned out of a mould without breaking. For the purpose under consideration, moulds with plain or decorated borders are generally used, and there are two modes of procedure :— 1. For a mould capable of holding one quart, fold twelve small fillets of sole and poach them in butter and lemon juice, taking care to keep them very white. This done, set them to cool under a light weight. Pour a few tablespoonfuls of melted fish jelly into the mould, which should be lying amidst broken ice. As soon as the jelly begins to set, decorate it tastefully with pieces (lozenges, crescents, &c.) of very black truffle and the poached white of an egg. Capers, tarragon leaves, thin roundels of small radishes, &c., may also be used for the purpose of decoration. When this part of the procedure has been satisfactorily effected, sprinkle a few drops of the same jelly over the decorating particles, in order to fix them and prevent their shifting during the subsequent stages of the process. Now add enough melted jelly to cover the bottom of the mould with a layer one inch thick, and leave this to set. On this set jelly, arrange the six fillets of sole; let their tailends overlap, and cover them with jelly. Continue adding coat upon coat of jelly until the thickness covering the fillets measures about one-half inch. Now arrange the remaining fillets in the reverse order, and fill up the mould with cold, melted jelly. Leave to cool for one hour. When about to serve, quickly dip the mould in a saucepan of hot water; wipe it, and turn out the aspic upon a folded napkin lying on a dish. 916—Another Method of Preparing ASPICS DE FILETS DE SOLES Coat ten fine fillets of sole with a thin layer of truffled fish forcemeat finished with crayfish butter, and roll them round a little rod of truffle, twice as thick as an ordinary penholder. Tie these paupiettes, once or twice round, with cotton; poach them very gently in fish fumet and cool them on ice. Take a border-mould, even if possible; pour therein a few tablespoonfuls of melted fish jelly, and then rock it about on broken ice, with the object of evenly coating it with a thin layer of the jelly. This operation is technically called "clothing the mould."” Decorate the bottom of the mould as explained above; fix the decorating particles, and cover them with a layer one-half inch thick of fish jelly. After having properly trimmed the ends of the paupiettes, cut them into roundels one-half inch thick; set these upright against the sides of the mould, keeping them close together; add a few drops of melted jelly to fix the roundels, and as soon as this has set, add a further quantity, sufficient to completely cover them. As soon as this jelly sets, repeat the operation with the paupiette roundels and the jelly, and do so again and again until the mould is filled. For turning out the aspic, proceed as directed above. 917—BORDURE DE FILETS DE SOLES A L’ITALIENNE Line a border-mould with jelly; 7.e., coat its bottom and sides with a thin layer of fish jelly, rocking it upon ice as already explained. Now fill it, two-thirds full, with a garnish consisting of a julienne of cold, poached fillets of sole, a julienne of truffles (two oz. per two filleted soles), and a julienne of capsicum (one and one-half oz. per two filleted soles). Fill up the mould with melted fish jelly, and leave the latter to set. When about to serve, turn out the mould upon a little, low cushion of rice, lying on a dish, and set an Italian salad in the centre. Serve a Mayonnaise sauce with this dish.