The encyclopaedia of practical cookery

Fried Lampreys with Onions. — Select two moderately large Lampreys, kill and scald them, scrape off the skin, cut off the heads and tips of the tails, and divide the body into pieces. Cut an onion in slices, put them in a stewpan with a little butter, fry till nicely browned, then put in the pieces of fish ; season with pepper and salt, and fry for seven or eight minutes, turning occasionally ; dredge over a little flour, then pour in sufficient red wine to cover. Stir all over the fire till boiling, then put in a few sprigs of herbs, two or three sprigs of parsley, and a few mushroom ' Lampreys — continued. trimmings ; place the lid on the stewpan, and simmer by the side of the fire. Peel two dozen very small young onions, put them in a flat stewpan with a little butter and a pinch of sugar, and fry till nicely browned; season, pour over a little broth, and reduce till the onions are nicely glazed. Put the fish on a hot dish, arrange the onions round it, skim the fat off the sauce, strain it through a fine sieve over the fish, and serve. Jugged Lampreys. — Clean a Lamprey, cut off the head and tip of the tail, divide the body into large pieces, put them in a stewpan with a piece of butter, and fry till browned. Then put in some truffles and morels and fry them also. M hen nicely coloured, pour in 4 pint of red wine, and season with pepper, salt, and a pinch of sugar. When cooked, put the pieces of fish on a hot dish, garnish with croutons of fried bread, pour over the cooking-liquor, and serve. Lampreys a la Neapolitaine. — Clean the Lampreys and stew them in red wine. When sufficiently tender, skin and chop them finely. Wash some sorrel and line herbs, chop, put them in a stewpan with a lump of butter, and cook over a slow fire. Blanch about two dozen oysters, and fry in butter an equal quantity of croutons of brown bread. Wash in warm water two dozen oyster shells, put a crouton of bread in each shell and over that a blanched oyster. Mix the sorrel and fine herbs with the Lamprey, and put a little of the mixture in each shell. Spread a folded napkin or an ornamental dish-paper over a dish, arrange the shells on it, garnishing here and there with nicely picked parsley, and serve. Potted Lampreys. — (1) Prepare twelve Lampreys, wash thoroughly in several waters, and wipe them dry. Leave for a day, then season with pepper, salt, ground mace, and cloves ; put the fish into a stone or earthenware pot, curling them round, pour over 21b. of clarified butter and 41b. of beef-suet, put a piece of paper over the pot, and bake in a moderate oven. Skim off the oil frequently, and take out of the oven when done. Now pour off as much of the butter and suet as possible, cover with more butter, and put away in a dry place. (2) When the Lampreys are prepared, rub into them a mixture of 6 drachms of cloves, 2 drachms of mace, each finely powdered, 4oz. of pepper, loz. of salt, and a small quantity of cayenne. Let the fish stew gently for an hour in its own gravy, then cut up small, press it into pots, let it get quite cold, and then pour over sufficient butter warmed to oil to cover.