Practical West African cookery

When to cook Fish. — Fish caught, as is usual, during the night or in the very early morning, should be cooked as soon as it is brought to you, but if well cleaned and protected from flies, it is possible to keep it till lunch time. Any attempt to leave it uncooked till dinner time will be followed by dire results. Nigerian fish have an all pervading odour probably unsurpassed by any other species. How to Divide Fish.— If a large fish is brought to you, have it cleaned, then cut off the head and tail, which can be given to the boys, leaving only a middle piece weighing about four pounds. You can then use the four pounds as follows : — Take off about a pound and divide it into fillets which can be fried for breakfast ; boil the remaining three pounds and serve for lunch with a white sauce. What is left over must be carefully put away in the meat safe, and can be eaten cold for dinner with mayonnaise or in a salad. Enough will still remain to be made into croquettes or kedgeree for breakfast the next morning. As fish is seldom plentiful, it is worth while to spend a little thought on the best ways to make use of it. How to Clean Fish. — The cook must not leave the fish lying in water for too long a time before cleaning it. If the fish has scales, they should be scraped off with a knife and the gills cut off. The fish should be cleaned without being slit open more than is possible, and all the blood carefully washed off. HOW TO KNOW WHEN A FISH IS SUFFICIENTLY COOKED. — A fish is properly cooked when the meat separates easily from the bone (this can be tested with a fork at the tail end), and when the eyes drop out of the head. Fat for Frying Fish. — Good ground nut oil is certainly the best. Any fat used for frying fish can be used again several times, but for fish only. It is advisable to strain it after using, and to keep it in a glass jar, such as an empty dried fruit jar. 1 large onion. 1. Pour into your large boiler as much water as will be necessary to well cover the fish. Add the salt, peppers, the onion quartered, (if available, the vinegar, thyme and parsley.) Bring the water to a boil. 2. When boiling put in the fish, and if the fish is large and thick let it boil sharply for three or four minutes, then remove the boiler from the fire but leave it near enough for the water to continue bubbling slightly. 3. Try the fish with a fork to see if it is sufficiently cooked, raise it carefully out of the water and place on a hot dish. This dish, covered with a smaller one, can then be stood on top of the boiler near the fire in order to keep hot until the time of serving. On no account should the fish be left in the water. 4. Serve with a white sauce (see Index) mixed with capers if possible, or with a tomato sauce (see Index). Note. Instead of milk, the white sauce can be made with the water the fish has been cooked in, boiled down and strained through a sieve. Boiled Fish. (I). 3 to 4 lbs. fish. 1 tablespoonful salt. 4 native peppers (berkono) . (2 tablespoonfuls vinegar, a bunch of parsley, a teaspoonful of dried thyme.) Cold Boiled Fish and Mayonnaise Sauce. (II).