The victory cookery book

with a grease-proof paper or a turned-over dish. Do not place a paper over the fish until set, otherwise it will stick, and the appearance of the fish will be spoiled. When cooked, remove the fish, rinse the dish with water or fish stock, and add a little anchovy or chopped. capers and herbs. Reduce to the quantity required by boiling, thicken with potato or corn flour (first mixed smoothly in cold water), season to taste, and pour over the fish. Make hot, and serve on the dish in which it was cooked, sprinkled with chopped parsley if liked. The liquid from the fish may be used as a foundation for various kinds of sauce, such as tomato, mushroom, brown onion sauce, etc. etc. Steamed Fish Fish should never be boiled, as in that way much valuable food is lost. It should be steamed instead. Place it on a dish and cover with a grease-proof paper so that all the essence extracted from the fish is received on the dish, and the paper prevents condensed water from falling from the lid of the pan on to the fish and into the liquor which comes from it as it cooks. If the fish is cut in slices it should always first be dipped into boiling water for a few minutes to seal it up. This prevents the juices from covering the fish and coagulating on the surface in a milky skin, thereby spoiling the appearance of the fish, particularly salmon, which should be a bright Ppinky-red colour when cooked. Cut fish is cooked when the spine can be easily removed, and large joints of fish when, on pricking with a needle, no resistance is felt. The juice left in the dish must be used to make the sauce, which at present, now fat is so scarce, can be thickened with a little corn or potato flour diluted in cold _ milk or water and then added to the boiling liquid. About 4 oz. per pint of liquid is required. (For Sauces, see Chap. II.) Baked Fillet of Fish in Batter Materials.—Fillet of fish, frying batter. Method.—Fillet the fish and cut in neat strips, season with salt, coat with stiff — frying batter (see p. 234). Drain well, place — on a greased baking-tin, and bake in a hot _ oven until brown. The same can be crumbed with maize 4 crumbs (see p. 281) and baked to a golden — brown. ‘a ee ete tes aed hehe es ‘i sali Sn . = Ee Ee Pe ae Rie he crema a2 = ih ade eee eee vee eee Whiting or other Fish au Gratin Materials —Whiting or other filleted fish, 2 oz. chopped mushrooms, 1 oz. chopped onion, 1 dessertspoonful of oil, half-teaspoonful chopped herbs or parsley, 1 gill of brown sauce (see p. 22), salt and pepper, a few drops of lemon juice, a few breadcrumbs. Method.—Fry the onion in the oil, add the mushrooms, chopped herbs or parsley, and also the brown sauce; season to taste. Clean the whiting and fillet the fish. Put 1 tablespoonful of sauce at the bottom of a fireproof dish, place the fish in it, sprinkle with salt and a few drops of lemon juice, cover with the sauce, scatter lightly with crumbs, and bake for about 20 minutes, until the fish is cooked. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and a few drops of lemon juice. Mackerel and Rice Materials.—1 mackerel, 1 tablespoonful of oil, 1 teaspoonful: of chopped onion, 1 teaspoonful of chopped herbs, 1 teaspoonful of paprika pepper, 1 or 2 tomatoes, juice of half a lemon, 4 pint of rice, ? pint of fish stock. Method.—Clean the mackerel and _ cut it into pieces. Fry them in the oil, and — add to this the onion, herbs, tomatoes (chopped finely), the paprika and lemon juice and a few sprigs of saffron, if liked. Then add the rice, and cover with ? pint of fish stock, or more, according to the quality — of rice, for the amount of liquid which rice will absorb depends upon the kind of rice used. Season well, bring to the boil, and cook for 20 minutes.