The European cookbook for American homes (from Italy, Spain, Portugal and France)

Clean the fish and score the skin lengthwise on each side. Season the oil with salt and pepper and rub the fish inside and out. Melt butter in bottom of roasting pan, lay in the fish, and bake 20 minutes, basting in own juices. Meanwhile, boil the fish liver and mash it. Cook the mushrooms until tender in the liver liquor. Add the mashed liver. Put mixture in the pan with the fish and bake 15 minutes longer, basting well. Remove fish to hot platter. Pour wine in pan, heat and pour over fish. COD IN SAUCE (Meluza en Salsa) 2 pounds fresh codfish 2 tomatoes, chopped Salt 2 peppercorns 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons roasted almonds 1 garlic clove, halved 2 tablespoons fresh almonds 1 onion, minced 2 tablespoons bread crumbs 1 teaspoon minced parsley 2 tablespoons milk Cut fish in 4 or 5 slices and season with salt. Heat the oil in a saucepan and put in the garlic, onion and parsley. Fry to a delicate brown; remove the garlic and save. Add the tomatoes and when the sauce bubbles, thin with a little boiling water. Put in the fish and let it simmer. Grind to a paste the peppercorns, the fried garlic and almonds. Wet the crumbs in the milk and work well into the paste. 2 minutes before the fish is ready to take up, put the mixture in the pan and dissolve it thoroughly in the sauce. Serve fish in the sauce. HARLEQUIN OF COD (Arlequin de Merluza) 3 pounds fresh codfish 4 red peppers, baked Salt and pepper 1 cup bread crumbs 1 lemon 1 egg yolk il/i cups cooked spinach, Buttered boiled rice chopped 3 tablespoons butter Cut the fish into 12 symmetrical pieces, sprinkle with salt and pepper and put in a well-buttered baking dish. Squeeze a few drops of lemon juice over each slice and bake 20 minutes, turning once. Have ready the spinach, seasoned; the peppers, peeled; the bread crumbs, moistened with the beaten egg yolk; and the rice cooked, drained, and buttered. Cover four of the pieces of baked fish with the spinach, four with the peppers and put the bread crumbs on the remaining four. Place butter on each piece and return to the oven for five minutes. Arrange the fish around a hot mound of the rice in the center. The contrasting colors make a festive as well as an appetizing dish. CODFISH WITH CREAM SAUCE (Abadejo con Nata) 2 pounds fresh cod % pound unsalted butter l/2 cup stock (see recipe) 1 sprig parsley, minced Salt and pepper 3 green onions, minced 1 cup light cream Put fish in kettle, add stock and sufficient water to cover. Season with salt and pepper. Boil, keeping head intact or, to the Spanish eye, all is ruined. Melt butter in a sauce pan and saute parsley and onion until tender. Add cream gradually. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring constantly. Serve in a sauce boat to accompany the cod, which is served on a platter with boiled potatoes and chopped parsley. CODFISH PIE {Pastel de Merluza) 2 cups boiled codfish, flaked 1 teaspoon preserved pear, 3 eggs, beaten slightly chopped Yi cup seeded raisins, chopped 1 teaspoon lemon syrup 1 teaspoon preserved lemon, chopped Combine all ingredients and cook in a double boiler to a rather thick paste. Serve between two baked pie crusts. The use of pears to enrich fish and meat dishes is overlooked in many countries, but the Spanish use this distinctively flavored fruit with great success.