Fish au Gratin

Ingredients

• one or two good-sized mushrooms
• a small piece of onion the size of a hickory nut
• a teaspoonful of chopped parsley
• a piece of lemon peel the size of a dime
• a saltspoonful of salt
• half one of pepper
• two ounces of butter
• one tablespoonful of flour
• half a pint of stock
• a glass of white wine
• dried bread-crumbs
• some grated cheese

Method

1. 1

   Chop mushrooms and onion, fry in butter until tender.

2. 2

   Stir in flour, then add stock and wine, cooking until thick.

3. 3

   Skin and bone fish, cut into pieces, place in a buttered dish, pour sauce over, cover with bread-crumbs and cheese, and bake.

4. 4

   Baste with melted butter as it browns.

As published

This recipe was extracted from Catherine Owen's new cook book .. (1885) by Helen Alice (Matthews) Nitsch, page 79. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

two ounces of butter in small pieces over it ; sprinkle with a teaspoonful of salt ; dredge it with flour, and bake in a good oven from half an hour to forty minutes, according to size. "While it is cook- ing chop a tablespoonful of pickled cucumber, or half the quantity of capers, and a teaspoonful of parsley. Take up the fish, put it to keep hot, set the dripping- pan on the stove; shake in it a dessert-spoonful of flour, and let it brown (or use brown flour, see recipe, which saves time) ; with the back of the spoon rub the flour into the butter and gravy that is in the pan ; when brown and smooth, but not at all burnt, pour in quickly a cup of boiling water, and if you have it, a glass of claret wine, and pepper to taste ; stir till all is smooth. Strain this sauce, put in a dessert-spoonful of Worces- tershire sauce, one of anchovy sauce, and the chopped pickles and parsley. Serve the sauce in a separate vessel. Garnish the fish with lemon points and parsley, and serve. STEWED CARP. Cleanse carefully ; lay the fish in a stew-pan with just enough broth of any kind to cover it and a tea- spoonful of sweet herbs ; stew very gently ; when done take up the fish and strain the liquor ; season with pepper and salt, a glass of claret, and a dessert-spoonful of Harvey sauce ; thicken with a dessert-spoonful of brown thickening (see recipe), or one of flour and a tea- spoonful of chopped parsley— skim off any fat — pour this over the fish and serve with small sippets of fried bread. A few small mushrooms are a great improvement. 154 Practical Recipes. STEWED CARP (fREISTCH MODE). Prepare as in last recipe. Lay the fish, in a stewpan with a teaspoonful of salt ; pour oyer it half a bottle of claret, with a slice of onion and a small piece of carrot cut fine, and a bouquet of herbs ; stew gently till the fish is cooked ; take up the fish, strain the wine, and thicken with a teaspoonful of corn-starch mixed in water ; put in a little pepper, boil one minute, and pour over the fish. PRIED SMELTS. Choose them of an even size ; wash them, wipe them dry, dip them in milk, then in flour. Beat up an egg with a tablespoonful of cold water ; dip each fish, after shaking off superfluous flour, in the ^gg and then in sifted bread-crumbs, or cracker-dust ; lay each one as you do it on a bed of cracker-dust. Have the lard in a deep kettle, just as if for doughnuts ; when it is very hot and smokes, drop in a piece of bread ; if it becomes pale brown in a few seconds, it is hot enough, if not, wait ; drop in a piece more ; if now hot enough, put in the fish, using a frying-basket if you have one ; do not fry too many at a time. They should, if your fat was hot enough, be a beautiful yellow brown in 07ie minute, if they are not, let it get hotter before you put the next lot in. Every one should be exactly the same pale color, and there will be no diflBculty in this if the frying is done according to rule. Serve with Tartar sauce or caper sauce (see recipe). FISH, AU GRATI]Sr. This is a French mode of cooking fish very nice, and to those who use mushrooms frequently, not ex- : Fish. 155 pensive, as they may probably baye to open a can for another purpose. Chop up one or two* good-sized mushrooms, or half a can of them ; a small piece of onion the size of a hick- ory nut ; a teaspoonf ul of chopped parsley ; a piece of lemon peel the size of a dime ; a saltspoonful of salt, half one of pepper ; put two ounces of butter in a saucepan, put in it the chopped onion, let it fry till tender ; stir in one tablespoonf ul of flour, and, when smooth, half a pint of stock made from the bones, or any other you have, with a glass of white wine ; when thick and smooth add the chopped mushrooms and parsley. Skin the fish, remove the bone, and cut it up in }ieat pieces. If you have no regular gratin dishes use any you can send to table. Butter it thickly, lay in the fish, pour the sauce over it, then cover thickly with dried bread-crumbs, shake over it some grated cheese, and bake. Have half a cup of butter melted, and when the gratin begins to brown, baste it all over with the butter, taking care there are no dry spots. This can, of course, be made without mushrooms, and lemon juice used instead of wine. This one recipe will serve for any fish au gratin

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.