Perch (a la Maitre d' Hotel)

Ingredients

• a perch
• half a dozen chives
• a handful of parsley
• a little pepper
• a little salt
• two ounces of fresh butter
• one ounce of flour
• a quarter of a pint of milk
• a tablespoonful of chopped parsley
• grated nutmeg
• a tablespoonful of strained lemon-juice

Method

1. 1

   Put cold water in a saucepan to cover the fish with chives, parsley, pepper, and salt.

2. 2

   Bring to a boil.

3. 3

   Wash the fish in lukewarm water, empty it, remove gills and fins, and scrape it.

4. 4

   Plunge into boiling water until flesh gives way when pressed.

5. 5

   Drain and dish on a napkin, garnish with parsley.

6. 6

   For sauce, mix butter and flour, add milk, parsley, pepper, salt, nutmeg, and lemon juice.

7. 7

   Stir until near boiling, pour into a tureen, add butter, and serve hot.

As published

This recipe was extracted from Cassell's dictionary of cookery (1892) by Cassell & Company, page 1145. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

Perch (a la Maitre d' Hotel). — Put as much cold water as will cover the fish into a sauce- pan, with half a dozen chives, a handful of parsley, and a little pepper and salt. Put it on the fire, and bring it to a boil. Wash the fish in lukewai-m water to free it from the slime, empty it, remove the gills and the fins, and scrape it carefully. Plimge it into the boiling water, and when done enough, which will be when the flesh gives way on being pressed with the finger, drain and dish it on a folded napkin, garnish with curled parsley, and send a sauce, made as follows, to table in a tureen: — Mix two ounces of fresh butter smoothly with one oimce of flour. Add a quarter of a pint of milk, a table- spoonful of chopped parsley, a little pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg, and a table-sjjoonful of strained lemon-juice. Stir the mixture over the flre without ceasing until it is on the point of boiling. Pour it into a tureen, add to it a piece of butter the size of a walnut, and serve very hot. Time to boil the fish, according to the size : small fish, ten minutes ; large, hall an hour. Probable cost uncertain, perch being seldom offered for sale. Sufiicient, a moderate- sized perch for each person. Perch, Boiled. — Wash the fish in luke- ■warm water to take off the slime, scale it care- fully, empty it, take out the gills, cut off the fins, place "the fish in boiling salted water, and keep it boiling until it is done enough. In order to ascertain when this point is reached, press the fish with the fingers ; if it gives way to the touch it is done. Take it up, drain it, and serve on a hot dish. Garnish with parsley, and send melted butter, parsley sauce, or Dutch sauce, to table in a tureen. Time, about a quarter of an hour for a moderate-sized fish. Probable cost uncertain, perch being seldom offered for sale. Sufiicient for one person. Perch, Boiled (another way). — Clean them carefully and put them in a fish-kettle with as much cold spring-water as will cover them, adding a handful of salt. Set them on a quick fire till they boil. When they boil, set them on one side to boil gently for about ten minutes, according to their size. Perch, Fried. — Wash, scale, and clean the fish carefully, wipe them dry, and flour them lightly all over ; then rub off the flour, dip them into beaten egg, and afterwards into finely-grated bread-crumbs, and fry them in plenty of boiling fat, until they are nicely browned. Drain them for a few minutes on an inverted sieve, serve on a hot dish, and garnish with parsley. Send shrimp sauce, anchovy sauce, or plain melted butter, to table in a tm-een. Time to fry, eight to ten minutes. Probable cost uncertain, perch being seldom offered for sale. Sufficient, four or five for a dish. Perch, Pried, with Herbs.— Take two moderate-sized perch. Wash, empty, and scale them carefully, wipe them dry, and lay them on a dish. Sprinlde a little salt and pepper over them, and pour on them six table-spoonfuls of oil. Let them soak for half an hour, and turn them once during that time. Drain them well, and cover them thickly with finely-grated bread-crumbs, seasoned with pepper and salt, and flavoured with a powdered clove, or a httle grated nutmeg, a table-spoonful of chopped parsley, and a pinch of powdered thyme. Broil on a moderate fire till the fish are brightly browned, serve on a hot dish, garnish with parsley, and send ..aelted butter, parsley sauce, or piquant sauce to table in a tureen. Time to broil, ten minutes or more, according to size. Sufficient for two persons. Perch, Potted. — Take ten or twelve moderate-sized perch. Empty them, take out the gills, skin them, and cut off the heads, tails, and fins. Put them into a pie-dish that will only just hold them when they are closely packed, sprinkle a Httle salt over them, and lay on them a muslin bag containing the following ingredients, which have been crushed to powder : — eight peppercorns, two chillies, four allspice, half an inch of ginger, a bay-leaf, and a laurel- leaf. Put ten ounces of fresh butter, cut into shoes, upon the fish, cover it closely, and bake in a gentle oven. When done, lift out the bag, and keep the fish in a cool place until wanted. Serve cold. Time to bake, two hours. Pro- bable cost uncertain, perch

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