Skate Soup

Ingredients

• two pounds of skate
• two quarts of fish stock or water
• an onion
• a turnip
• a bunch of parsley
• a few sticks of celery
• two ounces of vermicelli
• a quarter of a pint of cream
• the yolk of an egg
• a dessert-spoonful of ketchup
• a glass of sherry
• pepper and salt if required

Method

1. 1

   Clean two pounds of skate, hang it in the open air for a day, cut it into fillets, and put trimmings and head into a saucepan with two quarts of fish stock or water.

2. 2

   Simmer for an hour, remove scum, add onion, turnip, parsley, and celery, and simmer until reduced to one quart.

3. 3

   Thicken with brown thickening and add fillets, simmer until done, flavor with ketchup, sherry, and season.

4. 4

   Alternatively, add vermicelli and finish with cream and egg yolk, stirring gently without boiling.

Nutrition per serving

Estimated from matched ingredients across 6 servings.

As published

This recipe was extracted from Cassell's dictionary of cookery (1892) by Cassell & Company, page 1815. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

Skate Soup. — The bones of skate arc so delicate and gristly that they can easily be con- verted to jelly ; consequently, good nourishing soup may be made of this hsh. Clean two pounds of skate, and hang it in the open air for a day ; cut it into smaU neat fillets, and put the trimmings and the head into a saucepan with two quarts of fish stock or water. Let it sim- mer gently for an hour, and carefully remove the scum as it rises; then add an onion, a turnip, a btmch of parsley, and a few sticks of celery, and simmer all gently together till the liquor is reduced to one quart. \Vhen this point is reached, the soup may be finished in two ways : either thicken the sauce with a little browTi thickening, add the fillets, simmer them till done enough, and flavour the soup with a dessert-spoonful of ketchup, a glass of sherry, and pepper and salt if required; or drop two ounces of vermicelli into the soup, and when it is done enough, which it will be in a few minutes, mix with the soup a quarter of a pint of cream beaten up with the yolk of an egg, stir it over the fire for eight or ten minutes, but on no account allow it to boil, and serve very hot. When the soup is finished in the latter of these two ways, it is well to boil all the skate in the stock, and thus dispense with the fillets. Time, two hours and a half. Probable cost. Is. 4d. per pint. Suflicient for six or eight persons. Skate Soup (a meagre soup). — Take four pounds of skate, and boil them in four quarts of water till the water is reduced one-half ; then add six onions, some turnips, celery, carrots, sweet herbs, and parsley. When boiled enough, strain, and thicken with butter rolled in flour. Fry the inside of a roll, chop up some of the fish with a little parsley and butter, and add these to the soup before serving. Two or three anchovies, some anchovy sauce, or a red her- ring may be boiled in this soup without de- stroying its meagre character. Skate, stewed. — Skin the skate on both sides, and cut it into neat pieces ; fry these slowly in hot fat till they arc bro%vn ; take them up, drain them, and lay them aside. Put the head, skin, and trimmings into a saucepan with two pints of water, an onion, and a little pepper and salt. Let the gra\y simmer gently till it is strong, then strain it; put it back into the saucepan, thicken with brown thickening, and add half a dozen chives or a moderate-sized onion finely minced, two table-spoonfuls of finely-chopped parsley, a table-spoonful of chilli vinegar, a table-spoonful of mushroom ketchup, and a table-spoonful of Harvey's Sauce. Let the sauce boil till it is thick enough to coat the spoon ; heat the fish in it, and serve. Time, five or six minutes to heat the fish. Skate, Teased. — Take the dried wing of a moderate-sized skate, skin it, and cut it into slips about the size of a finger. Put it into water which has been boiled with a little salt and vinegar, and let it boil until done enough. Take it up, put it into a moderately-heated oven, and let it remain until it is quite tender. Draw out the bones, put the flesh into a soft cloth, and rub it between the palms of the hands until it is broken up and looks like wool. Dissolve six ounces of fresh butter in a sauce- pan, put in the skate, add pepper and salt, and stii- the fish over a gentle fire till it is heated throughout. Send egg sauce, parsnips, and mashed potatoes to table with it. Time alto- gether, about an hour. Sufiicient for four or five persons. Skate, To Clean and Prepare.— Wash the fish, and rub them over with salt. Einsc them, cut off the tails, and pare the fins all round. Hang them in a cool airy situation. They will keep three or four days in cool weather. Skate "With Black Butter.— Fry some parsley very green. Dish the skate accord- ing to taste. For a first-course dish you must either cut it into the shape of kites or rounds. Put the fried parsley in the middle of the dish, and the butter under the fish. Beurre noire is made in an omelet-pan. Put a quarter of a pound of butter into the pan, and let it become very brown without burning ; skim off the froth ; add to it salt, pepper, and vinegar, and pour this over the fish, and the fried parsley into the centre. This dish does not look well, but it is relishing when well done. — Ude. Skate with Black Butter Sauce (excellent). — Take about two pounds of white skate. Wash it well, and put it into a saucepan with as much cold water as wiU barely cover it, a cupful of vinegar, a sliced onion, a bunch of parsley

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