Stuffed Carp Charolaise
Scale and clean 2 carp, each weighing from 2 to 2 ¼ pounds, reserving the roe. Prepare a stuffing as follows: Soak 2 cups fresh bread crumbs in a little milk, then press out most of the liquid. Sauté 1 teaspoon finely chopped shallots in 1 tablespoon butter until the shallots are soft but not brown. Press the roe through a fine sieve. Combine the bread Crumbs, the shallots and the butler in which they were cooked, and the roe. Add 1 teaspoon each of chopped chives and paisley. Mix thoroughly and stir in 1 tablespoon melted butter, 1 egg and 1 egg yolk, beaten with ½ teaspoon salt, a little pepper, and a dash of freshly grated nutmeg. Stuff the fish and fasten the openings with string.
In the bottom of a deep oval fish pan, place 1 onion and 1 carrot, both sliced, 2 or 3 sprigs of parsley, 1 small bay leaf, a little thyme, and 1 clove of garlic. Season the fish with salt and pepper, put them in the pan, and pour over them 2 tups red wine. Bring the wine to a boil, cover the fish with a piece of buttered wax paper, and cover the pan. Cook the fish over a very low heat or in a hot oven (425° F.) for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the fish are done. Place the fish on a warm serving platter and remove the skin, Garnish the platter with sautéed mushrooms, crisp bacon, and small glazed onions. Strain the liquid from the fish pan into a saucepan, bring it to a boil, and stir in manié butter, made by creaming together 2 tablespoons butter with 1 tablespoon flour. Correct the seasoning with salt and pour the sauce over the fish and garnishing.
Baked Whitefish à la Creole
Scale and clean a whitefish weighing May 1953 about 3 pounds. The fish may be left whole or it may be split and the bones in the center removed. Dip the fish in milk and then in Hour. Shake off the surplus Hour and season the fish with salt and pepper. Pot enough salad oil in a heatproof earthenware or glass baking dish to cover the bottom well, and heat the oil in a hot oven (425° F.). Put the fish in the baking dish and bake it in the oven for 20 to 25 minifies if the fish is split, and 10 minutes longer if the fish is whole, basting frequently with the oil. Drain the oil from the dish and mask the fish with Creole sauce (see “The Last Touch”).
Perch Chez Soi
Scale and clean 6 perch, each weighing about ½ pound, and cut off the sharp fins. In a saucepan melt 2 tablespoons butter, add 1 cup each of chopped carrots and celery. 2 tablespoons chopped onion, and 6 or 8 sprigs of parsley, and cook gently for about 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. Add 1 ½ cups each of white wine and water and ½ teaspoon salt. Bring the liquid to a boil and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Arrange the perch in a buttered pan and strain half the liquid over them. Bring again to a boil and poach the fish for 12 to 15 minutes. Continue to simmer the vegetables in the remaining liquid.
Place the fish on a serving planer and remove the skins. Strain out the vegetables and spread them over the fish. Combine the vegetable liquid with the liquid in which the fish was cooked, and boil until it is reduced to 1 ½ cups. Stir in manié butter, made by creaming together 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon flour, and continue to stir until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Correct the seasoning and add 2 tablespoons butter. Swirl the pan until (he butter is melted, pour the sauce over the fish, and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Fish Mousse
Pound 1 pound of fresh pike, cod, sea bass, or sole, free of skin and bones, on a board. using the dull edge of a large knife or a wooden potato masher or run it through a food grinder using the finest blade. Season the fish with ½ teaspoon salt and a little pepper and add very gradually 2 egg whites, pounding constantly until the mixture is very smooth. Force the mixture through a line sieve and put it in a saucepan set in a basin of cracked ice. Work the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon, adding very gradually 2 to 2 ½ cups heavy cream, and then make the quenelles.
Quenelles
Shape the fish mousse with either a teaspoon or a tablespoon. Heap the spoon with the mixture, and then with another spoon the same size round oft the top to make an egg-shaped quenelle. Slip the quenelle onto a well-buttered pan by dipping the second spoon in warm water and gently sliding the mousse off the first spoon. After they are all formed, pour enough salted water in the pan barely to cover, bring the water gently to the boiling point, and poach over very low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the quenelles are firm. Remove the quenelles from the pan to drain on a towel. Arrange them on a serving plate and serve with sauce américaine (see March, 1953) or other fish sauce (see “The Last Touch”) and garnish, if desired, with cooked shellfish.
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