Molded Fish Mousse
Prepare fish mousse, but instead of shaping it into quenelles, turn it into a well-buttered charlotte or ring mold and cover the mold with buttered wax paper. Set the mold in a pan of hot water and cook the mousse in a moderate oven (350° F.) for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the mousse comes out clean. Unmold and serve with Newberg or other fish sauce (see “The Last Touch”).
Mold of Pike à la Normande
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 the food grinder, using the finest blade. Continue to pound until the flesh is smooth enough to pass through a fine sieve. Combine the sieved flesh with ¾ pound of panade and pound and mix together thoroughly. Add ½ cup melted butter, ½ cup thick béchamel sauce (see January, 1953), ½ teaspoon salt, a little pepper, and a little grated nutmeg. Put the mixture in a bowl set in a basin of cracked ice and work vigorously with a wooden spoon, adding gradually 3 egg yolks beaten with 1 egg. When the mixture is thoroughly combined, work in ½ cup heavy cream and correct the seasoning with salt.
Turn the mixture into a well-buttered charlotte or ring mold and cover the mold with buttered wax paper. Set the mold in a pan of hot water and cook in a moderate oven (375° F.) or over very low heat on top of the stove for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a large kitchen needle inserted in it comes out clean. Unmold the fish on a warm serving dish, garnish it with small cooked crayfish tails or other shellfish and small cooked mushrooms and pour over it a rich cream sauce (see January, 1953), carefully thickened with 2 beaten egg yolks.
Panade for Fish Quenelles or Molds
To make 1 pound of panade: Put in a saucepan 1 cup water, 4 tablespoons butter, and ½ teaspoon salt, and bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and add 1 cup flour. Mix well, return to the hear, and cook, stirring briskly, until the mixture rolls away from the sides of the pan without sticking. Remove from the heat and add 4 eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Spread the paste on a buttered pan and cool before using. To make ¾ pound of panade, use ¾ cup water, 3 tablespoons butter, ¾ cup flour, and 3 eggs.
Truite Saumonée Braisée au Vin Rouge
Clean a 3-pound salmon trout and season it with salt and pepper. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a pan long enough to hold the fish and in it sauté 1 carrot and 1 onion, both finely chopped, until the vegetables begin to turn golden. Place the fish on the vegetables, add a little thyme, 1 small bay leaf, 4 or 5 sprigs of parsley, 1 stalk of celery, and 2 cups red wine. Cover the fish with a piece of buttered wax paper and bring the wine to a boil. Cover the pan and cook the fish in a hot oven (425° F.) for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the fish is done, basting from time to time.
Place the trout on a warm serving dish and remove the skin. Strain the pan liquid into a saucepan and cook it briskly until it is reduced to half. Stir in manié butter, made by creaming 2 tablespoons butter with 1 teaspoon flour, cook, stirring, until the sauce is thickened, and correct the seasoning with salt and a little freshly ground pepper. Garnish the fish with small cooked mushrooms. Pour the sauce over the fish or serve it separately.
Brook Trout à la Bourbonnaise
Clean 6 brook trout, each weighing about ½ pound. Cut off the fins, split the fish and remove backbones. Prepare 1 ½ cups mousse of pike (see page 27) with ½ pound of fish, 1 egg white, and 1 cup cream. Also prepare duxelles of mushrooms as follows: In a saucepan put 1 cup finely chopped mushrooms, 1 tablespoon butter, and 1 teaspoon chopped shallots or onion, and cook very slowly, stirring frequently, until most of the moisture is cooked away and the mixture is like a heavy paste. Add 2 tablespoons tomato or brown sauce (see January, 1953) and 1 teaspoon chopped parsley and season with salt and pepper. Cool.
Combine the mushroom duxelles and the mousse of pike. Divide this stuffing into six pans and stuff the trout. Season the fish with salt and pepper, roll each one in well-buttered paper. and tie with string. Arrange the fish in a deep saucepan side by side and add enough red wine barely to cover. Cover the pan, bring the wine to a boil, and poach the fish on top of the stove or in a hot oven (400° F.) for about 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the trout to a warm serving dish and continue to cook the liquid in the pan until it is reduced to two-thirds. Add 1 ½ cups heavy cream and continue to cook until the sauce is slightly thickened, Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in 3 egg yolks, beaten with a little of the hot sauce, and 3 tablespoons butter. Discard the strings and paper from the trout and remove the skins. Put a few small cooked mushrooms on the fish, correct the seasoning of the sauce with salt, and pour it over the fish.
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