Special Cold Consommé for Suppers

_Remarks Relative to the Consommés._—I gave the recipes of these consommés in Part I. of this work (No. 6), and shall now, therefore, limit myself to the following remarks, which are of paramount importance:—

1. These consommés must be perfect in limpidness and quality.

2. The flavour which typifies them should be at once decided and yet not too pronounced.

3. When the flavour is imparted by a wine, the latter should be of the best possible quality. Rather than make use of inferior wines, the presence of which in the soup would tend to depreciate its quality, completely discard wine flavourings.

4. Supper consommés never contain any garnish.

618—CONSOMMÉ A L’ESSENCE DE CAILLES

Use roast quails in the proportion of two for each pint of consommé; the fillets may be reserved for a cold entrée.

619—CONSOMMÉ A L’ESSENCE DE CÉLERI

It is impossible to state exactly how much celery should be used, the quantity being entirely subject to the more or less decided flavour of the vegetables at one’s disposal.

Experience alone can guide the operator in this matter.

620—CONSOMMÉ A L’ESSENCE DE MORILLES

Allow five oz. of small fresh morels, or three oz. of dry ones per quart of the consommé. Pound them and mix them with the clarification.

621—CONSOMMÉ A L’ESSENCE DE TRUFFLE

Use fresh truffles only in this case. Allow two oz. of peelings and trimmings per quart of the consommé; pound them and mix them with the clarification.

622—CONSOMMÉ AU FUMET DE PERDREAU

Proceed as in No. 618; allow one partridge for each quart of the consommé.

623—CONSOMMÉ AUX PAILLETTES D’OR

Take a very superior chicken consommé; add thereto, per quart, a glass of excellent liqueur brandy, and, in the same proportion, one gold-leaf cut into small spangles.

624—CONSOMMÉ AUX PIMENTS DOUX

Add one-half oz. of fresh or preserved capsicum to every quart of the consommé. The product should be pounded and mixed with the clarification.

625—CONSOMMÉ A LA MADRILÈNE

Add four oz. of raw tomato and one oz. of capsicum to the consommé per every quart of the latter. Mix these ingredients with the clarification, and serve as cold as possible.

626—CONSOMMÉ A LA PORTUGAISE

Add to the consommé for every quart one-third pint of raw tomato purée and one-sixth pint of tomato juice. Cook with lid on for twenty minutes, taking care not to let it reach the boil; strain through muslin, pressing lightly the while, and season moderately with cayenne. Set to cool, and serve very cold.

627—CONSOMMÉS AUX VINS

By adding a port wine glass full of the chosen wine to one pint of excellent cold chicken consommé, the following series of consommés may be made:—

Consommé au vin de Chypre. Consommé au vin de Madère. Consommé au vin de Malvoisie. Consommé au vin de Marsala. Consommé au vin de Porto doré. Consommé au vin de Porto rose. Consommé au vin de Samos. Consommé au vin de Zucco.

628—GELEE AUX POMMES D’AMOUR

Proceed as for the “Consommé Portugaise,” and use that variety of small tomatoes which, in Provence, are called “Pommes d’amour.”

629—GELEE DE VOLAILLE A LA NAPOLITAINE

Proceed as for the “Consommé Portugaise,” but finish it with one port wine-glassful of port or old Marsala per quart.

THICK SOUPS

In Part I., Chapter I., of this work I pointed out what thick soups consist of. I likewise touched upon the general rules which should be observed in the preparation of each class of these soups, and showed how most of them could, if necessary, be converted into and served as cullises, purées, bisques, veloutés, or creams. The principles governing these alterations are very simple, and after a moment’s reflection the operator will thoroughly grasp their import. Be this as it may, the reader will find the necessary directions at the end of each recipe that admits of various methods of preparation.

With regard to those recipes which are not followed by any directions of the sort referred to, and which I simply class under the name of Potages, these are unalterable preparations which may only be served in accordance with the directions given. This being clear, the reader will understand that I have refrained from repeating the quantities of butter, cream, thickening ingredients, &c., in each recipe. These particulars having been given in Part I., it will be necessary to refer to that part of the book for them.

630—PURÉE DE CAROTTES, otherwise CRÉCY

Cut one lb. of the red part only of carrots into fine slices; chop one onion, and put the whole into a stewpan with a sprig of thyme and two oz. of butter. Stew gently for twenty minutes, and season with a pinch of salt and sugar. Add the thickening ingredient, _i.e._, either two oz. of rice or five and one-half oz. of bread dice fried in butter; also add one and one-half pints of white consommé, and set to cook very gently.

Rub through tammy, test the consistence, despumate, and add butter when dishing up.

Ordinary garnish: small bread dice fried in butter.

Occasional garnish: poached Japanese pearls in the proportion of two tablespoonfuls per quart of the soup.

This soup may also be prepared as a cream or a velouté à la Nivernaise (see No. 674).

631—PURÉE DE CAROTTES AU TAPIOCA, otherwise VELOURS

Make one pint of carrot purée as above, and poach two tablespoonfuls of tapioca in a pint of white consommé.

When about to serve, and after having buttered the purée of carrots, mix therewith the prepared tapioca.

632—PURÉE DE CÉLERI-RAVE

Finely mince one lb. of celeriac; _blanch_ it; thoroughly drain it, and stew it gently in one oz. of butter. Moisten with one quart of white consommé; add two medium-sized potatoes, minced, and set to cook gently. Rub through tammy; despumate the purée gently for half an hour, and add butter when dishing up.

Garnish: small bread dice fried in butter.

633—PURÉE DE CHOUX DE BRUXELLES, otherwise FLAMANDE

Parboil and drain one lb. of very fresh Brussels sprouts. Set them to stew gently in three oz. of butter; moisten with one pint of white consommé; for the leason add two medium-sized quartered potatoes, and complete the cooking.

Rub the whole through tammy, finish the purée with milk, despumate it in the usual way, and add butter when dishing up. Garnish with small bread dice fried in butter.

634—PURÉE DE CHOUX-FLEURS, otherwise DUBARRY

Parboil one lb. of cauliflower divided into bunches.

Drain them and put them in a saucepan with one pint of boiled milk and two medium-sized minced potatoes for the thickening. Set to cook gently, rub through tammy, finish with boiled milk, despumate, and add butter.

Garnish with small bread dice fried in butter.

This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream with small pieces of cauliflower as garnish.

635—PURÉE DE CROSNES, otherwise JAPONAISE

Parboil and drain one lb. of well-cleaned stachys. Stew them in one oz. of butter; moisten with one pint of boiled milk or white consommé, according as to whether the purée is to be a Lenten one or not; add two medium-sized minced potatoes, and complete the cooking gently.

Rub through tammy, test the consistence, and add, if necessary, either a little boiled milk or some consommé; despumate, and add butter.

Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of Japanese pearls poached in consommé or milk.

This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream.

636—PURÉE DE FLAGEOLETS, otherwise MUSARD

Cook together with the ordinary aromatic garnish three-quarters pint of dry flageolets, or, if they are in season, use twice that quantity of fresh ones.

Drain, pound, and moisten the purée with a little of the cooking-liquor of the flageolets, rub through tammy, and rectify the consistence with some white consommé and the necessary quantity of boiled milk. Despumate, and butter it when about to dish up.

Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of small bread dice fried in butter.

This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream, but for either of the latter it is preferable to use fresh flageolets, the garnish for both consisting of very small flageolets and chervil _pluches_.

637—PURÉE DE HARICOTS BLANCS, otherwise SOISSONNAISE

Cook in the usual way, that is to say, with carrots, a faggot, and one onion stuck with a clove, a good half-pint of dry haricot beans.

Crush all these, moisten with a few tablespoonfuls of their cooking-liquor, and rub through tammy.

Rectify the consistence of the purée with the necessary quantity of white consommé and milk, despumate, add butter when about to dish up, and garnish with small bread dice.

This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream.

638—PURÉE DE HARICOTS VERTS, otherwise CORMEILLES

Parboil one and one-half lbs. of French beans and keep them very green. After having well drained them, stew them for ten or twelve minutes in one oz. of butter, moisten with one pint of white consommé, and add two medium-sized minced potatoes for the thickening.

Set to cook gently, rub through tammy, rectify the consistence of the purée with a little boiled milk, despumate, and add butter when dishing up.

Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of cooked French beans cut into narrow lozenges.

This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream.

639—PURÉE DE HARICOTS ROUGES, otherwise CONDÉ

Put a heaped pint of red beans into cold water, set to boil slowly, skim, add three oz. of carrots, one small faggot, one onion stuck with a clove, and a bottleful of boiling red wine. Set to cook gently.

Drain the beans and crush them in a mortar. Moisten the purée with a few tablespoonfuls of the cooking-liquor of the beans, rub through tammy, rectify the consistence of the purée with some white consommé, follow the procedure of all purées, and add butter when about to serve.

Garnish with bread dice fried in butter.

640—PURÉE DE LENTILLES, otherwise CONTI

Soak three-quarters of a pint of lentils in lukewarm water for two hours. Put them in a stewpan with two oz. of very lean breast of bacon, _blanched_, cooled, and cut into dice, and one quart of white consommé. Set to boil, skim, add three oz. of carrots, one onion, and one faggot, and cook very gently.

Drain the lentils, pound them together with the bacon, moisten the purée with a few tablespoonfuls of cooking-liquor, and rub through tammy. Rectify the consistence with some reserved cooking-liquor, then treat the purée in the usual way and add butter when about to serve.

Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of bread dice fried in butter and a pinch of chervil _pluches_.

N.B.—It should be borne in mind that the aromatic garnish used in cooking dry vegetables of what kind soever should be withdrawn before pounding the latter, that they may be rubbed through tammy.

641—PURÉE DE NAVETS, otherwise FRENEUSE

Finely mince one lb. of very firm turnips, parboil, drain, and stew them in one and one-half oz. of butter, the necessary salt, and one-half oz. of sugar, until they are almost completely cooked. Moisten with one-half pint of white consommé, and complete the cooking. Meantime, cook two medium-sized, peeled and quartered potatoes in some consommé.

Now put the turnips and the potato into the same stewpan; crush them, and rub them through tammy. Bring the purée to the proper consistence by means of boiled milk, and finish it in the usual way.

Garnish with some small bread dice fried in butter.

This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream.

642—PURÉE D’OSEILLE ET DE VERMICELLE A LA CRÈME

Sprinkle three oz. of well-separated vermicelli into one pint of boiling milk or white consommé (according as to whether the preparation be a Lenten one or not). Let the vermicelli poach gently for twenty-five minutes, and then add four tablespoonfuls of sorrel cooked in butter.

Rub the whole through tammy; finish the purée with sufficient milk or thin cream; heat until the boil is reached, and, when about to serve, complete by means of a leason composed of the yolks of two eggs and one-quarter pint of very fresh cream.

For the garnish, refer to the remarks under No. 646.

643—PURÉE D’OSEILLE ET DE SAGOU A LA CRÈME

Proceed exactly as directed in the preceding recipe; but instead of vermicelli use three oz. of sago. Allow the usual time for cooking, and add the same quantity of sorrel cooked in butter.

Use the same quantities of milk or consommé in order to bring the purée to the proper consistence, and make use of a precisely similar leason.

644—PURÉE D’OSEILLE ET DE SEMOULE A LA CRÈME

The same as the above, but use three oz. of semolina. All other particulars remain the same.

645—PURÉE D’OSEILLE ET DE TAPIOCA A LA CRÈME

Procedure like that of No. 642, using instead of the vermicelli three oz. of tapioca.

646—REMARKS RELATIVE TO THE POSSIBLE VARIATIONS OF THE FOUR PRECEDING RECIPES

A large variety of this kind of soups may be prepared by using the quantity prescribed of salep, buckwheat, oatmeal, barley-meal, &c.

These soups derive a particular and agreeable flavour from their cohering element.

The chief point to be remembered in their preparation is their consistence, which should be that of a thin cream.

When too thick, these soups are pasty and disagreeable; when too thin, they are insipid; hence the desirability of aiming at a happy medium.

Their garnish is exceedingly variable, the more preferable forms being small bread dice fried in clarified butter, pressed; peeled tomatoes cut into dice and tossed in butter; small _printaniers_, _brunoises_, _juliennes_, _paysannes_, or well-poached rice.

Thus, from the typical recipe of these soups, a whole series may be prepared, which need not be gone into separately here.

647—PURÉE DE POIS AUX CROÛTONS

Wash three-quarters of a pint of split peas in cold water and put them into a stewpan with one quart of cold water, a little salt, and one-half lb. of raw ham. Set to boil, skim, and add two oz. of _mirepoix_, the minced green leaves of three leeks, a fragment of thyme and bay, salt, and one-half oz. of sugar. Set to cook very gently.

Rub through tammy, bring the purée to the proper consistence by means of white consommé, despumate it sufficiently, and add butter to it when dishing up.

Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of small bread dice fried in butter.

648—PURÉE DE POIS FRAIS, otherwise SAINT-GERMAIN

The two following methods may be employed, viz.:—

(1) Cook quickly one and one-quarter pints of fresh peas, just shelled, in boiling, salted water. Drain them, pound them in a mortar, moisten the purée with one pint of white consommé, and rub it through tammy. Bring it to the proper degree of heat, and add butter when about to serve. Prepared in this way, the purée should be of a perfect shade.

(2) Stew one and one-quarter pints of fresh peas in one and one-half oz. of butter, a little lettuce _chiffonade_, one and one-half oz. of the green part of leeks, a pinch of chervil, a little salt and sugar, and one-seventh pint of water.

Pound the peas as soon as they are cooked, moisten the purée with one pint of white consommé, and rub through tammy. Bring the preparation to the proper degree of heat and add butter at the last moment.

Treated thus, the purée will be of a fainter shade than the preceding one, but its flavour will be more delicate.

Garnish, in both cases, with one and one-half tablespoonfuls of very green, fine peas, and some chervil _pluches_. This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream.

649—PURÉE DE POIS FRAIS A LA MENTHE

Make the purée according to one of the above-mentioned methods, and add to the peas, while cooking, a faggot consisting of three little sprigs of fresh mint. Finish with consommé, and add butter in the usual way.

Garnish with nice peas, as above, and some very tender mint-leaves, chopped, instead of the chervil _pluches_.

_Remarks Relative to those Soups which have a Purée of Peas for Base._—A large number of soups may be made from purées of fresh peas; among others I may mention the following, with brief directions as to their constituents and garnish, viz.:—

650—POTAGE AMBASSADEURS

Purée of fresh peas, quite ready for soup; finish with a small tablespoonful of sorrel and lettuce _chiffonade_, and two tablespoonfuls of poached rice per quart of purée.

651—POTAGE CAMELIA

Prepare this after the recipe of potage Lamballe; finish with one tablespoonful of a _julienne_ of the white of a leek and one tablespoonful of white chicken meat, cut _julienne-fashion_, per quart of the soup.

652—POTAGE FONTANGES

Purée of fresh peas ready for soup; add two tablespoonfuls of a _chiffonade_ of sorrel and a pinch of chervil _pluches_ per quart of the purée, and two tablespoonfuls of poached rice.

653—POTAGE LAMBALLE

Half of this consists of a finished purée of peas, and the other half of tapioca poached in consommé as for the ordinary “potage au tapioca.”

654—POTAGE LONGCHAMPS

This is the “potage Fontange,” kept somewhat clear, and with a garnish composed of one and one-half oz. of vermicelli, poached in consommé, and a pinch of chervil _pluches_ per quart of the soup.

655—POTAGE MARIGNY

Proceed as for “potage Fontange,” and add a garnish of one tablespoonful of peas and one tablespoonful of fine French beans cut into lozenges.

656—POTAGE MARCILLY

Half of this consists of a purée of peas and the other half of a purée of chicken. Prepare these purées in the usual way and mix them together when about to serve.

Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of Japanese pearls poached in consommé and twelve small quenelles of chicken forcemeat, in the shape of pearls, per quart of the soup.

657—POTAGE SAINT-MARCEAU

This is an ordinary purée of peas with butter, combined with two tablespoonfuls of a _julienne_ consisting of the white of a leek and some chervil _pluches_ per quart of the purée. This list could be considerably lengthened, but what there is of it amply suffices to show the great number of soups that may be obtained from the combination of other suitable products with the purée of peas and the modification of the garnish in each case.

658—PURÉE DE POMMES DE TERRE, otherwise PARMENTIER

Finely mince the white of two medium-sized leeks, and fry them without colouration in one oz. of butter. Add three medium-sized peeled and quartered potatoes, one pint of white consommé, and cook quickly. The moment the potatoes seem soft to the touch crush them and rub them through tammy.

Finish the purée with some boiled milk or thin cream, heat until the boil is reached, and add butter when dishing up.

Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of small bread dice fried in butter and some chervil _pluches_.

This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream.

659—PURÉE DE TOMATES, otherwise PORTUGAISE

Fry in one oz. of butter a somewhat finely-cut _mirepoix_ consisting of one oz. of breast of bacon cut into dice, one-third of a carrot, half an onion, a fragment of thyme and bay. Add to this fried _mirepoix_ eight medium-sized tomatoes, pressed and cut into pieces the size of a clove of garlic, a pinch of sugar, two and one-half oz. of rice, and one pint of white consommé. Set to cook gently, rub through tammy, and finish with the necessary quantity of consommé.

When about to serve complete the purée by adding thereto, away from the fire, two oz. of butter.

Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of poached rice, each grain being separate, and the same quantity of peeled tomatoes cut into dice and briskly tossed in butter.

This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream.

660—PURÉE DE TOMATES AU TAPIOCA, otherwise WALDÈZE

Prepare one and one-half pints of tapioca in white consommé, and keep it a little lighter than ordinary tapioca. Also press, peel, and cut into dice the pulp of three medium-sized, very red tomatoes; poach these dice in some consommé and mix them with the tapioca.

Or, failing fresh tomatoes, add to the tapioca two tablespoonfuls of concentrated tomato purée diluted in a bowl with some white consommé.

Send two oz. of grated cheese to the table separately.

661—PURÉE DE TOPINAMBOUR, otherwise PALESTINE

Finely mince two lbs. of Jerusalem artichokes and stew them in one oz. of butter. Add five torrefied and crushed filberts, moistened with one pint of white consommé, and set to cook gently. Rub through tammy; finish the purée with one-quarter pint of milk, in which one tablespoonful of fecula has been diluted, cold. Set to boil and add butter when dishing up.

Garnish with small bread dice fried in butter.

This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream.

662—BISQUE D’ÉCREVISSES

(1) Cut into very small dice one oz. of carrot, one oz. of onion, and two parsley stalks. Add a fragment of thyme and bay; brown this _mirepoix_ with butter, in a sautépan; throw in fifteen crayfish for “Bisque” (their average weight being about one and one-third oz.), and toss them in the _mirepoix_ until they acquire a very red colour. Sprinkle with two tablespoonfuls of burnt brandy and one-quarter pint of white wine, season with a large pinch of salt and a pinch of ground pepper, and set to reduce.

This done, moisten with one-quarter pint of white consommé and leave to cook for ten minutes.

Also cook three oz. of rice in one and one-half pints of white consommé.

(2) Shell the crayfishes’ tails and put them aside; also reserve eight carapaces. Drain the crayfishes of all their cooking-liquor; finely pound them and their remains and the _mirepoix_. Add the rice, properly cooked, and the cooking-liquor of the crayfish, and rub through a sieve, first, and then through tammy.

Add to the resulting purée one-half pint of white consommé, set to boil, wielding a whisk the while, pass through a strainer, and then keep the preparation in a _bain-marie_, taking care to place a few lumps of butter on its surface lest a skin should form while the bisque is waiting to be served.

Finish the preparation when dishing up with two and one-half oz. of butter, three tablespoonfuls of excellent thick cream, and a very little cayenne.

Garnish with the crayfish tails cut into dice, and the eight carapaces stuffed with a fish forcemeat with cream and poached seven or eight minutes previously.

This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream.

663—BISQUE DE HOMARD

After substituting for the crayfish a raw lobster weighing three lbs., cut into small sections, the procedure is the same as that of No. 662. It is only necessary, therefore, to refer to that recipe for all particulars relating to preparation and quantities.

Garnish with the meat taken from the tail; this should have been kept aside and cut into small dice.

This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream.

664—BISQUE DE CREVETTES

The mode of procedure for this bisque, the _mirepoix_, the thickening ingredients, the moistening, and the finishing of the soup are identical with those of No. 662.

All that is needed, therefore, is to substitute for the crayfish two lbs. of raw shrimps.

Instead of using ordinary butter in finishing this bisque, use three oz. of shrimp butter. Garnish with twenty-five reserved tails, these being shelled and trimmed.

This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream.

665—COULIS DE GIBIER, otherwise AU CHASSEUR

Prepare six oz. of the meat of a wild rabbit, six oz. of that of a partridge, and six oz. of that of a pheasant. These meats should be roasted and their roast-cases swilled with a liqueur-glass of burnt brandy. The resulting gravy should be added to the soup.

Now finely pound these meats together with one-half pint of cooked and drained lentils. When the whole has become a smooth purée add the cooking-liquor of the lentils and the swillings referred to above and rub through tammy.

Finish the cullis with the necessary quantity of consommé, heat it, and pass it through a strainer. Add butter at the last moment and season moderately.

Garnish with three tablespoonfuls of small, very fresh mushrooms; these to be finely minced and tossed in butter.

666—COULIS DE GRIVES AU PAIN NOIR, otherwise A L’ARDENNAISE

Fry four fine thrushes in butter and complete their cooking in one pint of feathered game consommé containing five oz. of rye-bread dice fried in butter. These dice constitute in this case the thickening element of the soup. Remove and put aside the thrushes’ fillets, finely pound the carcasses together with two juniper-berries, add the leason of bread dice, and rub through tammy.

Add to the resulting purée one-quarter pint of feathered-game consommé, set to boil, and pass through a strainer. Finish the cullis with two and one-half oz. of butter and four tablespoonfuls of cream.

Garnish with the reserved fillets cut into thin slices or into a _julienne_.

667—COULIS DE GROUSE OU DE GELINOTTE A L’ANCIENNE

Proceed as in No. 666 in so far as the preparatory details and the quantities are concerned, but take note of the following changes in other directions:—

(1) Substitute for the thrushes two grouse or two hazel-hens, taking care to discard the legs and the carcasses.

(2) Use ordinary bread dice instead of those of rye-bread.

668—COULIS DE LAPEREAU AU CURRIE

Cut the legs of a young wild rabbit into small pieces, stiffen these in butter, and put them into the stewpan with a few roundels of carrot and onion, one small faggot of parsley and celery, and one quart of white consommé. Set to cook gently.

Also lightly brown in butter two tablespoonfuls of chopped onion, besprinkle with one-half tablespoonful of fecula and a sufficient quantity of curry, moisten with the strained cooking-liquor of the pieces of rabbit, bring to the boil, and set to simmer for seven or eight minutes. Rub through tammy and then despumate for twenty minutes, adding from time to time one or two tablespoonfuls of consommé with the view of promoting the clarification of the cullis. When about to serve finish the latter with three or four tablespoonfuls of cream.

Garnish with eighteen very small slices taken from the pieces of rabbit and two oz. of rice à l’Indienne, serving the latter separately.

669—COULIS DE PERDREAU A LA PURÉE DE MARRONS, otherwise A LA MANCELLE

Split the shells of fifteen fine chestnuts, put them in a stewpan with water, boil them for five minutes, and shell and peel them quickly while they are still very hot. Then cook them gently in one-half pint of white consommé with one-third of a stick of celery, minced, and one piece of loaf-sugar.

_Poële_ a partridge, remove the fillets for the purpose of garnish, bone the rest, and pound it finely together with the carcass and the _poëling_ liquor. Add the chestnuts, pound the whole, and add some consommé to the resulting purée with the object of facilitating the rubbing through tammy. This done, add to the preparation about one-quarter pint of very clear game stock, bring the whole to the boil, pass it through a strainer, and finish the cullis, when dishing up, with a very little cayenne and one and one-half oz. of butter.

Garnish with the fillets of partridge cut into a small _julienne_.

670—COULIS DE VOLAILLE, otherwise A LA REINE

Poach in one quart of white consommé a cleaned fowl weighing about three lbs. and two oz. of rice previously _blanched_. Having cooked the fowl, withdraw it, raise its fillets, and put them aside. Bone the remainder and finely pound the meat. When the latter is a smooth paste mix therewith the rice, which should be very well cooked, add the necessary amount of white consommé to the purée, and rub through tammy. Bring the cullis to the boil and pass it through a fine strainer.

Finish the preparation, when dishing up, with a leason composed of the yolks of three eggs, one-sixth pint of cream, and three oz. of butter.

Garnish with the reserved fillets cut into small, regular dice.

This soup may also be prepared as a velouté or a cream.

671—VELOUTÉ AGNÈS SOREL

(1) Prepare one and one-half pints of poultry velouté, keeping it somewhat thin.

(2) Clean, wash, peel, and quickly pound eight oz. of very fresh mushrooms, newly gathered if possible.

Rub through a fine sieve, and add the resulting purée of raw mushrooms to the velouté. Bring the whole to the boil once or twice, and this done rub through tammy immediately. Finish with the leason and add butter when dishing up.

Garnish with one tablespoonful of a _julienne_ of raw mushrooms tossed in butter, one tablespoonful of chicken fillets, and as much salted tongue, both of which should also be cut in _julienne-fashion_.

N.B.—With regard to veloutés I remind the reader that the velouté of ordinary consistence represents one-half of the soup, the purée typifying the latter represents one-quarter, while the consommé required to bring the soup to the correct degree of consistence should be in the proportion of the remaining quarter.

The leason, per quart of the soup, should consist of the yolks of three eggs and one-sixth pint of cream, while the average quantity of butter should measure about two and one-half oz. (see No. 242).

This soup may also be prepared as a cream.

672—VELOUTÉ DE BLANCHAILLE AU CURRIE

Bear in mind that this soup ought to be made and served within the space of twenty minutes, for if it be left to stand for however short a time, it will most probably turn, in spite of every possible precaution.

Cook three oz. of finely chopped onion in butter without colouration, besprinkle with one-half coffeespoonful of curry, moisten with one and one-half pints of boiling water, add a faggot, a pinch of salt, a few sprigs of saffron (or a little of it powdered), and two oz. of Viennese bread.

Set to boil for ten minutes; this done add three-quarters lb. of very fresh Blanchailles, and cook over a brisk fire.

Rub through a hair-sieve, finish by means of a leason consisting of the yolks of three eggs and one-fifth pint of cream, and pour the whole into the soup-tureen over some dried slices of bread (buttered), over rice, or over some previously poached vermicelli. Serve at once.

673—VELOUTÉ CARMÉLITE

Prepare one and one-half pints of fish velouté, stew four oz. of fillets of sole and the same quantity of fillets of whiting in one and one-half oz. of butter and lemon juice. Pound the fish, add it to the velouté, and rub through tammy.

Add the necessary quantity of consommé, heat the velouté, and finish it, when about to serve, with a leason and butter.

Garnish with one tablespoonful of a _julienne_ of poached fillets of sole and twelve small quenelles of smelt forcemeat.

This soup may also be prepared as a cream.

674—VELOUTÉ AUX CAROTTES, otherwise NIVERNAISE

Cut into thin slices one lb. of the red part only of carrots, season with a pinch of table-salt and twice that amount of castor-sugar, and stew in one oz. of butter.

Add one pint of ordinary thin velouté and let the cooking of the carrots be completed therein. Rub through tammy, finish with one-half pint of white consommé, set to boil, and complete the preparation, when dishing up, with the leason and butter.

Garnish with one and one-half tablespoonfuls of a fine _brunoise_ of the red part of carrots.

This soup may also be prepared as a cream.

675—VELOUTÉ COMTESSE

Prepare one pint of ordinary velouté, parboil one and one-half lbs. of white asparagus, and put them into the velouté. Complete the cooking gently. Rub through tammy, add one-half pint of white consommé, heat, and finish the preparation, when dishing up, with the leason and butter.

Garnish with one tablespoonful of a lettuce _chiffonade_ and twelve small white asparagus-heads wherefrom all leaves have been removed.

This soup may also be prepared as a cream.

676—VELOUTÉ AU CONCOMBRES, otherwise DANOISE

Peel, remove the seeds from, mince, and stew in butter one lb. of parboil cucumber. Add this to one pint of ordinary velouté, which should have been prepared at the same time, and complete the cooking quickly. Rub through tammy, add the necessary quantity of white consommé, heat, and finish the preparation, when dishing up, with a leason and butter in the usual quantities.

Garnish with small bread dice fried in butter.

This soup may also be prepared as a cream.

677—VELOUTÉ CRESSONIÈRE

After having slightly parboiled them, stew one lb. of very fresh watercress leaves in one and one-half oz. of butter, add them to one pint of ordinary velouté. Set to simmer for seven or eight minutes, rub through tammy, add one and one-half pints of ordinary white consommé, heat, and finish the preparation, when dishing up, with a leason and butter.

Garnish with one oz. of watercress leaves parboiled for three minutes.

This soup may also be prepared as a cream.

678—VELOUTÉ DAME-BLANCHE

Prepare one and one-half pints of clear poultry velouté. Also finely pound ten or twelve well-washed sweet almonds, moisten them, little by little, with one-sixth pint of fresh water, and rub through a strong towel, twisting the latter to assist the process.

Add this almond milk to the velouté, and finish the latter, when dishing up, with the leason and butter.

Garnish with one tablespoonful of the white of a chicken cut into small dice, and twelve small quenelles of chicken forcemeat (in the shape of pearls) poached just before dishing up.

679—VELOUTÉ D’ARTOIS

Prepare one pint of ordinary velouté, and mix therewith one-half pint of a purée of haricot beans. Rub through tammy; add one-half pint of white consommé; heat, and finish the whole, when dishing up, with the leason and butter.

Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of an ordinary _julienne_ and a pinch of chervil _pluches_.

This soup may also be prepared as a cream.

680—VELOUTÉ D’ÉPERLANS

Prepare a thin panada with one pint of boiled milk and two and one-half oz. of crumbled bread. Season with a pinch of salt and a very small quantity of mignonette. Also stew gently, in one oz. of butter, two tablespoonfuls of chopped onion, two and one-half oz. of fillets of smelt, one-half lb. of fillets of sole, or the meat of a dory, and the juice of the quarter of a lemon.

Add the fish, stewed in butter and pounded, to the panada, together with one-half pint of ordinary thin velouté.

Rub through tammy; heat; season with a very little cayenne, and finish the whole, when dishing up, with an ordinary leason and one and one-half oz. of butter.

N.B.—1. In view of the decided flavour of the smelt, and the really disagreeable taste it imparts to a preparation which contains overmuch of it, its flesh should never exceed the proportion of one-third of the required quantity of fish. The remaining two-thirds should be supplied by a fish of neutral flavour, such as the sole or dory, both of which are admirably suited to this purpose.

2. The velouté d’éperlans should, like almost all fish veloutés, be prepared as quickly as possible, and at the last moment. The process should not last longer than thirty minutes, for, if there be any delay, the preparation will turn and lose its flavour.

3. For this soup I elected to use a panada as the thickening element, instead of a fish velouté, the reason being that, were the latter used, the taste of fish would in the end be too pronounced.

681—VELOUTÉ D’ÉPERLANS JOINVILLE

Proceed in the matter of the base of the soup as in No. 680.

Finish the velouté with an ordinary leason and one and one-half oz. of shrimp butter.

Garnish with six crayfish tails, cut into four pieces, and one tablespoonful of a short _julienne_ of truffles and mushrooms.

682—VELOUTÉ D’ÉPERLANS PRINCESSE

The same as above, with twelve small quenelles of smelt forcemeat with crayfish butter, and one tablespoonful of very green asparagus-heads per quart of velouté.

683—VELOUTÉ AUX GRENOUILLES, otherwise SICILIENNE

Prepare one and one-half pints of delicate and rather thin fish velouté.

Trim fifteen or twenty frogs’ legs; toss them in butter without letting them acquire any colour, and set them to poach for ten minutes in two tablespoonfuls of white wine and the juice of a lemon. Pound them in a mortar; add the resulting purée to the velouté; set to simmer for seven or eight minutes, and rub through tammy.

Heat the velouté, and finish it, when dishing up, with the ordinary leason and three and one-half oz. of best butter.

Do not garnish this velouté.

This soup may also be prepared as a cream.

684—VELOUTÉ DE HOMARD, otherwise CARDINAL

Prepare one and three-quarter pints of bisque de homard (No. 663), but substitute velouté for the thickening with rice. Rub through tammy; heat, and complete, when dishing up, with two and one-half oz. of lobster butter and three-quarters oz. of red butter.

Garnish with two _baba-moulds_ of a royale of lobster, cut by means of a fancy-cutter in the shape of a cross.

Shell-fish veloutés do not admit of an egg-yolk leason.

685—VELOUTÉ DE HOMARD A CLEVELAND

Break up two small live lobsters or one medium-sized one, and prepare it à l’Américaine (see “Lobster à l’Américaine”). Reserve a few slices of the meat for garnishing purposes. Finely pound the rest with the shell; combine the purée with one quart of ordinary velouté prepared beforehand, and add the lobster sauce. Rub through a sieve, first, then through tammy; heat without allowing to boil; add the required quantity of consommé, and once more pass the whole through a strainer.

Complete, when dishing up, with three oz. of best butter.

Garnish with one-half tablespoonful of peeled tomato pulp, cut into dice and half-melted in butter, and the reserved slices of lobster cut into dice.

686—VELOUTÉ DE HOMARD A L’INDIENNE

Prepare the lobster à l’Américaine as above, and flavour it with curry. Preserve a sufficient quantity of meat from the tail to afford an abundant garnish.

For the rest of the process proceed exactly as the preceding recipe directs.

Garnish with the reserved meat cut into dice, and four tablespoonfuls of rice à l’Indienne; send the latter to the table separately.

687—VELOUTÉ DE HOMARD A L’ORIENTALE

Prepare a medium-sized lobster after the manner directed in “Homard à la Newburg with raw lobster” (see No. 948), and season with curry.

Reserve a few slices of the meat of the tail for the garnish; finely pound the remaining portions and the shell; add the lobster sauce, and combine the whole with one quart of ordinary velouté, kept somewhat light.

Rub through a sieve, first, then through tammy; heat the velouté without letting it boil; add the necessary quantity of consommé, and finish the preparation, when about to serve, with three oz. of butter.

Garnish with the reserved meat cut into dice, and two tablespoonfuls of rice à l’Indienne, each grain of which should be kept distinct and separate.

688—VELOUTÉ DE HOMARD AU PAPRIKA

Prepare a medium-sized lobster à l’Américaine, and, in addition to the usual ingredients of the preparation, include two _concassed_ tomatoes and two roughly chopped onions. Season with paprika.

For the rest of the operation, proceed exactly as directed under “Velouté à la Cleveland.”

Garnish with lobster meat cut into dice, two tablespoonfuls of rice, and one tablespoonful of pimentos cut into dice.

689—VELOUTÉ DE HOMARD A LA PERSANE

Proceed exactly as for “Velouté de Homard à l’Orientale.”

Garnish with lobster meat in dice, one tablespoonful of pimentos in dice, and two tablespoonfuls of pilaff rice, to which add a very little saffron.

_Remarks relating to the Variation of these Veloutés._—By merely substituting an equivalent quantity of crayfish, shrimps, or crabs, for the lobster, the recipes dealing with veloutés of lobster, given above, may be applied to _Veloutés of Crayfish_, _Shrimps_, or _Crabs_.

It would therefore be pointless to repeat them, since all that is needed is to read crayfish, shrimps, or crabs wherever the word lobster appears.

Thus I shall only point out that the number of these veloutés may be increased at will, the only requisites being the change of the basic ingredient and the modification of the garnish.

690—VELOUTÉ AUX HUÎTRES

Prepare one quart of very delicate fish velouté, and bear in mind that the preparation must be made as speedily as possible. (See the remarks dealing with this question which follow upon the model recipe of the velouté d’éperlans.)

Add to the velouté the carefully collected liquor of the twenty-four oysters constituting the garnish, and complete, when about to serve, with a leason and butter.

Garnish with four poached oysters (cleared of their beards) per each person.

691—VELOUTÉ ISOLINE

Prepare one quart of poultry velouté. Complete it, when dishing up, with an ordinary leason and three oz. of crayfish butter.

Garnish with three tablespoonfuls of Japanese pearls poached in white consommé.

692—VELOUTÉ MARIE LOUISE

Prepare one pint of poultry velouté; mix therewith one-half pint of barley cream (No. 712), and rub through tammy. Add one-half pint of white consommé, and heat the velouté without letting it boil.

Finish it, when about to serve, with a leason and butter. Garnish with one and one-half tablespoonfuls of best macaroni, poached and cut into dice.

This soup may also be prepared as a cream.

693—VELOUTÉ MARIE STUART

Prepare a poultry velouté with barley cream, as above. Finish it, when about to serve, with a leason and butter.

Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of a _brunoise_, and the same quantity of fine pearl barley cooked in white consommé.

This soup may also be prepared as a cream.

694—VELOUTÉ AU POURPIER

Proceed exactly as directed under “Velouté Cressonière” (No. 677), but substitute purslain for the watercress.

695—VELOUTÉ A LA SULTANE

Prepare one quart of poultry velouté. Finish it, when dishing up, with a leason composed of the yolks of three eggs diluted with one-fifth pint of sweet-almond milk (made by pounding eighteen sweet almonds, mixing therewith one-fifth pint of water, and straining the whole through a twisted towel), and three oz. of pistachio butter. The velouté should be of a pale green shade.

Garnish with small crescents of chicken forcemeat prepared with crayfish butter, kept of a pink shade. These crescents should be laid, by means of a piping-bag, upon thin roundels of truffle, and poached in consommé.

This soup may also be prepared as a cream.

695a—COLD CHICKEN VELOUTÉ FOR SUPPERS

The preparation of these veloutés requires the utmost care, but, as a rule, they are very much liked.

Prepare a white roux from one oz. of butter and one and one-sixth oz. of flour per quart of the moistening. Dilute with some very strong clear consommé, thoroughly cleared of grease; boil, and despumate for one and one-half hours, adding meanwhile half as much consommé as served in the moistening of the velouté.

When the velouté is thoroughly despumated and entirely cleared of grease, strain it through a silk sieve, and add, per quart, one-quarter pint of very fresh thin cream. Cool, stirring incessantly the while; once more strain the velouté through the sieve when it is cold, and, if necessary, add some of the consommé already used, in order to give the velouté the consistence of a thickened consommé. Serve it in cups, and see that it be sufficiently thin to not impaste the mouth of the consumer.

This velouté is usually served as it stands, but it allows of various condimentary adjuncts. Such are:—Tomato and capsicum essences; crayfish, shrimp, or game creams. These creams or essences should be of consummate delicacy, and ought to lend only a very delicate flavour to the velouté.

696—CRÈME D’ARTICHAUTS AU BEURRE DE NOISETTE

Have ready one and one-half pints of Béchamel. Parboil, finely mince, and stew in butter four large artichoke-bottoms. Pound the latter; put them in the Béchamel, and rub the whole through tammy.

Add the necessary quantity of white consommé or milk, and set to heat without allowing to boil. Finish the preparation, when dishing up, with one-quarter pint of cream and one oz. of hazel-nut butter (No. 155).

_Remarks relative to Creams._—I remind the reader here that (1) the thickening element of creams is a Béchamel prepared in the usual way (see No. 28); (2) in the preparation of a cream, of what kind soever, the Béchamel should constitute half of the whole, the basic ingredient a quarter, and the white consommé or milk the remaining quarter.

As a rule, they comprise no butter, but are finished by means of one-third pint of very fresh cream per quart. Be this as it may, if it be desirable to butter them, one may do so, but in very small quantities, and taking care to use the very best butter.

This class of soups is more particularly suited to Lenten menus.

697—CRÈME D’ASPERGES, otherwise ARGENTEUIL

Parboil for five or six minutes one and one-half lbs. of Argenteuil asparagus, broken off at the spot where the hard part of the stalk begins. Drain them, and set them to complete their cooking gently in one and one-quarter pints of previously prepared Béchamel.

Rub through tammy; add the necessary quantity of white consommé, and heat without allowing to boil.

Finish with cream when dishing up.

Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of white asparagus-heads and a pinch of chervil _pluches_.

698—CRÈME D’ASPERGES VERTES

Proceed exactly as for “Crème Argenteuil,” but substitute green asparagus for Argenteuil asparagus.

699—CRÈME AU BLÉ VERT, otherwise CÉRÈS

Put one lb. of dry, green wheat to soak in cold water for four hours. Then cook it slowly in one-half pint of water and as much white consommé. Mix therewith one and one-quarter pints of Béchamel and rub through tammy.

Add the necessary amount of white consommé to the purée; heat the whole without boiling, and finish it with cream when dishing up.

Garnish with a pinch of chervil _pluches_.

This soup may also be prepared as a purée or a velouté.

700—CRÈME DE CÉLERI

Mince one lb. of the white of celery; parboil for seven or eight minutes; drain, and stew in one oz. of butter. Mix one and one-quarter pints of Béchamel with it; complete the cooking slowly, and rub through tammy.

Add one-half pint of white consommé; heat without allowing to boil, and finish the preparation with cream when about to serve.

Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of a _brunoise_ of celery.

This soup may also be prepared as a purée or a velouté.

701—CRÈME DE CERFEUIL BULBEUX, otherwise CHEVREUSE

Mince and stew in butter one lb. of bulbous chervil, and mix therewith one and one-quarter pints of Béchamel. Complete the cooking slowly; rub through tammy; add sufficient white consommé; heat, and finish with cream when dishing up. Garnish with one tablespoonful of a fine _julienne_ of chicken fillets and the same quantity of a _julienne_ of truffles.

This soup may also be prepared as a velouté.

702—CRÈME DE CHICORÉE DE BRUXELLES, otherwise BRUXELLOISE

Take one lb. of very fresh chicory, and stew it for a good half-hour in one and one-half oz. of butter and the juice of one lemon.

Now mix one and one-quarter pints of Béchamel with it, and finish the cooking very slowly. Rub through tammy; add the necessary quantity of white consommé; heat, and complete with cream when serving.

Garnish with a _julienne_ of Belgian chicory, stewed and well drained.

703—CRÈME D’ÉPINARDS, otherwise FLORENTINE

Quickly parboil one lb. of shredded and well-washed spinach to which a little sorrel may be added; drain, press, and add thereto one and one-half pints of somewhat thin Béchamel. Complete the cooking; rub the whole through tammy, and finish it with the necessary amount of fresh cream.

Garnish with a _julienne_ of spinach, quickly parboiled and stewed in butter.

704—CRÈME DE FÈVES NOUVELLES

Skin two-thirds lb. of new broad beans, freshly gathered, if possible. Cook them for ten minutes in boiling salted water containing a sprig of savory, and then add one and one-quarter pints of Béchamel. Complete the cooking of the broad beans in the Béchamel; rub through tammy; add one-half pint of white consommé or milk; heat without allowing to boil, and finish the preparation with cream when dishing up.

Garnish with very small skinned broad beans, split in two and parboiled with a sprig of savory.

This soup may also be prepared as a velouté.

705—CRÈME D’IGNAMES, otherwise BRÉSILIENNE

Bake the yams in the oven, without peeling them. As soon as this is done, cut them in two, remove their pulp, and quickly rub the latter through a sieve while it is still hot. Dilute the purée with boiling milk or thin Béchamel in the proportion of one pint of the former and one-half pint of the latter per lb. of the purée. (This Béchamel should be made from one and one-half oz. of butter and one oz. of flour per quart of milk.)

Rub the whole through tammy, and finish the preparation in the usual way. Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of Brazilian pearls, poached in consommé.

This soup may also be prepared as a velouté.

706—CRÈME DE LAITUES, otherwise JUDIC

Parboil and stew in butter two medium-sized _ciseled_ lettuces, the greenest leaves of which should have been discarded. Add these to one and one-half pints of Béchamel.

Rub through tammy; add one pint of white consommé; heat, and finish as usual with cream.

Garnish with roundels of lettuce leaves, lightly coated with chicken forcemeat, a bit of truffle laid in their centre, and the whole poached at the last minute.

This soup may also be prepared as a velouté.

707—CRÈME DE MAÏS, otherwise WASHINGTON

Cook some fresh maize in salted water (or use the preserved kind if the fresh is out of season), and combine therewith an equal quantity of thin Béchamel. Rub through tammy; heat, and finish with cream when dishing up.

Garnish with grains of maize cooked in salted water.

This soup may also be prepared as a velouté by substituting for the Béchamel an excellent poultry velouté.

708—CRÈME D’OSEILLE A L’AVOINE

Pour one-quarter lb. of oatmeal diluted with one-half pint of cold milk into one quart of slightly salted boiling milk. Stir over the fire until the boil is reached; move the stewpan to the side of the fire, and simmer for two hours.

This done, add six tablespoonfuls of a _fondue_ of sorrel and butter; set to simmer again for one-quarter hour, and rub the whole through tammy.

Complete the operation after the manner common to all creams.

709—CRÈME D’OSEILLE A L’ORGE

Proceed exactly as for No. 708, using the same quantities, but substituting barley-meal for oatmeal.

_Remarks upon the Two above Creams._—They may also be prepared as veloutés. Their garnish may be greatly varied, and may consist of _chiffonade_ of lettuce and sorrel; pressed peeled tomatoes, cut into dice and cooked in butter; poached rice or pastes (_i.e._, vermicelli, &c.); fine well-cooked pearl barley; _brunoise_; small _printaniers_, &c.

They belong, in fact, to the same order of soups as the purées of sorrel with pastes, the recipes of which were given earlier in the chapter.

710—CRÈME D’OXALIS

Peel and slice the oxalis roots, and half-cook them in salted water. Drain, add it to one and one-half pints of Béchamel, and complete its cooking gently in the sauce.

Rub through tammy; add one-half pint of white consommé, and finish after the manner of other creams. Garnish with chervil _pluches_.

This soup may also be prepared as a purée or a velouté.

711—CRÈME DE RIZ

Wash one-half lb. of rice in cold water; _blanch_ it; cool it, and cook it very gently in one quart of white consommé. Crush in the mortar; rub through tammy, and dilute the rice purée with one pint of white consommé. Heat and finish the preparation, when dishing up, with the necessary quantity of cream.

Or pour four tablespoonfuls of rice cream, diluted with one-half pint of cold milk, into three pints of boiling milk; set to boil, stirring the while, and leave to cook very gently for twenty-five minutes. Rub through tammy, and finish the preparation, when dishing up, with the required quantity of cream.

This soup may also be prepared as a velouté.

712—CRÈME D’ORGE

Wash three-quarters lb. of coarse pearl barley in lukewarm water, and cook it gently for about two and one-half hours in one pint of white consommé containing one piece of the white part of a stick of celery.

Crush in a mortar; rub through tammy; dilute the purée of barley with one pint of white consommé; heat, and finish the preparation, when dishing up, with the necessary quantity of cream.

This soup may also be prepared with barley-meal, the procedure in that case being the same as that of the “Crème de Riz” above.

Garnish with very fine, well-cooked pearl barley.

This soup may also be prepared as a velouté.

713—CRÈME DE VOLAILLE PRINCESSE

Mix one and one-half pints of thin Béchamel with one-half pint of chicken purée. Rub through tammy; add one-half pint of white consommé to the preparation, or the same quantity of boiled milk; heat without allowing to boil, and finish with cream when dishing up.

Garnish with twenty very small slices of chicken fillets, white asparagus-heads, and chervil _pluches_.

This soup may also be prepared as a velouté.

714—CRÈME REINE-MARGOT

Mix one-half pint of chicken purée with one pint of thin Béchamel. Rub through tammy; add one and one-half pints of white consommé and one-quarter pint of almond milk (No. 678). Heat without allowing to boil, and finish with cream.

Garnish with very small grooved quenelles of chicken forcemeat combined with one oz. of pistachio purée per three oz. of forcemeat.

This soup may also be prepared as a velouté.

715—POTAGE A L’AURORE

Wash one-quarter lb. of fine pearl barley in plenty of water. Put it into a stewpan with one quart of consommé, as much water, a faggot comprising parsley, celery, and chervil, and set to cook very gently for five hours. While the cooking progresses, take care to remove all the skin which forms on the surface, in order that the cooking-liquor may remain very clear.

When the barley is well cooked, transfer it to another stewpan, and add to it four tablespoonfuls of a thick and very red tomato purée, strained through muslin, and two tablespoonfuls of celery, minced in _paysanne-fashion_, stewed in butter, and finally cooked in consommé.

This excellent soup should not be made too thick.

716—POTAGE BAGRATION GRAS

Cut two-thirds lb. of very white fillet of veal into large dice, and stiffen these in butter without letting them acquire any colour. Add one and one-quarter pints of thin velouté with a veal base, and set to cook very gently.

Finely pound the veal; dilute the purée with velouté, and rub through tammy. Add one pint of white consommé; heat without boiling, and complete the preparation, when dishing up, with a leason of the yolks of three eggs diluted with four tablespoonfuls of cream and two oz. of butter.

Garnish with thin macaroni cut into short lengths, and send some grated cheese to the table separately.

717—POTAGE BAGRATION MAIGRE

Prepare one and one-half pints of fresh velouté, and mix therewith one-quarter pint of mushroom velouté. (For making this, see “Velouté Agnès Sorel,” No. 671.)

Heat without boiling; pass through a strainer, and finish, when about to serve, with the same leason as for ordinary velouté, and two and one-half oz. of butter. Garnish with one fillet of sole, poached very white, and cut into a _julienne_; twelve small quenelles of sole or whiting forcemeat finished with crayfish butter, and six crayfishes’ tails cut into small pieces.

718—POTAGE CHOISEUL

Prepare a “purée Conti” (No. 640) with an excellent _fumet_ of game.

Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of sorrel, _ciseled_ and cooked in butter, and two tablespoonfuls of poached rice.

719—POTAGE COMPIÈGNE

Prepare a light “Purée Soissonnaise”; butter it well, and add thereto as garnish three tablespoonfuls of _ciseled_ sorrel cooked in butter, and chervil _pluches_.

720—POTAGE DERBY

Add one-half pint of Soubise purée (No. 104) to one pint of “Crème de Riz” (No. 711) flavoured with a very little curry. Rub the whole through tammy.

Add one-half pint of white consommé, and heat without boiling. Complete, when about to serve, with an ordinary leason and three oz. of butter.

Garnish with twelve small quenelles of chicken forcemeat combined with one-third of its volume of foie-gras purée, one tablespoonful of little truffle pearls, and an equal quantity of poached rice, each grain of which must be kept distinct and separate.

721—POTAGE A LA DIANE

Cook one-half lb. of lentils with the usual garnish. Roast two medium-sized partridges, keeping them slightly underdone, and remove their fillets. Complete the cooking of the partridges with the lentils, drained of their cooking-liquor, in one pint of game consommé.

Prepare a royale (No. 209) with the reserved fillets.

When the birds are cooked, bone them; pound their meat, and add thereto the lentils and the cooking-liquor; rub through tammy.

Finish the purée with one and one-half pints of excellent thin game stock, and complete the soup, when dishing up, with two oz. of butter and two tablespoonfuls of reduced Madeira.

Garnish with the royale, cut into small regular crescents, and twelve small crescents of very black truffle.

722—POTAGE ELISA

Prepare one and one-half pints of poultry velouté, and rub it through tammy. Complete with one-half pint of white consommé; heat without boiling, and finish, when dishing up, with an ordinary leason, two and one-half oz. of butter, and two tablespoonfuls of a _fondue_ of sorrel.

723—POTAGE FAVORI

Prepare one pint of a velouté of green asparagus; one-half pint of a velouté of lettuce, and one-half pint of poultry velouté. Put all three into a stewpan; add thereto the necessary quantity of white consommé to bring the soup to the correct degree of consistence; heat without boiling, and pass through a strainer.

Finish the soup, when dishing up, with an ordinary leason and two oz. of butter. Garnish with one tablespoonful of a _chiffonade_ of sorrel, and one tablespoonful of green asparagus-heads.

724—POTAGE GERMINY

_Cisel_ and melt in butter three oz. of shredded sorrel, and add thereto one and one-half pints of white consommé. A few minutes before serving, pour into the consommé a leason composed of the yolks of six eggs diluted with one-quarter pint of cream; set on the fire and stir, after the manner of an English custard, _i.e._, until the preparation begins to show signs of boiling.

Finish, away from the fire, with two and one-half oz. of butter, and add a pinch of chervil _pluches_.

_Remarks concerning the Possible Variation of this Soup._—The mode of procedure adopted in the case of the Germiny could, if necessary, be applied to all thick soups, and it would then constitute a class to which the term “Cream” would be better suited than it is at present to the soups thus designated.

Instead of the ordinary white consommé, which is used in its preparation, a consommé may be used in which such vegetables as carrots, turnips, peas, &c., are cooked, the latter being reserved for the garnish, while the cooking-liquor is thickened with egg-yolks and cream in accordance with the quantities and directions given in the above recipe.

A carrot cream, a cream of fresh peas, or of asparagus-heads, prepared in this way, would be much more delicate than those prepared after the ordinary recipes.

The essential point in this series of soups is the leason; this should consist of enough egg-yolks to render the preparations sufficiently thick and creamy.

725—POTAGE AUX HERBES

Cut two oz. of sorrel leaves into a _julienne_, and stew them in butter with one oz. of watercress leaves, one oz. of chervil _pluches_, and young pimpernel. Add one and one-half pints of water, the necessary salt, three medium-sized, peeled, and quartered potatoes, and cook gently.

Drain and reserve the cooking-liquor; crush the potatoes; dilute the purée with the cooking-liquor, and rub through tammy. Set to boil, and finish, when dishing up, with three oz. of Printanier butter with herbs, combined with a few leaves of sweet basil.

Add a pinch of chervil _pluches_.

726—POTAGE JUBILEE, otherwise BALVET

Prepare, according to the directions given (No. 648), one and one-half pints of a purée of fresh peas, and add thereto one-half pint of consommé of “La Petite Marmite.” Set to boil, and finish with two oz. of butter.

Garnish with the vegetables from the Marmite, prepared as for Croûte au Pot.

727—POTAGE LONGCHAMPS

Refer to the derivative soups of the “Purée de Pois” (No. 654).

728—POTAGE LAVALLIÈRE

Prepare one and one-half pints of “Crème de Volaille” (No. 713), finished with a leason of egg-yolks and cream; also two-thirds pint of “Crème de Céleri,” similarly finished, and combine the two creams.

Garnish with twelve small _profiterolles_, stuffed with chicken forcemeat, and a royale of celery in dice.

729—POTAGE MADELEINE

Prepare and combine the following purées:—One-third pint of artichoke purée, one-fifth pint of haricot-bean purée, one-seventh pint of Soubise purée. Add one pint of white consommé; set to boil; pass through a strainer, and finish, when dishing up, with two oz. of butter.

Garnish with two tablespoonfuls of sago poached in one-half pint of white consommé.

730—POTAGE MISS BETSY

Proceed exactly as for “Potage à l’Aurore” (No. 715), but (1) flavour potage Miss Betsy with curry; (2) substitute for the celery peeled, cored apples cut into dice and cooked in butter.

N.B.—Both these soups (Aurore and Miss Betsy) are subject to much variation. All that is needed is to alter the flavouring element and the garnish. Thus the quantity of tomato may be reduced by half, and combined with one-quarter lb. of peas and their cooking-liquor (the peas in this case being cooked in one pint of water with a little salt and sugar); or with the same quantity of French beans, asparagus-heads, or sorrel cooked in butter, &c.

731—POTAGE MONTESPAN

Add one-half pint of somewhat thick tapioca to one and one-half pints of “Crème d’Asperges” (No. 697), prepared as directed. Garnish with very fine peas cooked in the English fashion.

732—POTAGE NÉLUSKO

Mix one and one-half pints of rather liquid poultry velouté with one-half pint of chicken purée. When serving, add an ordinary leason, and finish with two and one-half oz. of hazel-nut butter.

Garnish with very small quenelles of chicken forcemeat combined with one tablespoonful of hazel-nut powder per three oz. of the forcemeat.

733—POTAGE PETIT DUC

Take a fine woodcock; raise and reserve one of its fillets, and roast it, taking care to keep it very underdone. Then remove the other fillet, and with it prepare two _dariole-moulds_ of royale (No. 209). Finely pound what remains of the woodcock, and combine with the resulting purée one and one-half pints of game velouté prepared with essence of woodcock. Cover the stewpan and place it in the _bain-marie_ for thirty-five minutes. Now rub the whole through tammy; heat without boiling, and finish, when dishing up, with one and one-half oz. of butter, one and one-half oz. of cooked foie-gras purée, diluted with a few tablespoonfuls of the soup, one and one-half tablespoonfuls of cream, and one and one-half tablespoonfuls of burnt liqueur brandy.

Garnish with the royale cut into dice, and the reserved fillet of woodcock, stiffened in butter at the last moment, and cut into thin slices.

734—POTAGE RÉGENCE

Prepare one quart of barley cream in accordance with the directions under No. 712. Finish it, when dishing up, with an ordinary leason and one and one-half oz. of crayfish butter.

Garnish with twelve small, grooved quenelles of chicken forcemeat finished with crayfish butter; one tablespoonful of small pearl barley, well cooked; and six small cocks’ combs, freshly poached and very white.

735—POTAGE ROSSOLNIK

Prepare (1) one quart of light, poultry velouté combined with cucumber juice; (2) ten pieces of parsley root and the same quantity of celery root, turned to the shape of small, new carrots, and split crosswise at their base; (3) twenty small lozenges of salted cucumber.

Parboil the roots and the cucumber lozenges for fifteen minutes, and add them to the velouté when about to cook the latter. Cook the whole gently for forty minutes, despumating the velouté the while. Finish with one and one-half tablespoonfuls of cucumber juice, and an ordinary leason.

Garnish with small chicken-forcemeat quenelles.

736—POTAGE DE SANTÉ

Cook quickly, in salted water, three medium-sized, peeled, and quartered potatoes. When their pulps seem soft to the touch, drain them; rub them through a fine sieve, and dilute the resulting purée with one and one-half pints of white consommé. Add two tablespoonfuls of sorrel melted in butter, and finish the preparation with an ordinary leason and one oz. of butter.

Garnish with very thin roundels of French _soup-flute_ and chervil _pluches_.

737—POTAGE SIGURD

Prepare one pint of “Velouté Parmentier” and one pint of tomato velouté. Combine the two; heat, and finish, when dishing up, with two and one-half oz. of butter.

Garnish with twenty small quenelles of chicken forcemeat, combined with one coffeespoonful of chopped capsicum, or capsicum in dice, per three oz. of the forcemeat.

738—POTAGE SOLFERINO

Mince the white of two leeks, the third of a medium-sized carrot, and half an onion, and stew the whole in one and one-half oz. of butter. Add one-half lb. of pressed tomatoes cut into pieces, two medium-sized, peeled potatoes, minced; moisten with two-thirds pint of white consommé, and cook gently. Crush the vegetables; rub them through tammy; complete the purée with the necessary quantity of white consommé; set to boil, and finish, when dishing up, with two and one-half oz. of butter.

Garnish with twelve little balls of potato, raised by means of the spoon-cutter, and cooked in salted water; two tablespoonfuls of French beans cut into lozenges; and some chervil _pluches_.

739—POTAGE VIVIANE

Prepare one quart of “Crème de Volaille” (No. 713), and finish it with the usual leason. Garnish with one tablespoonful of artichoke-bottom, cut into dice, the same quantity of carrot dice, both gently cooked in butter, and one tablespoonful of truffle dice.

740—POTAGE WINDSOR

_Blanch_ and cool one small, boned calf’s foot, and cook it gently in a good white-wine _mirepoix_. Prepare one and one-half pints of “Crème de Riz” (No. 711), and add thereto the cooking-liquor of the calf’s foot, strained through muslin.

Finish this cream, when about to serve, with an ordinary leason, one and one-half tablespoonfuls of a slight infusion of turtle-soup herbs, and one and one-half oz. of butter.

Garnish with a _julienne_ of half of the calf’s foot and twenty small quenelles consisting of a purée of hard-boiled egg-yolks and chicken forcemeat, these two preparations being in the proportion of two-thirds and one-third respectively.

741—SOUPE AUX ABATIS DE VOLAILLE A L’ANGLAISE

Cut the necks into three, the gizzards into four, and the pinions into two. Brown one-half lb. of these giblets in a thick-bottomed stewpan with one oz. of butter. Sprinkle with one tablespoonful of flour; slightly colour the latter, and moisten with one quart of white consommé and one pint of water. Add a faggot containing one stick of celery, and set to cook gently for three hours.

When the pieces of giblets are cooked, drain them, trim them, and put them into a stewpan with one dessertspoonful of parboiled rice and a heaped tablespoonful of the white of celery, minced and fried in butter. Strain the cooking-liquor of the giblets, through a strainer, over the enumerated garnishes; set to cook gently for another quarter of an hour; season strongly with pepper, and serve.

742—SOUPE AUX CERISES

Stone two-thirds lb. of small, fleshy cherries, and put twenty aside for garnishing purposes. Put the others into a sugar-boiler with two-thirds pint of hot water, a small strip of lemon rind, and a fragment of cinnamon, and set to boil quickly for eight minutes.

Also boil in another sugar-boiler one-half pint of Port or Bordeaux wine. Crush half of the cherry-stones in the mortar; put them into the boiled wine, and let them infuse, away from the fire.

Rub the cooked cherries through a fine sieve; dilute the purée with the juice thickened by means of one tablespoonful of fecula moistened with cold water; add the cherries put aside for the garnish, and one-half tablespoonful of castor sugar, and again set to boil for four minutes.

Complete the preparation with the infusion strained through muslin; pour it into the soup-tureen, and add a few _biscottes_.

For the sake of variety, lady’s-finger biscuits may be substituted for the _biscottes_.

743—COCKY-LEEKI SOUP

Set half a fowl to cook very gently in one and one-half pints of light and clear veal stock with a few aromatics.

Also prepare a _julienne_ of the white of three leeks; stew this in butter without colouration, and complete the cooking thereof in the cooking-liquor of the fowl, strained and poured carefully away.

Pour the preparation into the soup-tureen, and add the meat of the fowl, cut into a _julienne_.

Serve some stewed prunes separately, but this is optional.

744—SOUPE AUX FOIES DE VOLAILLE

Make a roux from one and one-half oz. of butter and as much flour. When it has acquired a nice, light-brown colour, moisten it with one quart of white consommé or brown stock, and set to boil, stirring the while.

Add one-half lb. of raw chickens’ livers rubbed through a sieve, and set to cook for fifteen minutes. Rub the whole through tammy; season strongly with pepper; heat, and complete the preparation, at the last moment, with one-quarter lb. of sliced chickens’ livers, tossed in butter, and one wineglass of good Madeira.

745—SOUPE JULIENNE DARBLAY

Cook quickly in salted water two small, peeled, and quartered potatoes. Drain them, rub them through a fine sieve, and dilute the purée with one and one-half pints of white consommé. Add three tablespoonfuls of a _julienne_ made in accordance with the above recipe; heat, and finish the preparation with an ordinary leason and one and one-half oz. of butter.

746—MINESTRONE

Brown the minced white of two small leeks and one-third of an onion, also minced, in one oz. of chopped, fresh breast of bacon, and one-half oz. of grated, fat bacon. Moisten with one and one-half pints of white consommé, and add one-third of a carrot, one-third of a turnip, half a stick of celery, two oz. of small cabbage, and one small potato, or one-half of a medium-sized one, all of which vegetables must be finely minced.

About twenty-five minutes after the soup has started cooking, complete it with two tablespoonfuls of peas, a few French beans cut into lozenges, and one and one-half oz. of rice, or the same quantity of very thin macaroni broken into very small pieces.

This done, set to cook again for thirty minutes. A few minutes before serving, add to the soup one small, crushed clove of garlic, three leaves of sweet basil, and a small pinch of chopped chervil _pluches_; mix the whole with one-half tablespoonful of grated bacon.

Send to the table, separately, at the same time as the soup some freshly grated Gruyère.

747—MILLE-FANTI

First make the following preparation:—Beat two small eggs to a stiff froth, and mix therewith one and one-half oz. of the crumb of very good white bread, one oz. of grated Parmesan, and a little nutmeg. Boil one and two-thirds pints of white consommé, and pour the above preparation therein, little by little, stirring briskly the while with the whisk. Then move the stewpan to the side of the fire, put the lid on, and set to cook gently for seven or eight minutes.

When about to serve, stir the soup with a whisk, and pour it into the soup-tureen.

748—MULLIGATAWNY SOUP

Cut a small fowl, or half a medium-sized one, into little pieces, and put these in a stewpan with a few roundels of carrot and onion, a small bunch of parsley and celery, one-half oz. of mushroom parings and one quart of white consommé. Set to boil, and then let cook gently.

Also lightly brown in butter half a medium-sized onion, chopped; besprinkle it with one dessertspoonful of fecula and one coffeespoonful of curry; moisten with the cooking-liquor of the fowl, strained through a sieve; boil, and set to cook gently for seven or eight minutes. Now rub the whole through tammy, and leave it to despumate for twenty minutes, adding one tablespoonful of consommé, from time to time, with the view of promoting the despumation, _i.e._, the purification of the soup.

When about to serve, finish the preparation with three or four tablespoonfuls of cream. Pour the whole into the soup-tureen; add a portion of the meat of the fowl, cut into thin slices, and serve separately two oz. of rice à l’Indienne.

749—SOUPE AUX GOMBOS OU OKRA

This soup is held in high esteem by Americans. It is served either with garnish, as I direct below, or as a consommé, hot or cold, or in cups, after it has been strained.

Fry one medium-sized chopped onion in two oz. of butter, without letting it acquire any colour. Add one-quarter lb. of fresh lean bacon, or raw ham cut into medium-sized dice; fry for a few minutes, and add about one lb. of boned chicken-meat cut into large dice (the white parts of the chicken are used in preference); let these ingredients stiffen well; take care to stir fairly often, and moisten with two quarts of white chicken consommé. Boil, and set to cook gently for twenty or twenty-five minutes with lid on.

Now add about one-half lb. of peeled gombo, cut in coarse _paysanne-fashion_, and three or four medium-sized tomatoes, peeled, _concassed_, and with their seeds withdrawn.

When the gombos are well cooked, carefully remove all grease from the preparation; test the seasoning, and, if necessary, add a few drops of Worcestershire sauce.

Garnish the soup with two or three tablespoonfuls of plainly-cooked rice.

N.B.—This soup is excellent if it be finished with one-quarter pint of cream per quart. A cream of gombos may also be prepared, which may be garnished with the dice of chicken meat. In the latter case, the garnish of rice is optional.

750—SOUPE A LA PAYSANNE

Finely mince one small carrot, one small turnip, one leek, one-third of a stick of celery, one-third of an onion, and some cabbage leaves. Stew the vegetables in one oz. of butter; moisten with one and one-half pints of white consommé, and set to boil. A few minutes having elapsed, add two small potatoes minced like the other vegetables, and complete the cooking gently. Send separately some roundels of _soup-flutes_.

751—SOUPE AUX POIREAUX ET POMMES DE TERRE, otherwise A LA BONNE FEMME

Finely mince the white of four medium-sized leeks. Put this into a stewpan with one oz. of butter, and stew gently for a quarter of an hour. Then add three medium-sized quartered potatoes, cut into roundels the thickness of pennies. Moisten with one pint of white consommé; add the necessary quantity of salt, and set to cook gently. When about to serve, finish the soup with one pint of boiled milk and one and one-half oz. of butter; pour it into the soup-tureen, and add twelve roundels of French _soup-flutes_, cut as thinly as possible.

752—SOUPE AUX ROGNONS

Proceed exactly as for “Soupe aux Foies de Volaille,” but substitute for the garnish of sliced livers one of calf’s or sheep’s kidney cut into large dice, or sliced, and briskly tossed in butter just before dishing up.

Finish the soup similarly to the preceding one, _i.e._, with Madeira.

CHAPTER XIV

In matters culinary, fish comprise not only the vertebrates of the sea and river, but also the esculent crustacea, mollusca, and chelonia, and one batrachian. Of course, the animals representing these various classes differ enormously in respect of their importance as articles of diet. Fresh-water fish, for instance, with the exception of salmon and some kinds of trout, are scarcely ever eaten in England; and the same applies to the frog. As regards salt-water fish, although certain species, such as the sole and the turbot, are in great demand, many other and excellent ones which are looked upon as inferior are seldom put into requisition by first-class cookery. Thus, _Brill_, _Red Mullet_, and _Bass_ are not nearly so popular as they deserve to be, and never appear on a menu of any importance. No doubt, Fashion—ever illogical and wayward—exercises her tyrannical sway here, as in other matters of opinion; for it will be found, even when the distinctions among fish are once established, that there exist a host of incongruities in the unwritten law. Fresh cod is a case in point; should this fish appear on the menu of a grand dinner given by Royalty, the guests would not think it at all out of place; but if the chef of a large modern hotel ventured to include it among the items of a plain table-d’hôte dinner he would most probably incur the scorn and indignation of his clientèle.

This example, than which none could be better suited to our case, successfully shows that the culinary value of the fish has far less to do with the vogue the latter enjoys than the very often freakish whims of the public.

One can but deplore the arbitrary proscription which so materially reduces the resources at the disposal of a cook, more particularly at a time when the universally imperious cry is for novelty and variety in dishes and menus respectively; and one can only hope that reason and good sense may, at no remote period, intervene to check the purposeless demands of both entertainers and their guests in this respect.

Having regard to these considerations, I have omitted from this work, which is really a thesaurus of selected recipes and not a complete formulary, all those fish enumerated below, which are very rarely eaten in England, and the recipes for which could therefore serve no purpose:—

753—SHAD, chiefly served grilled.

754—FRESH ANCHOVIES, extremely rare, and may be grilled or fried.

755—EELS, considered as common, and principally used in the preparation of a pie held in high esteem by the frequenters of coffee-shops along the banks of the Thames. Small eels are also fried. But the many ways of dressing them which are common on the Continent are seldom practised in England.

756—PIKE, plentiful and of excellent quality; only used in the preparation of forcemeat and quenelles; the directions for the latter will be given later. Albeit they are sometimes served crimped, or cooked whole in a _court-bouillon au bleu_, accompanied by parsley or caper sauce, &c. Small pike are generally prepared “à la Meunière,” or fried.

757—CARP, in still less demand than the pike, and only prized for its milt. It must, however, be admitted that in England, more than anywhere else, I believe, this fish is too often spoilt by the taint of mud.

758—DORADO, served boiled with any of the English fish sauces; but, in my opinion, it is best grilled, after the manner generally adopted in the South of France.

759—STURGEON, very rare; it is braised, like veal.

760—FÉRA, very scarce on the market; comes from the Swiss or Savoy lakes, and is only served à la Meunière.

761—GUDGEON, very abundant in all rivers, but never eaten.

762—FROGS, the pet abomination of all classes of the population, with but few exceptions; nevertheless “Nymphes à l’Aurore,” the recipe of which I gave among the hors-d’œuvres, are generally appreciated.

763—FRESH HERRINGS, abundant and of excellent quality; seldom used in first-class cookery, except, perhaps, for their milt. Bloaters and kippered herrings are, with reason, preferred; of these I shall speak later.

764—LAMPREYS, chiefly used in preparing pies similar to those referred to in No. 755.

765—FRESH-WATER HERRINGS, like the Féra, come from Switzerland or Savoy, and are very scarce on the English market. Prepared especially à la Meunière.

766—LOTTE, very scarce on the English market; only prized for its liver.

767—MOSTELE, only caught in the region of Monaco; cannot bear transport; especially served à la Meunière or à l’Anglaise.

768—MUSSELS, only used as garnish.

769—NONAT, replaced in England by whitebait, which it greatly resembles.

770—PERCH, very moderately appreciated; chiefly served fried, when small, and boiled with some fish sauce when large.

771—SKATE, generally served boiled, with caper sauce; occasionally with brown butter. The smaller specimens are better fried. Often offered for sale, crimped.

772—SARDINES, generally of inferior quality; used in the preparation of sprats.

773—STERLET, almost unknown in England.

774—TURTLE, with the exception of those firms which make this their speciality, is almost exclusively used in preparing Turtle Soup. The flippers are sometimes served braised au Madère.

I do not think it at all necessary to lay any further stress upon the series of preparations bearing the names of _Croquettes_, _Cromesquis_, _Côtelettes_ (côtelettes here only mean those prepared from cooked fish, and which are really but a form of croquettes), _Coquilles_, _Bouchées_, _Palets_, &c., which may be made from any kind of cooked fish. These preparations are so well known that it would be almost superfluous to repeat their recipes.

775—DIVERS WAYS OF COOKING FISH

The divers ways of cooking fish are all derived from one or another of the following methods:—

(1) Boiling in salted water, which may be applied equally well to large pieces and slices of fish. (2) Frying, particularly suited to small specimens and thin slices of larger ones. (3) Cooking in butter, otherwise “à la Meunière,” best suited to the same pieces as No. 2. (4) Poaching, with short moistening, especially suited to fillets or small specimens. (5) Braising, used particularly for large pieces. (6) Grilling, for small specimens and collops. (7) Cooking au Gratin, same as grilling.

776—THE BOILING OF FISH IN SALTED WATER

The procedure changes according as to whether the fish is to be cooked whole or in slices. If whole, after having properly cleaned, washed, and trimmed it, lay it on the drainer of the utensil best suited to its shape; _i.e._, a fish-kettle. Cover it with water, salt it in the proportion of one-quarter oz. of salt per quart of water, cover the utensil, and bring the liquid to the boil. As soon as this is done skim and move the kettle to the side of the fire, where the cooking of the fish may be completed without boiling.

If the fish is cut into slices, plunge these, which should never be cut too thin, into boiling salted water, and move the fish-kettle containing them to the side of the fire; complete their cooking slowly without allowing the water to boil.

The object of this process is to concentrate, inside the fish, all the juices contained in its flesh, whereof a large portion escapes when the cut fish is plunged in cold water gradually brought to the boil. If this method is not applied to large fish, cooked whole, the reason is that the sudden immersion of these in boiling water would cause such a shrinking of their flesh that they would burst and thereby be spoiled.

In the case of certain kinds of fish, such as Turbot and Brill, milk is added to the water in the proportion of one-eighth of the latter, the object being to increase the whiteness of the fish.

For the various kinds of Salmon and Trout, the _court-bouillon_ (No. 163) is used in the place of salted water, but the general working process remains the same.

The boiled fish is dished on a napkin and drainer; it is garnished with fresh parsley; and the sauce announced on the menu, together with some plain-boiled and floury potatoes, is sent to the table separately.

777—THE FRYING OF FISH

In Part I. of this work I explained the general theory of frying (Chapter X., No. 262); I shall now, therefore, only concern myself with the details of the operation in its relation to fish.

As a rule, frying should never be resorted to for very large fish or very thick slices of the latter, for, owing to the very high temperature that the operation enjoins, the outside of the fish would be dried up before the inside had even become affected.

If the fish to be fried is somewhat thick, it is best to cut several gashes in it, lengthwise and across, these being deeper and closer together the thicker the fish may be. The object of this measure is to facilitate the cooking, but the measure itself is quite unnecessary when dealing with small fish. In the case of flat-fish, partly detach the two underlying fillets on either side of the back-bone instead of gashing them.

All fish intended for frying (except _Blanchailles_ and Whitebait) should first be steeped in salted milk, then rolled in flour before being plunged into the hot fat. If they be “_panés à l’anglaise_,” however, as they generally are in England, the milk may be dispensed with, in which case, after they have been lightly coated with flour, they are completely dipped in an _anglaise_ (No. 174) and afterwards rolled in white bread-crumbs. They should then be patted with the blade of a knife so as to ensure the cohesion of the whole coating, and, finally, the latter should be criss-crossed with the back of a knife with the view of improving the appearance when fried.

Fried fish are served either on a napkin, on a drainer, or on special dish-papers. They are garnished with fried parsley and properly trimmed half-lemons.

778—THE COOKING OF FISH A LA MEUNIÈRE

This excellent mode of procedure is only suited to small fish or the slices of larger ones. Nevertheless, it may be resorted to for chicken-turbots, provided their weight do not exceed four lbs.

The operation consists in cooking the fish (or slices or fillets of fish) in the frying-pan with very hot butter, after having seasoned them and sprinkled them with flour. If the fish are very small, ordinary butter is used; if, on the other hand, they are large, the procedure demands clarified butter. When the fish is sufficiently coloured on one side, it is turned over for the completion of the operation. This done, it is transferred, by means of a spatula, to a hot dish, whereon, after having been salted, it is sent to the table.

It may be served as it is with a garnish of trimmed half-lemons.

Fish prepared in this way are termed “dorés” (_gilded_), “Soles dorés,” “Turbotins dorés,” &c., in order to distinguish them from those prepared à la Meunière.

If the fish is announced “à la Meunière,” a few drops of lemon should be sprinkled upon it; it should be seasoned with salt and pepper, and garnished with _concassed_, scalded parsley. At the last moment a piece of butter, in proportion to the size of the fish, is put in the frying-pan, and is heated until it begins to brown slightly. This is poured over the fish immediately, and the latter is sent to the table at once while still covered by the froth resulting from the contact of the butter with the parsley.

779—THE POACHING OF FISH

This method is best suited to sole, chicken-turbots, and brill, as well as to the fillets of various fish.

Having laid the fish to be poached in a baking-tray or a sautépan, either of which should have been previously buttered, season it moderately with salt and moisten with a little very white fish or mushroom _fumet_; very often the two latter are mixed. Cover the utensil, push it into a moderate oven, and baste from time to time, especially when a large fish is cooking. When the fish is done, drain it carefully, place it on a dish, and, as a rule, reduce the poaching-liquor and add it to the sauce. Poached fish are always served sauced; _i.e._, covered with the sauce which properly forms their accompaniment. More often than not they are garnished after the manner which will be described later.

I most emphatically urge: (1) the use of very little fish _fumet_ for the poaching, but this _fumet_ should be perfect and should, above all, not be cooked for longer than the required time; (2) that the fish be not covered with buttered paper as is often done, for nowadays a suitable paper is very rarely found. All papers found on the market are, owing to the chemical products used in their manufacture, liable to impart a more or less pungent smell to the objects they enclose, which in either degree would prove seriously prejudicial to the preparation.

These remarks not only apply to fish, but to all those objects with which paper was formerly used at some stage in their cooking process.

780—THE BRAISING OF FISH

This method is generally applied to whole or sliced salmon, to trout, and to chicken-turbot. Sometimes the fish treated in this way is larded on one side with strips of bacon-fat, truffles, gherkins, or carrots. The mode of procedure is exactly the same as that described under the “Braising of White Meats” (No. 248). Moisten these braisings in the proportion of one-half with white wine or red wine (according as to how the fish is to be served), and for the other half use a light fish _fumet_. Place the fish on the drainer of a fish-kettle just large enough to hold the former, and moisten in such wise that the cooking-liquor at the beginning of the operation does not cover more than three-quarters of the depth of the fish. Unless it be for a Lenten dish, the fish may be covered with slices of bacon while cooking. In any case, baste it often. Take care not to close the lid down too tightly, in order that the liquor may be reduced simultaneously with the cooking of the fish.

When the operation is almost completed, take the lid off the fish-kettle with the view of glazing the fish; then take the former off the fire. Now withdraw the drainer with the fish upon it, and lay it athwart the top of the fish-kettle, and let it drain; tilt the fish on to a dish, and cover the latter pending its despatch to the table. Strain the stock remaining in the fish-kettle through a strainer; let it stand for ten minutes, remove all the grease that has formed on its surface, and use it to complete the sauce as I directed above.

Braised fish are generally accompanied by a garnish, the constituents of which I shall give in the particular recipes relating to braising.

781—THE GRILLING OF FISH

This method is best suited to small fish, to medium-sized chicken-turbots, and to large-sectioned fish.

Unless they are very small, it is best to gash both sides of fish intended for grilling; the reasons given above for this measure likewise apply here.

All white and naturally dry fish should be rolled in flour and besprinkled with butter or very good oil before being placed on the grill to be exposed to the heat of the fire. The flour forms a crust around the fish, which keeps it from drying and gives it that golden colour quite peculiar to objects thus treated.

Salmon, trout, red mullet, mackerel, and herrings, the flesh whereof is fatty, need not be floured, but only besprinkled with melted butter.

Owing to the somewhat fragile texture of most fish, a special double gridiron is used, by means of which they may be turned without fear of damage. This gridiron is placed upon the ordinary grill. I have already given in Part I. of this work the radical principles of grilling (Nos. 257 and 260); to this, therefore, the reader is begged to refer.

Grilled fish are served on a very hot dish, without paper or a napkin; they are garnished with fresh parsley and grooved slices of lemon.

Butter à la Maître d’Hôtel, anchovy butter, devilled sauce, Roberts’ sauce Escoffier, and butter à la Ravigote constitute the best adjuncts to grilled fish.

782—THE COOKING OF FISH AU GRATIN

I described all the details of this method under Complete Gratin (No. 269), to which I must ask the reader to refer. This process is best suited to small fish, such as sole, whiting, red mullet, chicken-turbot, &c.

783—THE CRIMPING OF FISH

Crimped fish is quite an English speciality. This method of preparation is applied more particularly to salmon, fresh cod, haddock, and skate. The first three of these fish may be prepared whole or in slices, while skate is always cut into more or less large pieces after it has been skinned on both sides.

In order to crimp a whole fish, it should be taken as it leaves the water. Lay it on something flat, and make deep lateral gashes on both its sides from head to tail. Allow a space of about one and one-half inches to two inches between each gash. This done, put the fish to soak in very cold water for an hour or so. When the fish is to be cooked sliced, divide it up as soon as it is caught, and put the slices to soak in very cold water, as in the case of the whole fish.

But does this barbarous method, which stiffens and contracts the flesh of the fish, affect its quality so materially as connoisseurs would have us believe?

It is very difficult to say, and opinions on the matter are divided. This, however, is certain, that fish prepared in the way above described is greatly relished by many.

Whether whole or sliced, crimped fish is always boiled in salted water. Its cooking presents a real difficulty, in that it must be stopped at the precise moment when it is completed, any delay in this respect proving prejudicial to the quality of the dish.

Crimped fish is served like the boiled kind, and all the sauces suited to the latter likewise obtain with the former. Besides the selected sauce, send a sauceboat to the table containing some of the cooking-liquor of the fish.

SALMON (SAUMON)

Salmon caught on the Rhine, or Dutch salmon, is generally considered the most delicate that may be had, though, in my opinion, that obtained from certain English rivers, such, for instance, as the Severn, is by no means inferior to the foregoing. Here in England this excellent fish is held in the high esteem it deserves, and the quantity consumed in this country is considerable. It is served as plainly as possible, either boiled, cold or hot, grilled, or à la Meunière; but whatever be the method of preparation, it is always accompanied by cucumber salad.

The slices of salmon, however, thick or thin, large or small, take the name of “Darnes.”

784—BOILED SALMON

Boiled salmon, whether whole or sliced, should be cooked in _court-bouillon_ in accordance with directions given at the beginning of the chapter (No. 776). All fish sauces are suited to it, but more especially the following, viz.:—Hollandaise sauce, Mousseline sauce, Melted butter, Shrimp sauce, Nantua sauce, Cardinal sauce, &c.

_Crimped_ salmon admits of precisely the same sauces.

785—BROILED SALMON

Cut the salmon to be grilled in slices from one inch to one and one-half inches thick. Season with table-salt, sprinkle with melted butter or oil, and grill it for the first part on a rather brisk fire, taking care to moderate the latter towards the close of the operation. Allow about twenty-five minutes for the grilling of a slice of salmon one and one-half inches thick. Butter à la Maître d’Hôtel, anchovy butter, and devilled sauce Escoffier are the most usual adjuncts to grilled salmon.

786—SAUMON A LA MEUNIÈRE

Having cut the salmon into moderately thick slices, season these, dredge them slightly, and cook them in the frying-pan with very hot clarified butter.

It is important that the salmon be set and that the cooking be rapid.

Serve it in either of the two ways indicated above (No. 778).