James Beard's New Fish Cookery - James Beard [117]
Serve with a tartar sauce (pages 35–36), sauce gribiche (pages 36–37), or with lemon (page 31) or parsley butter (page 33).
BAKED WHITEFISH
Clean a 4- or 5-pound whitefish. Rub with oil, butter, or fat and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Place it in a well-oiled baking dish and bake at 450° according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 8). Baste frequently during the cooking. Serve with parsley potatoes and grilled tomatoes.
BAKED STUFFED WHITEFISH
Prepare the fish for stuffing. Leave the head and tail on. Prepare a stuffing (pages 39–41), stuff the fish, and sew it up. Place it on a well-oiled baking dish, strip it with bacon or dot it with butter, and sprinkle with salt. Bake at 450° according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 8). Transfer the fish to a hot platter with the aid of two spatulas.
Serve with lemon wedges, lemon butter (page 31), or anchovy butter (page 32). Accompany the stuffed fish with boiled new potatoes heavily sprinkled with parsley and tiny green peas cooked with a little onion.
VARIATIONS
1. Make a fish forecmeat (page 41) to use as stuffing. Sew up the whitefish. Chop 8 to 10 shallots or small green onions and place them in the bottom of a well-oiled baking dish. Top these with the fish, dot it with butter, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and pour 11/2 cups of white wine over all. Bake as above, basting frequently. Remove the fish to a hot platter.
Force the pan juices through a sieve or mix in a blender. Add 1/2 cup heavy cream mixed with 2 egg yolks. Stir over medium heat until the mixture thickens slightly, but do not let it boil. Taste for seasoning and pour over the fish. Serve with rice and a spinach puree.
2. Sauté slices of Spanish onion in butter until soft but not colored. Stuff the whitefish with slices of the onion alternated with sliced, peeled tomato, thinly sliced mushrooms, and chopped parsley. Salt and pepper to taste and dot with butter. Sew up the fish and place it on a well-oiled baking dish. Brush it with oil, sprinkle it with salt and pepper, and bake as above. Serve with a tomato sauce and buttered noodles or macaroni.
HELEN EVANS BROWN’S CHINESE STEAMED WHITEFISH
This is cooked in the typical Chinese manner. The fish is stuffed and arranged on the dish in which it is to be served. Then the dish is set on a rack over hot water, a lid is clamped on tightly, and the fish steams until it is done. If you want the fish to be really handsome, arrange it in an S-shape with the split, stuffed side underneath. You can secure it with the aid of a long skewer. Here is the recipe:
1 cup ground Virginia ham
3/4 cup sherry
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons grated ginger
6 minced green onions
1/2 cup chopped water chestnuts
3- or 4-pound whitefish
1/4 cup of water
Prepare a stuffing with the ham, 1/4 cup of the sherry, 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce, the ginger, onions, and water chestnuts. Stuff the fish and sew it, or secure it with skewers or toothpicks. Arrange it on the serving dish and place the dish on a rack in a large steamer. Pour over the fish the remaining 1/4 cup soy sauce and 1/2 cup sherry, and the water. Pour hot water in the bottom of the steamer, being careful not to get any in the serving dish. Cover the steamer tightly and steam until the fish is tender — about 25 minutes.
Serve with rice.
POACHED WHITEFISH
This delicate fish takes very well to poaching. Be careful not to overcook it, and remove it remove it from the boiler very gently. The old method of wrapping fish in cheesecloth is excellent; it’s a good idea to leave long ends of the cloth that you can use as handles when you lift the fish. Of course, a real fish boiler with a rack solves the problem.
Poach the fish in a court bouillon (page 18) or in a mixture of milk and water — perfect with this type of fish. Follow the Canadian cooking theory for poaching on page 12.
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