James Beard's New Fish Cookery - James Beard [164]
MINORCA GOPHER STEW
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings in her book Cross Creek Cookery has a mouthwatering recipe for what she calls gopher (turtle) stew:
“Wash the decapitated gopher. Cut the shell away from the meat. Scald the feet until the skin and claws can be removed. Discard entrails. Cut meat in two-inch pieces. Simmer until thoroughly tender in two cups water to every cup of meat, adding one half teaspoon salt and a dash of pepper to every cup of meat.
“In a deep kettle or Dutch oven, heat fat, preferably olive oil, allow one quarter cup of fat to every cup of meat. Brown in fat one large chopped onion to every cup of meat, one small can of tomatoes and one green pepper, finely cut. Simmer gently while gopher is cooking. More tomatoes may be added if mixture cooks down too much. When gopher is tender, turn the sauce into the gopher pot. There should be enough liquid to make plenty of gravy. Thicken by mashing the yolks of hard-boiled eggs, two eggs to every cup of meat, and stirring into the stew. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Stir in three tablespoons dry sherry to every cup of meat. Serve at once, preferably directly from pot.
“Thin corn sticks make a good bread to serve with the stew, and spring onions, ripe olives and a green salad usually accompany it.”
TURTLE EGGS
Turtle eggs are a rare delicacy and hard to get, but if you ever happen to come on some, here is what Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings has to say about them:
“They are boiled in heavily salted water for twenty minutes. The white never solidifies, but the hard-boiled yolk is rich, rather grainy, with a fine and distinct flavor. They are eaten ‘out of hand,’ from the shell, breaking off the top of the shell, dotting the egg with salt and pepper and butter, and popping the contents of the shell directly into the mouth. A dozen turtle eggs, with plain bread and butter and a glass of ale, make all I ask of a light luncheon or supper.”
*See page 309. (back to text)
* Note: Add the eggshells and egg whites, and over high heat beat constantly with a wire whisk until the aspic reaches a boil. Then turn off the heat and let the aspic settle for approximately 10 minutes. Strain, very carefully, through a sieve lined with a linen towel, being sure not to disturb the liquid as it drips through the towel (this can cause the aspic to cloud). (back to text)
* Young haddock, pollock, and other similar fish are also often called scrod. (back to text)
*Some people claim there is no turbot in American waters, but it is sometimes caught off the coast of Oregon. (back to text)
*This dish is often made with other fish, such as cod, haddock, or finnan haddie. (back to text)
*Saltpeter is no longer available commercially, but may be obtained on prescription from your local pharmacist. It is not essential to this recipe, but if obtainable should be used. (back to text)
*There are long fish boilers which are especially adapted to this form of cookery. If you do much fish cooking they are a fine addition to your kitchen. (back to text)
* From goujon, a tiny freshwater fish popular in France. (back to text)
*In California, however, striped bass is a game fish and is not available commercially. (back to text)
* Since the original writing of this book, caviar has become increasingly costly and, regrettably, has thus moved further and further from our purses. (back to text)
* Mussels, like clams, sometimes need no additional salt. (back to text)
* Since some oysters need no additional salt in preparation, I have not included salt in many of the recipes that follow. I feel that the individual should season to suit his own particular taste. (back to text)
“Just about all the information you’ll ever need to know about choosing and cooking fish is in this cookbook.”
—Houston Post
From sautéed sea squab to baked bluefish, James Beard, the late dean of American cuisine, offers