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Clean, wash, and dry the fish. Dip it in flour, then in milk, and roll it in corn meal. Heat fat in a deep-fat fryer to 375°. Fry the fish according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 11). Drain on absorbent paper, season with salt and paprika, and serve with tartar sauce (pages 35–36) or mustard sauce (page 23).

BAKED CALIFORNIA KINGFISH WITH ANCHOVIES

Split 2 kingfish and stuff them with anchovy fillets, sliced onions, and chopped parsley. Fold them over, place on an oiled baking dish, dot with butter, and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Bake at 425° according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 8). Serve with lemon quarters.

BAKED CALIFORNIA KINGFISH ITALIAN

Split the fish and stuff them with finely chopped onion, parsley, and thyme. Place them on a well-oiled baking dish and brush with olive oil. Add 1/2 cup of white wine and bake at 425° according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 8), basting once or twice during the cooking. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve with tomato sauce (page 23) or lemon quarters.

California Pompano

This fish is not the true Florida pompano, but is a relative of the butterfish. It is found only on the California coast. It is always served whole and is a delicious and delicate morsel.

Prepare it according to the recipes for Florida pompano, pages 161–162.

California Whitefish

This is an entirely different fish from the freshwater whitefish of the Great Lakes. It is a good game fish and is sought by anglers as well as commercial fishermen. Fairly large, it comes to the market whole, filleted, and in steaks.

BROILED CALIFORNIA WHITEFISH

Broil steaks or fillets according to the directions on pages 9–10. Serve with butter flavored with tarragon or sauce Béarnaise (page 26).

BAKED CALIFORNIA WHITEFISH AU GRATIN

3 pounds whitefish fillets

Court bouillon (page 18)

2 cups sauce béchamel (page 23)

Tarragon

1/4 cup chopped parsley

Swiss or Cheddar cheese, grated

Cut the fillets into strips 1 inch wide. Poach them in court bouillon for 3 minutes, then remove them to an oval baking dish or casserole. Using the fish broth and some cream, make 2 cups sauce béchamel. Season it with tarragon and parsley and pour over the fish. Sprinkle with grated cheese and bake at 450° for 7 minutes. Serve with buttered noodles and chopped spinach seasoned with a little garlic.

POACHED WHITEFISH HOLLANDAISE

Poach 3 pounds of whitefish fillets or steaks in salted water for 5 or 6 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily. Serve with Hollandaise sauce (pages 25–26), boiled parsley potatoes, and green beans.

VARIATION

You may substitute shrimp (page 21), lobster (page 21), or poulette sauce (page 24) for the Hollandaise.

Cod

One of the most important food fishes in the world, cod comes mainly from the banks of Newfoundland, from New England waters, and from the coast of Norway. Close cousins of the Atlantic cod are caught in North Pacific waters and other relatives are taken in the colder regions of the southern hemisphere.

An average cod weighs about 10 pounds, but specimens weighing 50 pounds and more are sometimes caught. It is an active hunter with an excellent appetite, preying relentlessly on shellfish and on practically any fish that live on the bottom or close to it. Sharks and dogfish are among the few species that can cope successfully with a husky cod.

The annual haul of cod is over a billion pounds, and it is sold as flakes, shredded, pickled, green, or smoked, in salted slabs, whole, in steaks, and in frozen and fresh fillets. Cod is also the source of cod-liver oil, a fact of slight gastronomic interest.

I am so fond of salt cod that I sometimes forget that fresh cod can be prepared in many interesting ways, and that the so-called “scrod,” which is a young cod weighing 11/2 to 21/2 pounds, is fine eating.*

If you live near the source of supply, you can buy the whole fish, steaks, or center cuts. Most unsalted cod, however, comes to market as fresh or frozen fillets, and these