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1/2 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup chervil

1 tablespoon fresh or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon

Savory

Rosemary

Sage

Thyme

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

White wine

4 egg yolks, slightly beaten

11/2 tablespoons of lemon juice

Skin and clean the eels, and cut them into 3-inch pieces. Brown them in the butter; when they are just colored add the herbs. Mix the herbs well with the pieces of eel, add salt and pepper to taste, and cover with white wine. Cover the pan and poach just until the eel is tender. Remove the fish to a large earthenware or glass dish.

Stir the egg yolks into the broth, and continue stirring and cooking until lightly thickened. Be careful not to let the sauce boil. Taste for seasoning, add lemon juice, and pour over the eel. Chill and serve cold.

SMOKED EEL

Smoked eel is excellent as a cocktail snack, as a first course, or as part of a smoked fish platter at a buffet or supper party. You may buy it by the pound.

It is not necessary to skin it and cut it up for serving, but it does make a nicer appearance that way. Its oily flesh takes well to a sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper and a little squeeze of lemon juice.

CANNED EEL

There are several different varieties of canned eel in jelly, and they are all good for cold snacks and summer luncheons. Serve on a bed of greens with a garnish of thinly sliced onions. Use a sauce rémoulade (page 35) or green mayonnaise (page 34).

Fluke

This is a fish that has become popular with summer fish enthusiasts along the lower Northeastern Coast. It is also known as the summer flounder and is in fact a member of the flounder family. It has much more spirit, however, than its close relatives, and this accounts for its appeal as a game fish.

In some local areas in southern New England, especially on the island of Nantucket, fluke is called plaice, although it bears no relationship to the European fish of that name. It is found in the markets only during the summer months, when it comes close to shore to feed.

Because of its somewhat poor taste and texture, it is not held in esteem by fish enthusiasts.

Although fluke can grow to 25 pounds, the average size caught is 1 to 5 pounds. It is a delicious food fish with white meat of an unusually delicate texture. Prepare it in any of the ways suggested for sole or flounder (pages 234–261).

Groupers

The many varieties of groupers are all members of that large family of fish known as sea bass, which is so common all through the Atlantic coastal area, and in fact, common all over the world. The red grouper is probably the best known, and it is important commercially from Virginia on south. The Nassau grouper is found around Florida, while the yellowfish and black grouper and the gag are mainly Gulf fish.

An interesting characteristic of the grouper family is the ability of its members to conceal themselves by taking on the color of their surroundings. In coral or seaweed they camouflage themselves with stripes. When they rise to the surface of the sea, they turn pale, almost colorless, blending with the water. Apparently this ability is something they can flash on and off at will, for they can turn on their colored bands when they see a fish of a different species approaching.

Another interesting fact about groupers is that they seem to be very friendly. One scientist who made underwater investigations some years ago found that red groupers he had been feeding would let him handle them and would even poke around in his pockets in search of tidbits.

Groupers can weigh as much as 40 pounds, but the market fish generally weigh from 5 to 15 pounds. They are sold whole, in steaks or fillets.

Groupers can be cooked in any of the ways suggested for sea bass or red snapper (pages 214–216, 167–171).

Grunion

These amusing fish are gathered on shore instead of being hooked or netted in the sea. During their spawning season, grunions come up on the beach and dig holes in the wet sand, where they deposit their eggs. Their floundering antics have always