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SHAD ROE EN PAPILLOTTE

Partially cook 6 rashers of bacon. Cut 6 pieces of cooking parchment in heart shapes — about 9 by 11 inches — and butter them. Place a piece of shad roe on one side of each piece of parchment. Brush well with softened butter; season to taste with salt, pepper, and chopped parsley. Top with a rasher of bacon. Fold the parchment over this and crimp the edges together, making an airtight package. Bake on a buttered pan at 450° according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 8), adding 5 minutes for the paper.

CANNED SHAD ROE

This is excellent when sautéed quickly in butter. It is also delicious when made into a quiche or sieved first and then baked into a soufflé.

Sheepshead

The sheepshead, a relative of the porgy, abounds in Florida, Gulf, and California waters. It is no relative of the freshwater sheepshead (page 333), which belongs to the croaker family.

The smaller sheepshead are the ones usually found in Southern markets. Occasionally a 20-to-25-pounder is available. Sheepshead are sold either whole or filleted.

BROILED SHEEPSHEAD

Either the whole sheepshead or the fillets may be broiled. Follow directions for broiling on pages 9–10. Serve with lemon, lemon butter, or parsley butter (pages 31, 33).

SAUTÉED SHEEPSHEAD

For sautéing the whole fish or the fillets, see the directions for sauté meunière (page 10) or for sauté à l’Anglaise (page 142). Serve with lemon butter (page 31), lemon quarters, or sauce rémoulade (page 35).

BAKED SHEEPSHEAD

Clean and split the fish. Dot with butter, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and sprinkle with parsley. Place on an oiled baking dish or pan and bake at 425° according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 8).

BAKED STUFFED WHOLE SHEEPSHEAD OR FILLETS

Prepare your favorite fish stuffing (pages 39–41). Clean a whole fish, stuff it, and tie it securely. If you are using fillets, spread them with the stuffing, roll, and tie securely. Dot with butter, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake at 425° according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 8). Baste frequently with the juices in the pan.

Skate

Abundant on both coasts, the skate, or raie as it is called in France, is regarded by most people as something odd and uneatable that floats in on the tide. Children are fascinated by them and dogs like to roll on top of them, apparently preferring them to any other type of dead fish. The fact is that, despite its strange look, the skate is good eating. Especially on the East Coast, it is beginning to be more popular.

The wings are the part generally used for cooking. The flesh is very gelatinous and the flavor is delicate and distinctive. I have eaten it since I was a child, in both English and French versions. If you have never tried it, you owe it to yourself to make the experiment.

In eating skate, you do not cut through the meat as you do with other fish. You scrape along the wings with your knife and fork. This gives you the full benefit of the long strips of delicious flesh.

SKATE BEURRE NOIR

This is the best-known fashion of serving skate. If you buy large wings, cut them into serving-sized pieces. If you buy the small ones, cook them whole.

Prepare a court bouillon of vinegar, salt, and water. Poach the wings in the bouillon according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 12) and drain them thoroughly. Place them in a serving dish. Melt and brown butter; add a little wine vinegar and plenty of capers. Pour this over the fish.

SKATE WITH TOMATO SAUCE

Prepare skate wings as above. Serve with sautéed onions and a rich tomato sauce (page 23).

COLD SKATE RÉMOULADE

Prepare skate wings in court bouillon, using white wine (pages 19–20). Remove to a deep platter. Let the bouillon cook down to half its volume and pour it over the fish. Cool and chill in the refrigerator. Serve with sauce vinaigrette (page 36) or rémoulade (page 35).

VARIATION

The meat of the skate may be scraped from the bones and used in a salad