Jane Grigson's Fish Book - Jane Grigson [219]
Never be fobbed off with tired whiting. After all the fresh is easy enough to spot; it has a bright look. Faded whiting blurs to a flop as truthfully as any rose. Buy whiting whole if you can. Their plump bellies give an indication of their freshness, as well as the brightness of their eye. If you do this, you can clean them yourself and retain the livers which you incorporate into the sauce sometimes (see the Le Duc recipe, below) or cook briefly when you cook the fish. Scrape off the few scales and rinse, then dry before cooking them.
To fillet the fish, chop off the heads and remove the guts. With a small sharp knife, slit down the back, scrape one side from the bone and lay it flat, skin side down. Then, holding the bone, scrape the other side free, until you have a neat triangular shape lying in front of you, skin side down. Season and set aside for 20 or 30 minutes.
BASIC FISH TERRINE
One of the pleasures of Paris is analysing the fish terrines in the windows of Fauchon’s, in the Place Madeleine. One in particular appeals to me, with its bands of pink and white, touches of yellow and streaks of grey. I did once buy a slice and was, inevitably, disappointed even though the central fish was eel. The trouble is that for slicing neatly, the texture has to be too solid for good eating – like those party jellies of one’s youth that failed to melt in the mouth. I suppose you might describe a fish terrine as a type of blancmange: for success, they need delicate handling and the best ingredients.
The basis of a fish terrine is a mousseline, for which whiting is an ideal choice. As long as you have a processor, it is simple to make. If you have no machinery, turn to another recipe altogether. Unless, of course, you want to give yourself a history lesson, Squeers style, and discover why such things disappeared from our menus when skivvies abandoned our kitchens.
If you decide to cook the mousseline mixture in small moulds to be served individually, the contrasting interest will lie in the sauce (or sauces, since the plate might be partly covered with a red pepper purée, and partly with a yellow pepper purée, before the moulds are turned out). If you decide to make the loaf-shaped terrine that is cut across into slices, contrast comes from bits and pieces of special virtue that are layered with the mousseline, as well as from the sauce. These could range from fillets of a contrasting fish to oysters, mussels and shrimps, which should all be lightly cooked and free of their shells; herbs and lightly cooked, bright vegetables and mushrooms should also be considered.
Since wateriness is a danger, never use a raw item that loses liquid as it cooks, oysters and mussels for instance, tomato, mushrooms especially girolles. Cook them lightly first, and cool them. Also reflect that since the oven heat will be kept low, any central treasures that you put in to vary the terrine must be agreeably edible both in themselves and in contrast with the smooth mousseline. A sliver of raw pepper or a teaspoon of raw peas spells disaster.
Terrines are luxuries, and by definition expensive. However cheap the fish you use – say whiting and Finnan haddock – you will have quite a bill when you add on the cream required, and the sauce. You can tackle the cost of reducing the ingredients and cooking the mixture in small individual pots. Or you can do something quite different in method but similar in effect, by making a cream instead, or what is sometimes called – trust the English – a fish custard.
Mousseline
Classic fish are whiting, pike and sole, see pp. 276 and 391. Scallops are the current choice. Salmon, eel, halibut all do well, so do turbot and sea bream and John Dory.
500 g (l lb) trimmed, skinned, fillets of the chosen fish or trimmed scallops, white part only
2 egg whites
250 ml (8 fl oz) crème fraîche, double or whipping cream
salt, pepper, cayenne
lemon juice, herbs, etc. to taste
Chill the first three ingredients, plus the processor bowl and blade, for an hour. Turn out a couple of trays of