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By Root 1021 0

but may still need beating. As far as the British Isles are concerned, you are unlikely to find them north of the Channel Islands.

There are two main ways of cooking them. The American system is to marinade the slices in oil and white wine, flavoured with chopped herbs and shallot. After a while they are removed and dried, and then cooked in butter very briefly like a steak. They are also chopped up and used in chowders and soups. The Breton and Channel Island system is to turn them into a stew.

ORMEAUX AU MUSCADET

Serves 6

1 kg (2 lb) shelled ormers

250 g (8 oz) unsalted butter

salt, pepper

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

plenty of parsley

3 cloves

bouquet garni

generous 450 ml (14 fl oz) Muscadet

beurre manié*

Having beaten the ormers energetically with a mallet, arrange them in layers in a flameproof casserole, dotting each layer with butter, seasoning, chopped garlic, onion and parsley. Add the cloves, bouquet garni and wine. Bring to the boil and simmer steadily for 30–45 minutes until the ormers are tender. Strain off the liquid; stir in the beurre manié in little pieces until the sauce thickens – keep it over a low heat so that it does not boil. Pour the sauce over the ormers, sprinkle on a little more parsley, and serve.

CARPET-SHELLS Venerupis decussata

Although two kinds of carpet-shell, the Cross-cut (Tapes decussata) and Pullet (Tapes pullastra), are common in Great Britain, I have never seen them on sale in a fishmonger’s or on the menu of a restaurant. To eat them you will have to go to Brittany, where palourdes farcies grillées has made the name of several restaurants, or to Paris – or you will have to go and dig them up yourself. Equip the family with rakes and spoons – the advice of one French writer – and find a large extent of muddy, gravelly shore. Consult Collins’ Guide to the Sea Shore for a description and illustration.

Open them like oysters or clams. The best recipe, in Breton style, is on p. 256, under Huîtres farcies grillées.

CATFISH, WOLF-FISH OR ROCK TURBOT Anarhichas lupus

This fierce creature, with its blunted head like a fold-eared cat, makes good eating. The long single-boned body provides firm flesh which, like tuna and angler-fish, can be treated like veal. The first time we bought it – in France – we were advised to pierce it with slivers of garlic, and either bake it in tomato sauce (see Lotte à l’américaine, p. 229), or fry it in clarified butter*. It benefits from a little sharpness, such as vinegar or lemon, in the final seasoning. You could also try it au poivre as in the turbot recipe, p. 436.

Owing to its fierce aspect, catfish is sold without the head and skin. In Britain the pinkish white fillets appear under the name of rock turbot – or rock salmon, which is more usually applied to dogfish. I dislike such names: they make comparisons which lead inevitably to the lesser fish’s disadvantage. The French call it sea wolf. Are we too squeamish for this – or for the straightforward catfish or wolf-fish?

CATFISH WITH FENNEL AND BEURRE NOISETTE

Serves 6

3 large heads Florentine fennel, sliced

125 g (4 oz) butter

2 large onions, chopped

salt, pepper

3 cloves garlic

1–1½ kg (2–3 lb) tailpiece or fillet catfish

seasoned flour

60 g (2 oz) clarified butter*

wine vinegar

parsley

Cook the fennel in boiling, salted water for 5 minutes, drain. Melt 60 g (2 oz) butter; stew the onion and fennel in it for about 20 minutes, until cooked but not brown. Season. Cut the garlic into slivers and push into incisions made in the fish with a sharp pointed knife. Turn the fish in seasoned flour, and fry gently in the clarified butter. Put the vegetables on a dish, with the catfish on top. Clean the fish pan and melt the last 60 g (2 oz) butter in it. When golden brown, pour it over the fish. Swill out the pan with a good dash of vinegar and pour on top of the butter. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.

CONGER EEL Conger conger

When it is my turn