Jane Grigson's Fish Book - Jane Grigson [251]
Drain on kitchen paper, and serve very hot with a béchamel* or velouté* sauce flavoured with anchovy and parsley. Or just serve them on their own with bread and butter.
FISH TERRINE (Terrine de poisson)
Making fish terrines – or pâtés, as they are often called – is one of the most entertaining exercises of French cookery. It gives you a chance to make something beautiful and delicious that is completely your own. Seeing the works of art in Fauchon’s in Paris first gave me the hint of what could be done: some terrines are simple layers of two or three mixtures, interspersed with an occasional layer of finely chopped herbs or mushrooms: others look like pink marble, studded with strips of sole or eel. At home it is wise to eschew the fussier effects of a professional caterer’s kitchen, but that is no reason not to enjoy the fun.
Loaf tins can be used if you intend to turn the terrine out before slicing it. I prefer an oblong earthenware dish and serve the terrine from it: the slices hang together far better this way. When making your choice of decorative centre ingredients, reflect on whether they are likely to shrink in cooking, and give up much liquid: if they are, it is wise to cook them lightly and cool them down before layering them into place.
A mousseline should be what its name implies: very fine and smooth. This used to be achieved by pounding and sieving, and more sieving. Today, we have blenders and processors, which account for the return of this kind of dish to our tables.
Serves 8–10
500 g (1 lb) whiting, sole, salmon, eel, or red mullet, etc. weighed after boning
2 large egg whites
300 ml (10 fl oz) whipping or double cream
salt, pepper, cayenne
lemon juice
250–375 g (8–12 oz) fillets of fish (sole or salmon) or scallops with shellfish (shrimps, prawns, crab) or mussels, weighed without shells or mixed smoked fish, cut in strips
chopped parsley, chives and tarragon
fish stock* or white wine if scallops are used
Cut the fish into pieces and drop them on to the whirling blades of a blender or processor and reduce them to a purée. This purée will now go easily through a sieve into a bowl set over ice. With an electric beater, mix in the egg whites then the cream, bit by bit, and salt, pepper and cayenne, until it becomes a bulky lightness. Taste and add extra seasoning and lemon juice.
For the filling, first season the fish fillets then cut them neatly, bearing in mind that they will be set longways through the terrine, so that each cut slice will contain a piece. Roll the fish pieces in the herbs. If you use scallops, which do shrink, slice the cleaned white discs across, horizontally, into two: cut off any black bits from the corals. Steam or poach them in a little fish stock or white wine. Cool and season them.
If the terrine is to be served cold, brush the dish or tin out with a tasteless oil. If it is to be turned out, cut a long strip of non-stick baking paper the narrow width of the base of the dish or tin, and run it down one end, along the base and up the other end. Brush it with oil. Put in another oiled strip, cut to fit widthways.
If the terrine is to be served hot or warm, line it in the same way and brush with butter instead of oil.
Beginning and ending with mousseline, layer in the mixtures. Cut a butter paper to fit on top, then cover with double foil. The preparation so far can be completed earlier in the day, and chilled until required, if you wish to serve the terrine hot or warm for dinner.
Set oven at moderate, gas 4, 180°C (350°F). Stand the terrine on a rack in a roasting tin, pour hot water round to come about halfway up the sides, bring to the boil on top of the stove. Transfer to the