and in these openings insert small round thin scollops of red tongue,
black truffle, or green gherkins. Next, place these in a sautapan,
with 4 oz. of clarified butter, season with a little salt, and squeeze the
juice of a lemon over them; cover with thin layers of fat bacon, or a
round of paper buttered, and set them aside in the larder till wanted.
While this is going on, make an extract, or essence, with the bones
and trimmings of the whitings, as follows: Put the bones, &c., into
a stewpan, with two shallots, one bay-leaf and a sprig of thyme,
eight pepper-corns, a blade of mace, and a handful of parsley; moisten
with two glasses of white wine (French is preferable) and a pint of
white broth. Set this to boil gently on the stove-fire for half an hour,
then strain it through a sieve; boil it down nearly to a glaze, and
mix it with enough allemande sauce or béchamel for the entree, and
pass it through a tammy into a stewpan, containing the quenelles of
whiting before alluded to, with the addition of a dozen button
mushrooms, double that quantity of crayfish-tails and claws, trimmed,
and ½ oz. of truffles, cut into thick slices; toss the whole together
gently over the fire until quite hot, then garnish the tourte with this
ragout, and with the fillets before mentioned (previously set in the
oven for ten minutes to simmer, and afterwards drained on a
napkin); make a border round the inner edge of the vol au vent, or
tourte; place a group of crayfish-tails, previously warmed in a small
stewpan, with a bit of glaze, and a morsel of lobster-coral butter
(to colour them), and crown the whole with a large crayfish, trimmed,
having one sprig of each sauce stuck into its tail; sauce neatly with
the remainder of the sauce, and serve quickly.