60
COLD FISH.
seasoning either with oil, tarragon vinegar, pepper and
salt, and pile up on these the trimmings of the sole,
and some lobster, with a few fillets of washed and boned
anchovy tossed in some mayonnaise, strew these with
minced olives, and arrange round the mould alternately
with little heaps of chopped aspic.
The sole fillets should when cooked be pressed between
two plates till quite cold.
Carp Mould (Pain de Carpe à l'Alençon).—Braise
a medium-sized carp in some good strong fish stock,
or rich court-bouillon, on a bed of sliced soup vegeta-
bles, till perfectly cooked, then remove all skin and
bones, and pound the flesh with two anchovies boned
and filleted, and two or three truffles if at hand (these
are not indispensable), moistening this as you pound
it with a gill or so of velouté sauce, to which you have
added the liquor from the fish. Rub this all through
a sieve, add to it one and a half gills of savoury or aspic
(fish) jelly as you please, and sufficient good tarragon
vinegar to flavour it to taste. Meantime, prepare a
macédoine of pickled gherkins and button mushrooms,
crayfish tails (prawns or shrimps), cut into dice, and some
bearded and blanched oysters, mixing all these ingredients
well together, and tossing them in some mayonnaise
aspic. Line a mould with good clear jelly, and when
this is fairly set put in a quarter of the fish purée,
previously stirred over ice till perfectly smooth, smooth
it over, and cover with a layer of the macédoine, repeat-
ing these two layers till the mould is full, and put it away
to set. When wanted dip the mould in hot water, turn
out the mould, and serve garnished with chopped jelly
and little biscuit-crisp croûtons thickly spread with green,
Gascony, or anchovy butter to taste. This dish, which
is excellent, is very good if made with bream, hake, &c.