54
COLD FISH.
mould (which may, or may not, have been lined with
aspic jelly, or chaufroix sauce), mixing with the fish
as you pack it, seasoned oysters, shelled shrimps, halved
prawns, shred lobster, or little heaps of caviar, according
to what you have at hand, being careful, however, always
to season these addenda lightly with lemon juice and
white pepper; leave the mould till perfectly set, turn it
out, and serve garnished to taste. These recipes, once
their method of preparation is grasped, are so easy to
prepare that any cook of average intelligence can vary
them indefinitely.
The following will give a good idea of some individual
methods of preparation: Hake Cream and Irish
Sauce (Crème de Merlus à l'Irlandaise).—Flake some cold
cooked hake, and mix it with horseradish cream. Line a
border mould with aspic jelly, and fill it with the flaked
fish. When set, turn it out, and pile up the centre with
Irish sauce. Horseradish Cream.—Mix well together
two tablespoonfuls each of double or thick cream and
of finely-grated horseradish, and half a pint of white
mayonnaise. Irish Sauce.—Mix together a gill each of
rich green mayonnaise, and of stiffly-whipped cream,
with a tablespoonful of white tarragon vinegar, a dust of
coralline pepper, and of caster sugar, and, if necessary, a
drop or two of green vegetable colouring. Now stir
into this sufficient young carrots, turnips, and cucumbers
(cut into dice, peas, or slices, and cooked separately) to
make up a gill measure, and pile up the centre of the
mould with these. Salmon or trout may be used for
this dish; but in this case set the fish in white mayonnaise
and fill up the centre with iced cucumber cream mixed
with dice of cooked lobster. For the Cucumber Cream,
cook a small cucumber in weak stock, milk, or water, till
tender enough to pulp through a fine sieve, add to this