Jane Grigson's Fish Book Part 9

Drain and dry the haddock. Brush the skin side with oil. Take out the heated dish from under the grill. Put the fish on it skin side down and brush the top of the fillets with melted b.u.t.ter. Put back under the grill. Keep an eye on it, and brush over with more b.u.t.ter after 2 minutes. After another 2 minutes, check to see if it is ready. When it is cooked, serve scattered discreetly with chopped onion green or chives and serve with the b.u.t.ter.

FINNAN HADDOCK.

Fine Finnan, or Findon, haddock is a most excellent fish. The cure was first developed in the village of Findon, about 9 km (6 miles) south of Aberdeen. I hope there is a statue there to the inventor (though I doubt it), since these days the name of the village is on the lips even of Americans 1,600 km (1,000 miles) away where, in New England at least, they may find haddock cured in the proper manner. The distinguished author of The Encylopaedia of Fish Cookery The Encylopaedia of Fish Cookery, A.J. McClane, attributes its first popularization to John Ross more than a century ago in Findon. (The firm of John Ross is still curing Finnan haddie in Aberdeen.) In fact, Finnan haddock was widely appreciated much earlier than that. Sir Walter Scott described a comparative tasting organized by some of 'our Edinburgh philosophers' who 'tried to produce their equal in vain. I was one of a party at a dinner where the philosophical haddocks were placed in compet.i.tion with the genuine Finnan fish. These were served round without distinguishing whence they came; but only one gentleman of twelve present espoused the cause of philosophy.' He claimed, and I am sure he may well be right, that 'a Finnan haddock has a relish of a very peculiar and delicate flavour, inimitable on any other coast than that of Aberdeenshire.'

Most of us have to put up with second best, which can still be very good. Incidentally you can tell a Scottish Finnan haddock from one cured in England by looking at the backbone. It should lie to the right of the split fish. In the London cut cure, developed for the London market and the south, it lies to the left.

Because of the small completeness of the proper Finnan haddie, opened out into a kite shape, it is easily distinguished from smoked cuts of cod. Take a look at the skin side too: there you will see the two dark fingerprint marks where St Peter grabbed the fish an honour which the haddock shares with the John Dory (p. 203). The beautiful golden silvery tones of Finnan haddock come from the cold-smoking alone, no dye is used. Or rather no dye should be used. If you suspect the colour of something labelled Finnan haddock, or its shape, make firm enquiries before you buy. The Finnan cure can produce one of the finest of all smoked fish, a great treat costing little, and it should not be traduced.

In France, on menus or in shops and in French cookery books the word haddock haddock indicates the smoked fish ( indicates the smoked fish (aiglefin is the word for fresh haddock). Go carefully before you order it in a restaurant. In my experience, it usually comes grilled with maitre d'hotel b.u.t.ter*. If the fish was plump and the cure mild, this works well. If not, your is the word for fresh haddock). Go carefully before you order it in a restaurant. In my experience, it usually comes grilled with maitre d'hotel b.u.t.ter*. If the fish was plump and the cure mild, this works well. If not, your haddock haddock will be dry in the mouth and very salty. will be dry in the mouth and very salty.

In Scotland, there are local variations of the split haddock Finnan cure. Eyemouth haddock and Glasgow Pales, for instance, are even more lightly brined and smoked.

CAISSES a LA FLORENCE.

Don't be put off by the strange-sounding combination of ingredients in this recipe from The Gentle Art of Cookery The Gentle Art of Cookery by Mrs C. F. Leyel and Miss Olga Hartley. It is particularly delicious if you take the trouble to use Finnan haddock or Arbroath smokies and I would suggest you set aside a little of the cooked fish when you are making other, more large-scale dishes in this section. About half a fish, for a trial run. by Mrs C. F. Leyel and Miss Olga Hartley. It is particularly delicious if you take the trouble to use Finnan haddock or Arbroath smokies and I would suggest you set aside a little of the cooked fish when you are making other, more large-scale dishes in this section. About half a fish, for a trial run.

You will also need some very large prunes, three or four per person. Soak and stone them if necessary.

Mash or process the boned and skinned fish with enough double cream to make a smooth, thick paste. Flavour it with cayenne. I doubt you will need more salt.

Stuff the prunes with this mixture.

Cut broad fingers of bread that will accommodate two or three prunes each, and fry them in b.u.t.ter. Any left-over haddock paste can be spread on top. Then divide the prunes between them. Put into a moderately hot oven to warm through. They do not need to be cooked, just warmed enough for pleasant eating.

CULLEN SKINK.

The origin of this soup is mysterious. In recent years, with the revival of interest in local dishes, it has become popular in a number of the better Scottish restaurants. The name gives it an air of ancient mystery. Yet all paths lead back only half a century to Marian McNeill's The Scots Kitchen The Scots Kitchen, which first came out in 1929.

Skink means shin of beef. It has also been used to indicate soup for at least 150 years. For even longer, the sh.o.r.es of Scotland east of Inverness where Cullen lies and down round to Aberdeen and Arbroath have been famous for cured haddock. Yet there is no mention of the soup in that earlier quarry of Scots recipes, The Cook and Housewife's Manual The Cook and Housewife's Manual by Meg Dods, of 1826. Or in the splendid compilation from recipes left by Lady Clark of Tillyp.r.o.nie that came out in 1909. by Meg Dods, of 1826. Or in the splendid compilation from recipes left by Lady Clark of Tillyp.r.o.nie that came out in 1909.

Perhaps we shall never know. Perhaps when Marian McNeill describes it as 'a cottage recipe from the sh.o.r.es of the Moray Firth', she is concealing some very special visit to a friend with a more than usual skill who, on her own or on his own arrived at this most successful soup, without any promptings from the past.

Serves 41 Finnan haddock, skinned1 onion, chopped600 ml (1 pt) milk, boiledabout 150 g (5 oz) mashed potato2 tablespoons b.u.t.tersalt, pepper Put the haddock into a pan and pour on enough boiling water to cover it. Bring back to the boil, add the onion and simmer until cooked. Remove the fish, extract the bones and put them back into the pan. Simmer for a further hour, strain into a clean pan and heat up. When boiling, pour in the hot milk, and add the haddock which you have flaked meanwhile. Simmer a few minutes, then stir in mashed potato until you arrive at the consistency you like best. Add the b.u.t.ter, with seasoning to taste.

VARIATION Betty Allen of Airds Hotel, Port Appin, and one of Scotland's best cooks, makes Cullen skink by sweating the onion in b.u.t.ter until golden, then adding 1 kg (2 lb) of Finnan haddock cut in 4 pieces and 600 ml (1 pt) water. This is simmered for 30 minutes. The fish is drained, the bones and skin discarded, and the soup finished with milk and potatoes as above. Cream and chives are the final additions. Betty Allen of Airds Hotel, Port Appin, and one of Scotland's best cooks, makes Cullen skink by sweating the onion in b.u.t.ter until golden, then adding 1 kg (2 lb) of Finnan haddock cut in 4 pieces and 600 ml (1 pt) water. This is simmered for 30 minutes. The fish is drained, the bones and skin discarded, and the soup finished with milk and potatoes as above. Cream and chives are the final additions.

FINNAN HADDOCK WITH EGG SAUCE.

It may seem odd to use a French recipe for one of our best-known national dishes. I think, though, that this one is worth giving for its careful instructions. It comes from Ali-Bab's Gastronomie Pratique Gastronomie Pratique, first published in 1912 with a grand, augmented edition in 1928. Nowadays we expect recipe writing to be informative as to quant.i.ty and method, but with writers of the past, cookery books were more a collection of reminders and new ideas. Minutely detailed recipes given in a French periodical of the nineties, Pot-au-feu Pot-au-feu by Madame Saint-Ange (her great work was published in 1927), and then Henri Babinski's by Madame Saint-Ange (her great work was published in 1927), and then Henri Babinski's Gastronomie Pratique Gastronomie Pratique (Ali-Bab was his pen name) must have been an unimaginable relief to the Dora Copperfields of those days just as Julia Child and Simone Beck are now to those whose taste in food is far beyond their skill as cooks. (Ali-Bab was his pen name) must have been an unimaginable relief to the Dora Copperfields of those days just as Julia Child and Simone Beck are now to those whose taste in food is far beyond their skill as cooks.

Another point about very precise recipe writing is that it gives a far more accurate idea about the tastes of the past. If only those fifteenth-century cookery ma.n.u.scripts gave precise quant.i.ties of the many spices that were used, we should be much better placed to discover whether our ancestors were practising a style of cookery that was refined and oriental in style, or closer to the dark blends of Christmas puddings and mincemeat.

Serves 63 Finnan haddock, about 1 kg (2 lb)milk and water for poaching1 kg (2 lb) firm potatoes, boiled, peeled and sliced100 g (3 oz) clarified b.u.t.terSAUCE100 g (3 oz) b.u.t.ter1 small carrot, sliced1 small onion, sliced1 small turnip, sliced4 tablespoons plain flour450 ml (15 fl oz) boiled milkbouquet garnisalt, pepper, nutmeg100 ml (3 fl oz) single cream2 hard-boiled eggs, choppeda little chopped parsleya little lemon juice Start with the sauce (it can be made in advance, up to the final additions). Melt half the b.u.t.ter and cook the sliced vegetables in it until they are lightly coloured but not brown. Stir in the flour, cook for 2 minutes, then moisten with the hot milk. Put in the bouquet with a little salt, pepper and nutmeg. Let it brew for an hour, reducing gently to a nicely pourable consistency. Strain it into a clean pan, without pressing the vegetables through (they are for flavouring rather than consistency).

About half an hour before the meal, poach the haddock in milk and water to cover. Drain and remove the bones. Some people may also like to discard the skin. Halve the haddock longways into six fillets and put them on to a hot dish. Keep them warm.

Fry the sliced potatoes in the clarified b.u.t.ter until they are golden crisp. Just before serving, put them round the haddock.

To finish the sauce, bring it to simmering point and beat in the remaining b.u.t.ter and the cream. Stir in the egg and parsley. Taste to see if the seasoning needs adjustment. Heighten the flavour with a little lemon juice, if you like. Pour the sauce into a hot sauceboat and serve it with the haddock and potatoes.

NOTE Don't waste the haddock poaching milk, haddock bones and the vegetable debris from the sauce. Simmer them all together and then sieve into a clean pan (the carrot adds an appetizing orange tone). This makes a lovely soup basis, which you can enrich with a couple of egg yolks beaten up in a little cream. Don't waste the haddock poaching milk, haddock bones and the vegetable debris from the sauce. Simmer them all together and then sieve into a clean pan (the carrot adds an appetizing orange tone). This makes a lovely soup basis, which you can enrich with a couple of egg yolks beaten up in a little cream.

KEDGEREE.

This favourite Victorian breakfast dish was a convenient a.s.semblage of yesterday's cold fish and yesterday's cold boiled rice. Unless the cook had a generous hand with the b.u.t.ter, I feel it was not always an inspiriting start to the day. The dish is based on Indian cookery, but the name is closer to the Hindi name, khichri khichri, than to the recipe for it. Khichri Khichri was and is a mixture of rice and lentils with various seasonings; it might be eaten with fish or meat, or it might be eaten on its own. By whose genius the final dish was evolved, I do not know; but one thing is sure, was and is a mixture of rice and lentils with various seasonings; it might be eaten with fish or meat, or it might be eaten on its own. By whose genius the final dish was evolved, I do not know; but one thing is sure, kedgeree kedgeree made with freshly cooked smoked haddock and freshly cooked rice is an excellent dish not for breakfast perhaps, but for lunch or supper. made with freshly cooked smoked haddock and freshly cooked rice is an excellent dish not for breakfast perhaps, but for lunch or supper.

My own favourite recipe has always been Elizabeth David's from Spices, Salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen Spices, Salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen. My husband preferred a neighbour's version that she had from somebody who had spent years in India before retiring to Cheltenham. Other people like additions of salmon and prawns. With the two basic recipes following, you have a good start for ingenuity. I would suggest that it is worth noting the way that the rice in recipe 1 is flavoured thoroughly with mace, very successful.

(1) Serves 46175 g (6 oz) long grain rice, preferably Basmati2 blades of mace90 g (3 oz) b.u.t.ter1 large Finnan haddock, poached, skinned and boned2 hard-boiled eggs, mashed or choppedsalt, pepper1 raw egg, beatenat least 6 tablespoons single cream23 tablespoons chopped parsley Rinse and boil the rice until tender with the 2 blades of mace; drain well. Heat two-thirds of the b.u.t.ter in a saute pan and flake the haddock into it. Stir for a few minutes. Mix in the rice and, when it is piping hot, the eggs. Check for seasoning. Off the heat, add the raw egg and cream, the rest of the b.u.t.ter and enough parsley to give a good speckled effect. Taste and add extra cream, it you like. Turn out on to a hot dish and serve on hot plates, as quickly as possible.

(2) Serves 31 Finnan haddock1 medium onion, sliced2 tablespoons olive oil1 scant teaspoon curry powder2 tablespoons sultanas125 g (4 oz) long grain rice, preferably Basmatisalt, pepper2 hard -boiled eggschopped parsleyb.u.t.terlemon wedges and mango chutney Pour boiling water over the haddock. Leave 2 or 3 minutes, then drain, skin and flake into pieces.

Cook the onion gently until pale yellow in the oil in a saute pan. Stir in the curry powder and cook for a minute, stirring. Add the sultanas and rice, plus 600 ml (1 pt) water. Bring to boiling point and cook steadily for 10 minutes. Put in the haddock and seasoning and complete the cooking of the rice, which should be tender. The water will have been absorbed: towards the end of cooking time, keep an eye on things and prevent sticking by pouring in a little more water, or freeing the bottom layer of rice with a fork.

Turn on to a hot serving dish. Arrange the hard-boiled eggs and parsley on top with little k.n.o.bs of b.u.t.ter here and there. Serve with lemon wedges and chutney.

OMELETTE ARNOLD BENNETT.

The Savoy Hotel in the Strand was the scene of Arnold Bennett's novel, Imperial Palace Imperial Palace. He describes its inner life and workings so well that you begin to feel part of its enveloping claustrophobic world. Outside nothing mattered, nothing held the two main characters except what related to the hotel's existence and triumph. The novel was published in 1930, the year before he died, and by then he had known the Savoy for many years, often stopping there for a late supper after the theatre. One of his favourite dishes was this omelette, which still appears regularly on the restaurant menu.

Serves 3250 g (8 oz) cooked, flaked Finnan haddock3 tablespoons Parmesan cheesesalt, pepper6 eggs, beatena little b.u.t.ter34 tablespoons double cream Switch on the grill at top heat, allowing time for it to warm up.

Mix the fish with the cheese and season it. Cook the eggs in b.u.t.ter in an omelette pan. When the underneath part is firm but the top quite liquid, spread the fish over it and pour on the cream. Place under the grill until lightly browned and bubbling. Slide on to a serving dish without attempting to fold the omelette over.

ARBROATH SMOKIES, ABERDEEN SMOKIES, PINWIDDIES.

Small haddock, quite little ones, are used for this particular cure. The fish are beheaded, gutted and washed. Then they are tied by the tail, two by two together, and brined. The last stage, after they have been hooked over rods to drip dry, is the smoking at a temperature sometimes as high as 85C (180F). This gives the skins a deep coppery-brown look and cooks the inside to a flaky opaque creaminess that is quite different from the close, semi-transparent firmness of cold-smoked fish.

The cure originated in Auchmithie on the eastern coast of Scotland among the fishing families that inhabit the rocky cliff. Then it spread to Arbroath, 5 km (3 miles) away, a busy and prosperous port. The fame of the local smokies spread gradually at the end of the nineteenth century, but they have never quite managed to become as popular as Finnan haddock. At good fishmongers in the south of Britain you may see smokies from time to time, and they are easily recognized since they are strung together in pairs. And I would say that their most distinguished appearance is at Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire, where Michael Harris has served Bell Inn smokies for many years. They are one of his specialities and much appreciated.

Using small white souffle dishes, one for each person, he puts in a layer of chopped, skinned and seeded tomato with seasoning, then a thick layer of flaked smokie fillets. The whole thing is covered with good thick Jersey cream and baked in a hot oven until lightly browned. Most delicious. You could add a fine grating of Parmesan or nicely dried out Cheddar.

Traditional Scottish ways are to steam or heat the smokies in an oven or under a grill, then to open them up, remove the backbone and pepper the inside well. Spread with b.u.t.ter, close the fish again and continue to heat gently. Be careful not to overdo the heat, since the fish are already cooked.

If you would like to buy smokies by post, ring or write to R. R. Spink & Sons, 13 High Street, Arbroath, Tayside, Scotland (024173246).

HAKE & SILVER HAKE Merluccius merluccius & Merluccius bilinearis [image]

In the years since Fish Cookery Fish Cookery first came out, I have once or twice been in trouble for not paying enough attention to hake. Protests came from Northern Ireland and from English readers living in Spain. My lack of judgement or rather experience, to be fair upset me even more when Alan Davidson declared that the first page of his first came out, I have once or twice been in trouble for not paying enough attention to hake. Protests came from Northern Ireland and from English readers living in Spain. My lack of judgement or rather experience, to be fair upset me even more when Alan Davidson declared that the first page of his North Atlantic Seafood North Atlantic Seafood, the magistral companion to Mediterranean Seafood Mediterranean Seafood, written in Vientiane where he was then amba.s.sador, was a recipe for hake. A friend there gave him this splendid dish for hake set in its own jelly and served with a cuc.u.mber cream sauce, which came not surprisingly from Portugal. I give a resume on p. 163 p. 163.

On further investigation, it seems that while the Irish may fish hake in abundance and eat it, for all I know, every Friday and fast day of their lives, they do not treat it well. There is a lack of culinary enthusiasm about Irish cooking that drove even an optimist like the writer Maura Laverty to despair. She had learned about fish in Spain, wonders at the scarcity and price of fish in Ireland 'In this country, each Friday brings such a realization of the financial disadvantages of being a Catholic that one has to think quickly of its spiritual advantages in order to remain in a state of grace.' Seems to me as if they suffer the disadvantages of Puritanism along with Catholicism. Even in the wry cheeriness of her Kind Cooking Kind Cooking, with its charming decorations by Louis le Brocquy and dreadful photographs that look as if they had been supplied by the PR departments of sundry food manufacturers, Maura Laverty reduces the huge possibility of the North Atlantic ocean to the single word Fish as in Fish curry, Fish baked in milk for most of the recipes of the small section concerned.

That was in 1950, so perhaps I am being unfair, and Maura Laverty's gifts were not Elizabeth David's (her Book of Mediterranean Food Book of Mediterranean Food came out in the same year, and began a quiet revolution in our kitchens). All the same, as far as hake is concerned, I turn firmly south, and in particular to Spain and Portugal. North Americans have a minor appreciation of two or three hake species. In Gloucester, they salt fresh hake for a few hours, then treat it in a similar manner to the New England salt cod dinner, i.e. it is poached and served with a number of vegetables including beetroot, came out in the same year, and began a quiet revolution in our kitchens). All the same, as far as hake is concerned, I turn firmly south, and in particular to Spain and Portugal. North Americans have a minor appreciation of two or three hake species. In Gloucester, they salt fresh hake for a few hours, then treat it in a similar manner to the New England salt cod dinner, i.e. it is poached and served with a number of vegetables including beetroot, p. 106 p. 106. A.J. McClane in his capacious Encyclopaedia of Fish Cookery Encyclopaedia of Fish Cookery, has this to say: 'During our winter months after a sudden temperature drop, it's not unusual for a coldkill of hake to occur along the beaches of New York and New Jersey. Thousands of "frostfish" are washed ash.o.r.e and collected by savants who dwell by the waterside. This bounty is usually harvested at night by walking the surf edge with a flashlight. Sea gulls quickly consume the frozen hake at dawn's first glow.'

Where I differ from Mr McClane is in his estimate of hake as having a 'coa.r.s.er, less bland-tasting flesh' than cod. Perhaps this applies to American species. I would say quite the contrary about hake in Europe. The reason for its popularity in the Iberian peninsula may well have something to do with its availability, but there are a number of people who would still choose hake over haddock and cod who live much further north.

TO CHOOSE AND PREPARE HAKE.

If you want to cook a whole fish, there is something to be said for choosing a hake rather than a more expensive sea ba.s.s or a farm salmon. Ask the fishmonger to sc.r.a.pe and clean the fish for you. Follow the Norway method with cod (p. 95), or if you are making a cold dish follow Alan Davidson's recipe, opposite.

Slices of hake are best from the head end of the fish. And they benefit greatly from a preliminary salting, as do cod, haddock and whiting steaks and fillets. This might be said of most fish, but the difference is particularly outstanding with the Gadidae Gadidae family, since the salt improves the texture of the fish, not just its flavour. I have done test cookings of hake to see the difference salting makes half the slices salted, half untouched until cooking time. The difference was spectacular. All you need do is range the slices in a dish, sprinkle a pinch of salt over each one and leave them for an hour at least. Longer will not do any harm at all: turn the slices, if you can, after an hour, for even distribution. As a general guide to quant.i.ty, allow a tablespoon to each 1 kg (2 lb) of fish. family, since the salt improves the texture of the fish, not just its flavour. I have done test cookings of hake to see the difference salting makes half the slices salted, half untouched until cooking time. The difference was spectacular. All you need do is range the slices in a dish, sprinkle a pinch of salt over each one and leave them for an hour at least. Longer will not do any harm at all: turn the slices, if you can, after an hour, for even distribution. As a general guide to quant.i.ty, allow a tablespoon to each 1 kg (2 lb) of fish.

Heads of hake, like cod and haddock head, are excellent for fish soup (p. 498).

HAKE IN ASPIC (Pescada en geleia) A fine dish of summer eating that Alan Davidson gave in his North Atlantic Seafood North Atlantic Seafood, in memoriam Peter Ratcliffe, C.B.E., the friend who supplied the recipe. If ever there was a man who belonged to Petrarch's enviable band of civilized people Nos autem cui mundus est patria velut piscibus aequor Nos autem cui mundus est patria velut piscibus aequor, people to whom the wide world is home as the sea is to fish it must be Alan Davidson. Perhaps I am wrong in detecting a faint note of homesickness for Europe in the picture he gives of the two of them in Vientiane, far from any sea, talking of the book Alan was planning, and the friend offering this recipe from his other home on the Minho river in Portugal. A recipe which gave the stimulus to start writing.

Serves 68fish stock*1 kg (2 lb) piece of hake, cut in thick 2-cm ( -inch) slices3 tablespoons chicken brothgelatine (see (see recipe recipe)2 tablespoons capers3 tablespoons lemon juiceSAUCE1 large cuc.u.mber, peeled, cut in thin strips300 ml (10 fl oz) double cream3 tablespoons lemon juice2 tablespoons finely chopped onion2 tablespoons finely chopped chivesplus: chopped parsley and thin cuc.u.mber slices to decorate chopped parsley and thin cuc.u.mber slices to decorate Bring the stock to boiling point, put in the hake and adjust heat to maintain a simmer. After 5 minutes, check the fish and remove the moment it is tender. Discard skin and bone, divide the pieces into a convenient size and put into an attractive dish that they will almost fill.

Strain the stock through a muslin: there should be nearly 1 litre (1 pt). Add the chicken stock and enough gelatine see see instructions on packet to set the quant.i.ty of liquid. Add the capers and lemon juice. Pour this over the fish, which should be covered, and the dish full almost to the top. Put it in the refrigerator to set, at least 4 hours, but leave 6 to be sure, or 8. When almost set, decorate with parsley and halved cuc.u.mber slices. instructions on packet to set the quant.i.ty of liquid. Add the capers and lemon juice. Pour this over the fish, which should be covered, and the dish full almost to the top. Put it in the refrigerator to set, at least 4 hours, but leave 6 to be sure, or 8. When almost set, decorate with parsley and halved cuc.u.mber slices.

For the sauce, dry the cuc.u.mber. Whip the cream and mix it with lemon juice to taste, then cuc.u.mber, onion and chives. Serve chilled with the aspic.

HAKE IN A GREEN SAUCE (Merluza en salsa verde) This is a charming and simple dish for spring and early summer especially. Serve it with asparagus or very young peas. Some Spanish hake recipes of this kind include slices of potato fried first in the oil, but I prefer small new potatoes, halved after cooking and turned in parsley, for their freshness.

Serves 6612 slices of hake, according to sizesalt, lemon juice, plain flourolive oil4 large garlic cloves, halved125 ml (4 fl oz) light stock or or water water6 tablespoons dry white wine dried nora or nora or other sweet pepper other sweet pepperplenty of chopped parsley (see (see recipe recipe) Season the hake with salt and lemon juice and leave for at least an hour. Before cooking, drain, dry and turn in flour.

In a large earthenware pot, heat enough olive oil to cover the base comfortably and cook the garlic until it is golden brown. Remove it and put in the hake, adding the stock or water, the wine, pepper and about 3 tablespoons of chopped parsley. If you like, you can crush the garlic to a paste and add it to the pot, otherwise discard it.

As the fish cooks turn it once shake the pot so that a sauce forms, pushing it to and fro so that it never loses contact with the heat but the liquid keeps moving.

Just before serving, add extra parsley to refresh the colour and put asparagus or peas round the dish, with potatoes.

HAKE ON THE PLATE (Merluza al plato) This is a Spanish way of cooking hake that is simple, quick and most delicious to eat. Indeed, it is a recipe that I came back to again and again, especially with fish of the cod family though it also works well with flounders and steaks of turbot and brill. The balance of crispness, smoothness, richness and the savoury hints of garlic and lemon seem to me exactly right.

Serves 6612 slices of hake, according to sizesalt, lemon juiceolive oil3 slices of bread, wholemeal, wheatmeal or whiteleaves of 1 small bunch of parsley3 large cloves garlic, quarteredmayonnaise made with light olive oil and lemon juice*

Salt the hake, allowing a teaspoon for the large steaks, less for the smaller ones. Sprinkle with a little lemon juice. Leave for an hour or longer.

Preheat the oven to gas 7, 220C (425F).

Choose a baking dish that will accommodate the fish in a single layer, fairly closely but not jammed together. Brush it out generously with oil. Cut the hardest crusts from the bread. Reduce parsley and garlic to a crumble in the processor, adding the bread gradually.

To cook, turn the steaks in the olive oil in the dish and range them tidily. Put the crumble mixture on top and drip a little oil over each one. Bake for about 15 minutes. Test the thickest slice and be prepared to allow a little longer if it is still pink. Quite often it is enough to shut the oven door, turn off the heat and leave for 5 minutes.

Serve with the mayonnaise or with two sauces as in the next recipe, and, if it is the season, small new potatoes.

HAKE WITH TWO SAUCES (Merluza con mahonesa y salsa de pimientos) A variation of the salsa verde salsa verde dish, but here the hake is cooked in one piece. I have adapted the recipe from one given in dish, but here the hake is cooked in one piece. I have adapted the recipe from one given in Spanish Cooking Spanish Cooking by Maite Manjon and Catherine O'Brien. It is a dish for high summer, when the asparagus accompaniment to hake is no longer possible. by Maite Manjon and Catherine O'Brien. It is a dish for high summer, when the asparagus accompaniment to hake is no longer possible.

Serves 61 kg (3 lb) piece of hake on the bone, cleanedsaltolive oil125 g (4 oz) chopped onion175 ml (6 fl oz) dry white wineleaves of 1 medium-sized bunch of parsley1 clove garlic, crushed, finely chopped2 tablespoons chopped shallot3 large red peppers, quartered, seeded, grilled, skinned375 ml (12 fl oz) mayonnaise made with light olive oil and lemon juice*cayenne pepper Rub the hake over with a little salt and leave for an hour. Choose a dish that will accommodate it nicely. Switch on the oven to gas 7, 220C (425F).

Put a thin layer of oil into the dish. Scatter the onion over it, pour on white wine and sprinkle with a light chopping of parsley leaves and the garlic. Put the fish on top and brush it over with oil. Bake until cooked, about 25 minutes, but start testing after 20.

Meanwhile, make the pepper sauce by simmering the shallot in a little oil under tender. Do not colour it. Strain in the juices from the fish when it is cooked (discard the onion etc. in the sieve) and boil down to concentrate the flavours. Puree the peppers in a liquidizer or processor or through a sieve, and flavour to taste with the shallot reduction.

Fillet the fish and put the two pieces side by side on a hot serving dish, skin side up. Spoon the mayonnaise over it, then streak with the pepper sauce, sprinkle on some cayenne and put back in the oven for 10 minutes to heat the sauces.

KOKOTZAS.

As I explained on p. 99 p. 99, these are the gullet muscles cut from beneath the lower jaw of a fish. They can be taken from any of the cod family, but in the Basque country, where they are a great treat, they come invariably from hake. From their form, they are often misleadingly called 'tongues' in French and English, which can be offputting. You may find it more helpful to think of them as blunted arrowheads. Small quant.i.ties for this recipe, as you will need a patient fishmonger, or a fishmonger in the Iberian peninsula, who will collect them for you. Salted and soaked kokotzas can be cooked in the same way.

For 2 or 3 people, season 250300 g (810 oz) kokotzas and set them aside. Choose a glazed flat earthenware dish that will accommodate them nicely in a single layer. Heat up 5 tablespoons of olive oil in it and fry a large quartered clove of garlic in it until golden brown, then scoop it out, and put in the kokotzas with a tablespoon of chopped parsley, a small hot dried chilli (or a fresh one) and 90 ml (3 fl oz) water or light stock. Raise the heat.

Have ready 5 more tablespoons of olive oil, heated up in a small pan and cooked for a few minutes on its own. As the kokotzas cook, add this oil gradually and keep the pot moving to and fro; the juices should merge into a creamy sauce. Taste from time to time and remove the chilli when the mixture is piquant enough for your taste.

MAIA HAKE (Pescada a Maiata) A Portuguese recipe for hake from Carol Wright's Portuguese Food Portuguese Food and one of the best ways I know of baking white fish fillets; whiting or John Dory or brill are every bit as suitable as hake. The idea of cooking mayonnaise in this way sounds bizarre, but try it. Remember that the Portuguese are the world's masters in the use of eggs and have confidence. and one of the best ways I know of baking white fish fillets; whiting or John Dory or brill are every bit as suitable as hake. The idea of cooking mayonnaise in this way sounds bizarre, but try it. Remember that the Portuguese are the world's masters in the use of eggs and have confidence.

Serves 64 large egg yolksup to 400 ml (14 fl oz) oil, part olive, part sunflower according to tastelemon juice or or wine vinegar wine vinegarsalt, pepper750 g (1 lb) hake filletsjuice of lemon750 g (1 lb) potatoes, scrubbedextra olive and sunflower oil1 small onion, finely chopped (optional) Make a mayonnaise in the usual way with the yolks, oil, lemon or vinegar and seasoning to taste.

Put the fillets skin side down in one layer in a baking dish, of a size to leave enough s.p.a.ce to take the potatoes eventually. Sprinkle them with seasoning and the juice of half a lemon. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to gas 4, 180C (350F). Then boil the potatoes until they are almost tender. Run them under the cold tap, peel them and cut them into dice. Fry them in the extra oils until they are a nice golden-brown: they should not be a deep colour and crisp, but melting and even-toned. Arrange them round and between the pieces of fish. Spoon the mayonnaise mainly over the fish but a little over the potatoes; the exposed potatoes can be sprinkled with onion.

Bake for 2030 minutes until the fish is just cooked and the mayonnaise lightly browned.

HALIBUT ATLANTIC, PACIFIC & CALIFORNIA Hippoglossus hippoglossus, H. stenolepis & Paralichthys californicus [image]

The halibut is, or at least can be, the most monstrous of the flounders. In the Atlantic, specimens have been caught measuring over 2 m (6 ft), nearly 3 m (9 ft) occasionally, in length and over 1 m (3 ft) wide potentially a most flattening experience for halibut fishermen. I have occasionally seen fish measuring about half this magnificent length: they seemed quite big enough at the time, though nothing by comparison.

The name 'halibut' seemed odd at first. What kind of name could it be? As usual, the big Oxford English Dictionary Oxford English Dictionary provided the answer. It signifies 'holy flounder', 'holy flatfish', a northern name, nothing Mediterranean about halibut; in other words, a fish much eaten on fast days, Fridays, Wednesdays, the eve of holy days. It first appeared on record in English, an item on a banquet menu, in the 1420s. A grand occasion, obviously held on a fast day, in honour of Richard Flemming, Bishop of Winchester. Other fish were salmon, eel, 'good pike and fat', lampreys, trout, sturgeon, porpoise, perch, whelks, sea bream, crab, gudgeon, haddock, gurnard, plaice, tails of cod and ling. Quite a shopping list for the local fishmonger. provided the answer. It signifies 'holy flounder', 'holy flatfish', a northern name, nothing Mediterranean about halibut; in other words, a fish much eaten on fast days, Fridays, Wednesdays, the eve of holy days. It first appeared on record in English, an item on a banquet menu, in the 1420s. A grand occasion, obviously held on a fast day, in honour of Richard Flemming, Bishop of Winchester. Other fish were salmon, eel, 'good pike and fat', lampreys, trout, sturgeon, porpoise, perch, whelks, sea bream, crab, gudgeon, haddock, gurnard, plaice, tails of cod and ling. Quite a shopping list for the local fishmonger.

The strange things is that after that glamorous occasion, it makes no appearance in cookery books, as far as I can discover, until the nineteenth century. No recipes, no comment. Perhaps it was all too commonly served up dry and overcooked. Everyone knew what to do with it, and did it without enthusiasm.

Halibut's one moment of glory, gastronomic glory, occurs on 25 April 1784, at Olney, when the poet William Cowper turned his skill To the Immortal Memory of the Halibut on which I dined this day To the Immortal Memory of the Halibut on which I dined this day. Mind you, Cowper was using the halibut to send up the dull stupidity he was 'as dry as the remainder biscuit after a voyage' of the notable Dr Blair, an Edinburgh academic who fancied himself on poetry. Blair was all for Ossian and his wild Scottish fake romanticism. He ticked Virgil off for not sticking to things that 'fill the nation with astonishment' e.g. thunderbolts splitting mountains, when writing about a storm in the Georgics Georgics, but descending to the obvious such as wind and rain. Cowper could not, he confessed, conceive 'that wind and rain can be improper in the description of a tempest'. And in returning thanks to the friend who had sent both Blair's lectures and the halibut, he took off into the Sublime, laughter barely restrained, a la Dr Blair, all preposterous grandeur: Where hast thou floated, in what seas pursuedThy pastime? When wast thou an egg new-sp.a.w.n'd,Lost in th' immensity of ocean's waste?Roar as they might, the overbearing windsThat rock'd the deep, thy cradle, thou wast safe And in thy minikin and embryo state,Attach'd to the firm leaf of some salt weed,Didst outlive tempests, such as wrung and rack'dThe joints of many a stout and gallant bark,And whelm'd them in the unexplor'd abyss.Indebted to no magnet and no chart,Nor under guidance of the polar fire,Thou wast a voyager on many coasts,Grazing at large in meadows submarine,Where flat Batavia just emerging peepsAbove the brine, where Caledonia's rocksBeat back the surge, and where Hibernia shootsHer wondrous causeway far into the main. Wherever thou hast fed, thou little thought'stAnd I not more, that I should feed on thee.Peace therefore, and good health, and much good fish,To him who sent thee! and success, as oftAs it descends into the billowy gulph,To the same drag that caught thee! Fare thee well!Thy lot thy brethren of the slimy finWould envy, could they know that thou wast doom'dTo feed a bard, and to be prais'd in verse.

Apart from that pantomime grandeur, to be recited with gestures I am sure, halibut lies low again until 1826. That year, The Cook and Housewife's Manual The Cook and Housewife's Manual was published under the aegis of Sir Walter Scott, written ostensibly by Meg Dods of the Cleik.u.m Club, but really by a friend, Mrs Johnstone. She remarks that the halibut sometimes usurps the turbot's name in Scotland shifty fishmongers? but that it is excellent in its way, even if not so rich or so well flavoured as the turbot. And she suggests currying it, a brilliant suggestion. She notes that curried fish has lately become popular and is good as long you make up your own blend of spices for each dish, avoiding commercial curry powders. It is rather daunting to think that, 160 years later, cookery writers are still saying the same thing. Are lazy practices eternal? was published under the aegis of Sir Walter Scott, written ostensibly by Meg Dods of the Cleik.u.m Club, but really by a friend, Mrs Johnstone. She remarks that the halibut sometimes usurps the turbot's name in Scotland shifty fishmongers? but that it is excellent in its way, even if not so rich or so well flavoured as the turbot. And she suggests currying it, a brilliant suggestion. She notes that curried fish has lately become popular and is good as long you make up your own blend of spices for each dish, avoiding commercial curry powders. It is rather daunting to think that, 160 years later, cookery writers are still saying the same thing. Are lazy practices eternal?

After Mrs Johnstone, there is another silence, a conspicuous silence from Soyer, Eliza Acton and Mrs Beeton on the subject of halibut. Perhaps the explanation is to be found in Kettner's Book of the Table Kettner's Book of the Table (1877). Aeneas Dallas, its author, has a lively turn of phrase: 'The most fitting appellation which has been given to the halibut is workhouse turbot. To do the creature justice, however, he makes a good curry.' From about this time, though, halibut makes more of a showing. In (1877). Aeneas Dallas, its author, has a lively turn of phrase: 'The most fitting appellation which has been given to the halibut is workhouse turbot. To do the creature justice, however, he makes a good curry.' From about this time, though, halibut makes more of a showing. In Ca.s.sell's Dictionary Ca.s.sell's Dictionary of the early 1880s, there are seven recipes 'This excellent fish is not prized as it ought to be, probably on account of its cheapness. The "t.i.t-bits" are the flackers over the fins, and the pickings about the head.' There is also the just comment that boiling is the least satisfactory mode of cooking halibut. 'It is much better fried, baked, or put into a pie.' of the early 1880s, there are seven recipes 'This excellent fish is not prized as it ought to be, probably on account of its cheapness. The "t.i.t-bits" are the flackers over the fins, and the pickings about the head.' There is also the just comment that boiling is the least satisfactory mode of cooking halibut. 'It is much better fried, baked, or put into a pie.'

It does occur to me that since halibut has a tendency to dryness and loses all its spirit if overcooked, the arrival of gas cookers and their controllable heat must have made it much easier to serve up properly done fish. I remember as a child that we had both a kitchen range and a new gas cooker, and this suddenly made finicky cooking much easier.

Our halibut in Britain comes mainly from the great sandy seabed between Norway and Scotland. There is also an immense fishery off the Pacific coast of Canada and the United States, both of the Pacific halibut and the more common California halibut. All three have a similar sweetly mild and close flesh, though the California halibut is not quite as good as the Pacific kind. Nowadays, of course, the fishing is organized in a starkly efficient manner. In the last century, though, the Red Indians would go out by the hundred in their canoes, 19 km (12 miles) offsh.o.r.e, and catch these immense creatures with their hooks of Douglas pine or yew, and lines of dried seaweed and deer sinew. When the fish bit on the trailing lines, they would pull them in and spear them, and drag them into the canoes. In a high sea, inflated seal skins, turned inside-out and painted, were fixed to each side of the canoes to keep them buoyant with their heavy loads.

Alan Davidson in his North Atlantic Seafood North Atlantic Seafood reproduces a small engraving from the end of the last century that shows a rather similar style. Two men in a dory that sits low on the water are 'hauling the trawl, gaffing and clubbing the halibut'. In the background is a similar dory and the halibut schooner to which they will take back their load. He also gives a recipe for an Icelandic halibut soup, thickened with a little flour and b.u.t.ter, sharpened with vinegar and lemon, and enlivened with prunes or rhubarb. Which reminds me to say that grilled halibut tastes splendid with b.u.t.ter flavoured with orange or lime juice. reproduces a small engraving from the end of the last century that shows a rather similar style. Two men in a dory that sits low on the water are 'hauling the trawl, gaffing and clubbing the halibut'. In the background is a similar dory and the halibut schooner to which they will take back their load. He also gives a recipe for an Icelandic halibut soup, thickened with a little flour and b.u.t.ter, sharpened with vinegar and lemon, and enlivened with prunes or rhubarb. Which reminds me to say that grilled halibut tastes splendid with b.u.t.ter flavoured with orange or lime juice.

HOW TO CHOOSE AND PREPARE HALIBUT.

Properly fresh halibut frozen is decidedly second best, though pa.s.sable has a look of bright juicy whiteness. Steaks vary enormously in size according to the halibut: the biggest I have seen weighed about 1 kg (2 lb) and was nearly 2 cm (1 inch) thick, a giant slice cut right across. If one ever had the chance of buying from one of the rare enormous halibut one reads about, I cannot quite imagine how large across it would be. In any case, recipes are easy enough to adapt, as it is the thickness of any piece of fish that dictates cooking time, not its weight or surface area.

In California, they sometimes sell halibut in long fillet strips known as flitches, cut parallel to the backbone. This seems to have been a Victorian practice in England since there were special flitching knives made for cutting halibut. They are featured in the 1884 supplement to Knight's Practical Dictionary of Mechanics Practical Dictionary of Mechanics, but not in the original publication of 187477. This fact, plus the sudden increase in halibut recipes in books of the 1880s, date the rise of its coming into favour. Perhaps the practice still continues somewhere.

Another Californian delicacy is halibut cheeks: I have never eaten them, but they are said to be good. Something I can believe, as the little nuggets known as k.n.o.bs and cheeks (often, in fact, the arrow-head-shaped muscle under the jaw) from other fish are always worth buying.

Something you may see is chicken halibut chicken meaning young weighing about 1 kg (2 lb). They are well worth eating and make an attractive dish for three or four people. Just trim off the fins and neaten the tail: the fishmonger will have cleaned them. Once or twice, I had smoked chicken halibut from the Hamburg shop in Brewer Street in London now there no longer. It was lightly smoked. All you needed to do was to strip off the skin and serve it in thin slices with horseradish cream, bread and b.u.t.ter.