The accomplisht cook Part 57

_Otherways._

Dissolve three or four anchoves, with a little grated bread and nutmeg, and give it a warm in some of the broth the carp was boiled in, beat it up thick with some b.u.t.ter, and a clove of garlick, or pour it on the carp.

Or make sauce with beaten b.u.t.ter, grape-verjuyce, white wine, slic't lemon, juyce of oranges, juyce of sorrel, or white-wine vinegar.

_Or thus._

Take white or claret wine, put it in a pipkin with some pared or sliced ginger, large mace, dates quartered, a pint of great oysters with the liquor, a little vinegar and salt, boil these a quarter of an hour, then mince a handful of parsley, and some sweet herbs, boil it as much longer till half be consumed, then beat up the sauce with half a pound of b.u.t.ter and a slic't lemon, and pour it on the carp.

Sometimes for the foresaid carp use grapes, barberries, gooseberries, and horse-raddish, _&c._

_To make a Bisque of Carps._

Take twelve handsome male carps, and one larger than the rest, take out all the milts, and flea the twelve small carps, cut off their heads, take out their tongues, and take the fish from the bones, then take twelve large oysters and three or four yolks of hard eggs minc'd together, season it with cloves, mace, and salt, make thereof a stiff sea.r.s.e, add thereto the yolks of four or five eggs to bind, and fashion it into b.a.l.l.s or rolls as you please, lay them into a deep dish or earthen pan, and put thereto twenty or thirty great oysters, two or three anchoves, the milts & tongues of the twelve carps, half a pound of fresh b.u.t.ter, the liquor of the oysters, the juyce of a lemon or two, a little white wine, some of the corbolion wherein the great carp is boil'd, & a whole onion, so set them a stewing on a soft fire, and make a soop therewith. For the great carp you must scald, draw him, and lay him for half an hour with other carps heads in a deep pan, with as much white wine vinegar as will cover and serve to boil him & the other heads in, then put therein pepper, whole mace, a race of ginger, slic't nutmeg, salt, sweet herbs, an onion or two slic't, & a lemon; when you have boiled the carps pour the liquor with the spices into the kettle where you boil him, when it boils put in the carp, and let it not boil too fast for breaking, after the carp hath boil'd a while put in the heads, and being boil'd, take off the liquor and let the carps and the heads keep warm in the kettle till you go to dish them. When you dress the bisk take a large silver dish, set it on the fire, lay therein slices of French bread, and steep it with a ladle full of the corbolion, then take up the great carp and lay him in the midst of the dish, range the twelve heads about the carp, then lay the fea.r.s.e of the carp, lay that into the oysters, milts, and tongues, and pour on the liquor wherein the fea.r.s.e was boil'd, wring in the juyce of a lemon and two oranges, and serve it very hot to the table.

_To make a Bisk with Carps and other several Fishes._

Make the corbolion for the Bisk of some Jacks or small Carps boil'd in half white-wine and fair spring-water; some cloves, salt, and mace, boil it down to jelly, strain it, and keep it warm for to scald the bisk; then take four carps, four tenches, four perches, two pikes, two eels flayed and drawn; the carps being scalded, drawn, and cut into quarters, the tenches scalded and left whole, also the pearches and the pikes all finely scalded, cleansed, and cut into twelve pieces, three of each side, then put them into a large stewing-pan with three quarts of claret-wine, an ounce of large mace, a quarter of an ounce of cloves, half an ounce of pepper, a quarter of an ounce of ginger pared & slic't, sweet herbs chopped small, as stripped time, savory, sweet marjoram, parsley, rosemary, three or four bay-leaves, salt, chesnuts, pistaches, five or six great onions, and stew all together on a quick fire.

Then stew a pottle of oysters the greatest you can get, parboil them in their own liquor, cleanse them from the dregs, and wash them in warm water from the grounds and sh.e.l.ls, put them into a pipkin with three or four great onions peeled, then take large mace, and a little of their own liquor, or a little wine vinegar, or white wine.

Next take twelve flounders being drawn and cleansed from the guts, fry them in clarified b.u.t.ter with a hundred of large smelts, being fryed stew them in a stew-pan with claret-wine, grated nutmeg, slic't orange, b.u.t.ter, and salt.

Then have a hundred of prawns, boiled, picked, and b.u.t.tered, or fryed.

Next, bottoms of artichocks, boiled, blanched, and put in beaten b.u.t.ter, grated nutmeg, salt, white-wine, skirrets, and sparagus in the foresaid sauce.

Then mince a pike and an eel, cleanse them, and season them with cloves, mace, pepper, salt, some sweet herbs minct, some pistaches, barberries, grapes, or gooseberries, some grated manchet, and yolks of raw eggs, mingle all the foresaid things together, and make it into b.a.l.l.s, or fa.r.s.e some cabbidge lettice, and bake the b.a.l.l.s in an oven, being baked stick the b.a.l.l.s with pine-apple seeds, and pistaches, as also the lettice.

Then all the foresaid things being made ready, have a large clean scowred dish, with large sops of French bread lay the carps upon them, and between them some tench, pearch, pike, and eels, & the stewed oysteres all over the other fish, then the fried flounders & smelts over the oysters, then the b.a.l.l.s & lettice stuck with pistaches, the artichocks, skirrets, sparagus, b.u.t.ter prawns, yolks of hard eggs, large mace, fryed smelts, grapes, slic't lemon, oranges, red beets or pomegranats, broth it with the leer that was made for it, and run it over with beaten b.u.t.ter.

_The best way to stew a Carp._

Dress the carp and take out the milt, put it in a dish with then carp, and take out the gall, then save the blood, and scotch the carp on the back with your knife; if the carp be eighteen inches, take a quart of claret or white wine, four or five blades of large mace, 10 cloves, two good races of ginger slic't, two slic't nutmegs, and a few sweet herbs, as the tops of sweet marjoram, time, savory, and parsley chopped very small, four great onions whole, three or four bay-leaves, and some salt; stew them all together in a stew-pan or clean scowred kettle with the wine, when the pan boils put in the carp with a quarter of a pound of good sweet b.u.t.ter, boil it on a quick fire of charcoal, and being well stew'd down, dish it in a clean large dish, pour the sauce on it with the spices, lay on slic't lemon and lemon-peel, or barberries, grapes, or gooseberries, and run it over with beaten b.u.t.ter, garnish the dish with dryed manchet grated and sea.r.s.ed, and carved sippets laid round the dish.

In feasts the carps being scal'd, garnish the body with stewed oysters, some fryed in white batter, some in green made with the juyce of spinage: sometimes in place of sippets use fritters of arms, somtimes horse-raddish, and rub the dish with a clove or two of garlick.

For more variety, in the order abovesaid, sometimes dissolve an anchove or two, with some of the broth it was stewed in, and the yolks of two eggs dissolved with some verjuyce, wine, or juyce of orange; sometimes add some capers, and hard eggs chopped, as also sweet herbs, _&c._

_To stew a Carp in the French fashion._

Take a Carp, split it down the back alive, & put it in boiling liquor, then take a good large dish or stew-pan that will contain the carp; put in as much claret wine as will cover it, and wash off the blood, take out the carp, and put into the wine in the dish three or four slic't onions, three or four blades of large mace, gross pepper, and salt; when the stew-pan boils put in the carp and cover it close, being well stewed down, dish it up in a clean scowred dish with fine carved sippets round about it, pour the liquor it was boiled in on it, with the spices, onions, slic't lemon, and lemon-peel, run it over with beaten b.u.t.ter, and garnish the dish with dryed grated bread.

_Another most excellent way to stew a Carp._

Take a carp and scale it, being well cleansed and dried with a clean cloth, then split it and fry it in clarified b.u.t.ter, being finely fryed put it in a deep dish with two or three spoonfuls of claret wine, grated nutmeg, a blade or two of large mace, salt, three or four slices of an orange, and some sweet b.u.t.ter, set it on a chafing dish of coals, cover it close, and stew it up quick, then turn it, and being very well stew'd, dish it on fine carv'd sippets, run it over with the sauce it was stewed in, the spices, beaten b.u.t.ter, and the slices of a fresh orange, and garnish the dish with dry manchet grated and sea.r.s.ed.

In this way you may stew any good fish, as soles, lobsters, prawns, oysters, or c.o.c.kles.

_Otherways._

Take a carp and scale it, sc.r.a.pe off the slime with a knife and wipe it clean with a dry cloth; then draw it, and wash the blood out with some claret wine into the pipkin where you stew it, cut it into quarters, halves, or whole, and put it into a broad mouthed pipkin or earthen-pan, put to it as much wine as water, a bundle of sweet herbs, some raisins of the sun, currans, large mace, cloves, whole cinamon, slic't ginger, salt, and some prunes boiled and strained, put in also some strained bread or flour, and stew them all together; being stewed, dish the carp in a clean scowred dish on fine carved sippets, pour the broth on the carp, and garnish it with the fruit, spices, some slic't lemon, barberries, or grapes, some orangado or preserved barberries, and sc.r.a.pe on sugar.

_Otherways._

Do it as before, save only no currans, put prunes strained, beaten pepper, and some saffron.

_To stew a Carp seven several ways._

1. Take a carp, scale it, and sc.r.a.pe off the slime, wipe it with a dry cloth, and give it a cut or two cross the back, then put it a boiling whole, parted down the back in halves, or quarters, put it in a broad mouthed pipkin with some claret or white-wine, some wine-vinegar, and good fresh fish broth or some fair water, three or four blades of large mace, some slic't onions fryed, currans, and some good b.u.t.ter; cover up the pipkin, and being finely stewed, put in some almond-milk, and some sweet herbs finely minced, or some grated manchet, and being well stewed, serve it up on fine carved sippets, broth it, and garnish the dish with some barberries or grapes, and the dish with some stale manchet grated and sears'd, being first dryed.

2. For the foresaid broth, yolks of hard eggs strained with some steeped manchet, some of the broth it is stewed in, and a little saffron.

3. For variety of garnish, carrots in dice-work, some raisins, large mace, a few prunes, and marigold flowers, boil'd in the foresaid broth.

4. Or leave out carrots and fruit, and put samphire and capers, and thicken it with French barley tender boil'd.

5. Or no fruit, but keep the order aforesaid, only adding sweet marjoram, stripped tyme, parsley, and savory, bruise them with the back of a ladle, and put them into the broth.

6. Otherways, stewed oysters to garnish the carp, and some boil'd bottoms of artichocks, put them to the stewed oysters or skirrets being boil'd, grapes, barberries, and the broth thickned with yolks of eggs strained with some sack, white wine, or caper liquor.

7. Boil it as before, without fruit, and add to it capers, carrots in dice-work, mace, f.a.ggot of sweet herbs, slic't onions chopp'd with parsley, and boil'd in the broth then have boil'd colliffowers, turnips, parsnips, sparagus, or chesnuts in place of carrots, and the leire strained with yolks of eggs and white wine.

_To make French Herb Pottage for Fasting Days._

Take half a handful of lettice, as much of spinage, half as much of Bugloss and Borrage, two handfuls of sorrel, a little parsley, sage, a good handful of purslain, half a pound of b.u.t.ter, some pepper and salt, and sometimes, some cuc.u.mbers.

_Other Broth or Pottage of a Carp._

Take a carp, scale it, and sc.r.a.pe off the slime, wash it, and wipe it with a clean cloth, then draw it, and put it in a broad mouthed pipkin that will contain it, put to it a pint of good white or claret wine, and as much good fresh fish broth as will cover it, or as much fair water, with the blood of the carp, four or five blades of large mace, a little beaten pepper, some slic't onions, a clove or two, some sweet herbs chopped, a handful of capers, and some salt, stew all together, the carp being well stewed, put in some almond paste, with some white-wine, give it a warm or two with some stewed oyster-liquor, & serve it on French bread in a fair scowr'd dish, pour on the liquor, and garnish it with dryed grated manchet.

_To dress a Carp in Stoffado._

Take a carp alive, scale it, and lard it with a good salt eel, steep it in claret or white-wine, in an earthen pan, and put to it some wine-vinegar, whole cloves, large mace, gross pepper, slic't ginger, and four or five cloves of garlick, then have an earthen pan that will contain it, or a large pipkin, put to it some sweet herbs, three or four sprigs of rosemary, as many of time and sweet marjoram, two or three bay-leaves and parsley, put the liquor to it into the pan or pipkin wherein you will stew it, and paste on the cover, stew it in the oven, in an hour it will be baked, then serve it hot for dinner or supper, serve it on fine carved sippets of French bread, and the spices on it, with herbs, slic't lemon and lemon peel; and run it over with beaten b.u.t.ter.