The accomplisht cook Part 59

Take four large carps, scale them & wipe off the slime clean, bone them, and cut each side into two pieces of every carp, then have four large fresh water eels, fat ones, boned, flayed, and cut in as many pieces as the carps, season them with nutmeg, pepper, and salt; then have a pye ready, either round or square, put b.u.t.ter in the bottom of it, then lay a lay of eel, and a lay of carp upon that, and thus do till you have ended; then lay on some large mace and whole cloves on the top, some sliced nutmeg, sliced ginger, and b.u.t.ter, close it up and bake it, being baked and cold, fill it up with clarified b.u.t.ter.

_Otherways._

Take eight carps, scale and bone them, sc.r.a.pe and wash off the slime, wipe them dry, and mince them very fine, then have four good fresh water eels, flay and bone them, and cut them into lard as big as your finger, then have pepper, cloves, mace, and ginger severally beaten and mingled with some salt, season the fish and also the eels, cut into lard; then make a pye according to this form, lay some b.u.t.ter in the bottom of the pye, then a lay of carp upon the b.u.t.ter, so fill it, close it up and bake it.

SECTION XIV.

or,

The Second Section of FISH.

_Shewing the most Excellent Ways of Dressing of Pikes._

_To boil a Pike._

Wash him very clean, then truss him either round whole, with his tail in his mouth, and his back scotched, or splatted and trust round like a hart, with his tail in his mouth, or in three pieces, & divide the middle piece into two pieces; then boil it in water, salt, and vinegar, put it not in till the liquor boils, & let it boil very fast at first to make it crisp, but afterwards softly; for the sauce put in a pipkin a pint of white wine, slic't ginger, mace, dates quartered, a pint of great oysters with the liquor, a little vinegar and salt, boil them a quarter of an hour; then mince a few sweet herbs & parsley, stew them till half the liquor be consumed; then the pike being boiled dish it, and garnish the dish with grated dry manchet fine sea.r.s.ed, or ginger fine beaten, then beat up the sauce, with half a pound of b.u.t.ter, minced lemon, or orange, put it on the pike, and sippet it with cuts of puff-paste or lozenges, some fried greens, and some yellow b.u.t.ter. Dish it according to these forms.

_To boil a Pike otherways._

Take a male pike alive, splat him in halves, take out his milt and civet, and take away the gall, cut the sides into three pieces of a side, lay them in a large dish or tray, and put upon them half a pint of white wine vinegar, and half a handful of bay-salt beaten fine; then have a clean scowred pan set over the fire with as much rhenish or white-wine as will cover the pike, so set it on the fire with some salt, two slic't nutmegs, two races of ginger slic't, two good big onions slic't, five or six cloves of garlik, two or three tops of sweet marjoram, three or four streight sprigs of rosemary bound up in a bundle close, and the peel of half a lemon; let these boil with a quick fire, then put in the pike with the vinegar, and boil it up quick; whilest the pike is boiling, take a quarter of a pound of anchoves, wash and bone them, then mince them and put them in a pipkin with a quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter, and 3 or four spoonfuls of the liquor the pike was boiled in; the pike being boiled dish it, & lay the ginger, nutmegs, and herbs upon it, run it over with the sauce, and cast dried sea.r.s.ed manchet on it.

This foresaid liquor is far better to boil another pike, by renewing the liquor with a little wine.

_To boil a Pike and Eel together._

Take a quart of white-wine, a pint and a half of white wine vinegar, two quarts of water, almost a pint of salt, a handful of rosemary and tyme, let your liquor boil before you put in your fish, the herbs, a little large mace, and some twenty corns of whole pepper.

_To boil a Pike otherways._

Boil it in water, salt, and wine vinegar, two parts water, and one vinegar, being drawn, set on the liquor to boil, cleanse the civet, and truss him round, scotch his back, and when the liquor boils, put in the fish and boil it up quick; then make sauce with some white-wine vinegar, mace, whole pepper, a good handful of c.o.c.kles broiled or boiled out of the sh.e.l.ls and washed with vinegar, a f.a.ggot of sweet herbs, the liver stamped and put to it, and horse raddish sc.r.a.ped or slic't, boil all the foresaid together, dish the pike on sippets, and beat up the sauce with some good sweet b.u.t.ter and minced lemon, make the sauce pretty thick, and garnish it as you please.

_Otherways._

Take as much white-wine and water as will cover it, of each a like quant.i.ty, and a pint of vinegar, put to this liquor half an ounce of large mace, two lemon-peels, a quarter of an ounce of whole cloves, three slic't nutmegs, four races of ginger slic't, some six great onions slic't, a bundle of six or seven sprigs or tops of rosemary, as much of time, winter-savory, and sweet marjoram bound up hard in a f.a.ggot, put into the liquor also a good handful of salt, and when it boils, put in the fish being cleansed and trussed, and boil it up quick.

Being boiled, make the sauce with some of the broth where the pike was boiled, and put it in a dish with two or three anchoves being cleansed and minced, a little white wine, some grated nutmeg, and some fine grated manchet, stew it on a chafing dish, and beat it up thick with some sweet b.u.t.ter, and the yolk of an egg or two dissolved with some vinegar, give it a warm, and put to it three or four slices of lemon.

Then dish the pike, drain the liquor from it upon a chafing-dish of coals, pour on the sauce, and garnish the fish with slic't lemons, and the spices, herbs, and boil'd onions, run it over with beaten b.u.t.ter, and lay on some barberries or grapes.

Sometimes for change you may put some horse-raddish sc.r.a.ped, or the juyce of it.

_To boil a Pike in White Broth._

Cut your pike in three pieces, then boil it in water, salt, and sweet herbs, put in the fish when the liquor boils; then take the yolks of six eggs, beat them with a little sack, sugar, melted b.u.t.ter, and some of the pike broth then put it on some embers to keep warm, stir it sometimes lest it curdle; then take up your pike, put the head and tail together in a clean dish, cleave the other piece in two, and take out the back-bone, put the one piece on one side, and the other piece on the other side, but blanch all, pour the broth on it, and garnish the fish with sippets, strow on fine ginger or sugar, wipe the edge of the dish round, and serve it.

_To Boil a Pike in the French Fashion, a-la-Sauces d'Almaigne, or in the German Fashion._

Take a pike, draw him, dress the rivet, and cut him in three pieces, boil him in as much wine as water, & some lemon-peel, with the liquor boils put in the fish with a good handful of salt, and boil him up quick.

Then have a sauce made of beaten b.u.t.ter, water, the slices of two or three lemons, the yolks of two or three eggs, and some grated nutmeg; the pike being boiled dish it on fine sippets, and stick it with some fried bread run it over with the sauce, some barberries or lemon, and garnish the dish with some pared and slic't ginger, barberries, and lemon peel.

_To boil a Pike in the City Fashion._

Take a live male pike, draw him and slit the rivet, wash him clean from the blood, and lay him in a dish or tray, then put some salt and vinegar to it, (or no vinegar; but only salt); then set on a kettle with some water & salt, & when it boils put in the pike, boil it softly, and being boiled, take it off the fire, and put a little b.u.t.ter into the kettle to it, then make a sauce with beaten b.u.t.ter, the juyce of a lemon or two, grape verjuyce or wine-vinegar, dish up the pike on fine carved sippets, and pour on the sauce, garnish the fish with scalded parsley, large mace barberries, slic't lemon, and lemon-peel, and garnish the dish with the same.

_To stew a Pike in the French Fashion._

Take a pike, splat it down the back alive, and let the liquor boil before you put it in, then take a large deep dish or stewing pan that will contain the pike, put as much claret-wine as will cover it, & wash off the blood take out the pike, and put to the wine in the dish three or four slic't onions, four blades of large mace, gross pepper, & salt; when it boils put in the pike, cover it close, & being stewed down, dish it up in a clean scowred dish with carved sippets round abound it, pour on the broth it was stewed in all over it, with the spices and onions, and put some slic't lemon over all, with some lemon-peel; run it over with beaten b.u.t.ter, and garnish the dish with dry grated manchet. Thus you may also stew it with the scales on or off.

Sometimes for change use horse-raddish.

_To stew a Pike otherways in the City Fashion._

Take a pike, splat it, and lay it in a dish, when the blood is clean washed out, put to it as much white-wine as will cover it, and set it a stewing; when it boils put in the fish, sc.u.m it, and put to it some large mace, whole cinamon, and some salt, being finely stewed dish it on sippets finely carved.

Then thicken the broth with two or three egg yolks, some thick cream, sugar, and beaten b.u.t.ter, give it a warm and pour it on the pike, with some boil'd currans, and boil'd prunes laid all over it, as also mace, cinamon, some knots of barberries, and slic't lemon, garnish the dish with the same garnish, and sc.r.a.pe on fine sugar.

In this way you may do Carp, Bream, Barbel, Chevin, Rochet, Gurnet, Conger, Tench, Pearch, Bace, or Mullet.

_To hash a Pike._

Scale and bone it, then mince it with a good fresh eel, being also boned and flayed, put to it some sweet herbs fine stripped and minced small, beaten nutmeg, mace, ginger, pepper, and salt; stew it in a dish with a little white wine and sweet b.u.t.ter, being well stewed, serve it on fine carved sippets, and lay on some great stewed oysters, some fryed in batter, some green with juyce of spinage, other yellow with saffron, garnish the dish with them, and run it over with beaten b.u.t.ter.

_To souce a Pike._

Draw and wash it clean from the blood and slime, then boil it in water and salt, when the liquor boils put it to it, and boil it leisurely simmering, season it pretty savory of the salt, boil it not too much, nor in more water then will but just cover it.

If you intend to keep it long, put as much white-wine as water, of both as much as will cover the fish, some wine vinegar, slic't ginger, large mace, cloves, and some salt; when it boils put in the fish, spices, and some lemon-peel, boil it up quick but not too much; then take it up into a tray, and boil down the liquor to a jelly, lay some slic't lemon on it, pour on the liquor, and cover it up close; when you serve it in jelly, dish and melt some of the jelly, and run it all over, garnish it with bunches of barberries and slic't lemon.

Or being soust and not jellied, serve it with fennil and parsley.

When you serve it, you may lay round the dish divers Small Fishes, as Tench, Pearch, Gurnet, Chevin, Roach, Smelts, and run them over with jelly.