Paper-bag Cookery Part 2

There is nothing which is so delicious when cooked in paper bags as fish. Boiled fish is light and digestible, but most of the nutriment and flavour are lost in the water; and although less goes to waste when the fish is steamed or cooked in a conservative cooker, there is no comparison between these methods and paper-bag cookery. The flavour is unsurpa.s.sed; there is no smell of frying or boiling fat; no risk of burning; no spoiling by overcooking; no trouble or fuss looking out the right saucepan and bringing the fat to just the right degree of heat; in short, it is the perfection of fish cookery. It is an ideal way of cooking small fish or portions of fish. A salmon steak, cooked in a paper bag, is an epicure's dream, and no one who has not eaten one cooked in this way can form any idea of its exquisite flavour. Cod cutlet is a revelation, for it acquires a new and delightful flavour, while the cheaper and coa.r.s.er fish, such as hake, rock salmon, monk-fish, etc., when treated in this way, gain so much in taste as to become real delicacies.

Skate is particularly nice cooked in a paper bag. This fish, though exceedingly wholesome and easily digested, has a rather strong flavour, which is objected to by many people. Oddly enough, this strong flavour entirely disappears when the fish is cooked in a paper bag.

SKATE.

A piece weighing about a pound should be soaked for about an hour in strong salt and water, then shaken free from moisture and rubbed over with b.u.t.ter. Season with salt and pepper and put into a well greased bag, with one tablespoonful of water and half as much vinegar. Cook for about eighteen minutes, and serve on a very hot dish, on which a slice of b.u.t.ter has been melted. This is a capital supper dish.

SALMON CUTLETS.

Take a slice of salmon weighing half a pound. Rub it over with b.u.t.ter which has been seasoned with pepper, salt, and a few drops of lemon juice, and put it into a very well greased bag. Have the oven very hot, and cook the salmon for fifteen minutes. Slit the bag with scissors, and slip the fish on to a very hot dish. This will have all the savour of fried salmon, but with a delicious flavour and aroma peculiarly its own.

If the effect of boiled salmon be desired, put a scant half-teacupful of water into the bag with the fish.

FRESH HADDOCK

is particularly dainty when cooked in this fas.h.i.+on. Have the fish cleaned and the head taken off. Rub both inside and out with b.u.t.ter, put it into a well greased bag with a tablespoonful of water, and cook for fifteen minutes. It will have the appearance of a boiled fish, and the curd-like whiteness and delicacy of its flesh will be extremely tempting, while the flavour will be far superior to that of a boiled haddock. Or, if a more savoury dish be preferred, the fish must be well dredged with flour, which has been highly seasoned with salt and pepper, then covered with bits of b.u.t.ter, put without water into a greased paper-bag and placed in a hot oven, the heat being maintained at the same degree for twenty minutes. The paper will become very brown, but must not be allowed to blacken or singe. The fish will then be a rich golden brown, closely resembling fried fish, but much more wholesome and digestible.

WHITING

is very delicate cooked in a paper bag, and can be eaten by the youngest child or most delicate invalid without risk to the digestion. It is skinned, the tail fastened in the mouth, then placed in the greased bag with a tablespoonful of water, and cooked for about ten minutes. It is not so insipid as boiled whiting and is more nutritious.

KIPPERS

are placed in a well greased bag, and cooked in a hot oven for about ten minutes. They should be very savoury, yet by no means dried up by this means of cooking, and are also not so rich as when fried.

BLOATERS

cooked the same way are quite as tasty as when fried, but lighter and more digestible.

SMOKED HADDOCKS

acquire a new and delicious flavour when cooked in a paper bag. They should be carefully wiped clean, well b.u.t.tered, peppered, and put into a greased bag for ten minutes. A very nice variety is obtained by cutting a neat hole in the bag with scissors at the end of this time, carefully dropping in a couple of eggs, and returning to the oven till the eggs are cooked. Serve on a very hot dish upon which a good slice of b.u.t.ter has been melted. Or, put two or three eggs in a separate bag with a cup of water, and let them cook for six or eight minutes; serve in slices on top of the haddock.

FISH PUDDING.

Take equal quant.i.ties of cold mashed potatoes and cold cooked fish. Mix very thoroughly with two ounces of b.u.t.ter melted in two tablespoonfuls of milk to each pound of fish and potato, a saltspoonful of salt, half as much pepper, a pinch of dry mustard, and two hard-boiled eggs cut very small. Thoroughly grease a paper bag, put in the mixture, place in a hot oven, and cook for ten minutes.

RUSSIAN FISH PIE.

Roll out a short crust paste, made by rubbing three ounces of vegetable lard into 1/2 lb. of self-raising flour, and adding a well-beaten egg.

Lay on this paste a thick layer of cooked rice; upon that put a layer of cooked fish, freed from skin and bone and pulled into flakes; upon that lay slices of hard-boiled egg, and another layer of rice. Season highly with cayenne pepper, salt, and a little grated nutmeg or ground mace.

Just moisten with thick white sauce, nicely flavoured with a few drops of lemon juice, and cover with pastry, pinching the edges well together.

Slip carefully into a thoroughly greased bag, and bake in a hot oven for fifteen minutes. This is extremely delicious.

FISH SAVOURY.

This is an original recipe, and is a very great favourite with most people. It requires special care and attention in making, but well repays the cook for any slight trouble it may cause her. It is also a capital way of using up cold fish and stale bread. Soak in cold water a little stale bread for an hour or two. Then drain and press very dry, beat up very thoroughly with a fork; season nicely with pepper, paprika if possible, salt, a very little ground mace or the zest of a lemon. Add cold fish, freed from skin and bone, and a well beaten egg. Mix all very thoroughly; have ready some ripe but firm tomatoes, cut off the tops, and scoop out the seeds and pulp. Fill the tomatoes with the fish mixture. Beat up some cooked rice with the pulp taken from the tomatoes, till it is a pretty red colour. Spread this coloured rice thickly on a very well greased paper bag, keeping the opening as wide as possible to admit the stuffed tomatoes, which must be embedded in the rice at equal distances. Bits of b.u.t.ter are put on the tops of each, the opening of the bag closed, and the bag very carefully slid into the oven and cooked for twenty minutes. Great care must be exercised in dis.h.i.+ng up to preserve the appearance and shape of the dish. It is slid cautiously on to a hot dish, the bag slit and removed as dexterously as possible without disturbing the rice. If this is carefully done, the result will be a pretty as well as a remarkably savoury and appetising dish.

TINNED FISH.

The usual method of serving tinned salmon or lobster is to put it on a dish just as it is, though perhaps some more ambitious housewife may go the length of surrounding it with parsley, or even handing some salad with it. This is not very appetising; but as the fish is already cooked, it is difficult to warm it up without extracting all the flavour and nourishment left in it. Also, whether fried or baked or warmed up in the tin, it falls to pieces and presents a forlorn and unsightly appearance most untempting.

Now here is the chance of paper-bag cookery.

TO WARM UP TINNED SALMON.

Open the tin carefully, and drain off all the liquor. If it is in one firm solid piece, it will be best treated as salmon cutlet. Dust it lightly with pepper and salt, squeeze a little lemon juice over it, put it into a well b.u.t.tered bag, fasten up very securely, and cook for six minutes in a very hot oven. Slide on to a very hot dish, dexterously remove the paper, and serve with white sauce. In appearance and flavour, it will be equal to fresh salmon. If the contents of the tin are in several pieces, however, it will be best to turn them into:--

SALMON CROQUETTES.

Open a tin of salmon, drain the liquor off, and turn the fish into a basin. Add an equal quant.i.ty of fine bread-crumbs, a little pepper and salt, a few drops of lemon juice, a tablespoonful of chopped cuc.u.mber, if at hand, and a well beaten egg, and mix thoroughly. Form into small flat rounds, and lay in rows on the well b.u.t.tered bag, taking great care not to break them, and to keep them apart, otherwise they may run together in cooking. Secure the opening, and keep the bag perfectly flat as it is cautiously slid into the oven.

In such dishes, a large fish-slice is of great a.s.sistance in putting in and taking out of the bags the cooked food.

CURRIED LOBSTER.

Remove the lobster from the tin and cut it into nice pieces; add an ounce of b.u.t.ter, a finely chopped onion, a dessertspoonful of curry powder, and a small teacupful of stock already browned and thickened.

Mix all well together, but avoid breaking up the pieces of lobster. Put into a thoroughly greased bag, and cook in a hot oven for twenty minutes. Turn into a very hot dish and add a squeeze of lemon before sending it to table. Serve with boiled rice and chillies.

LOBSTER CUTLETS

made from tinned lobster are very nice. Take the lobster from the tin, and pound it with an ounce of b.u.t.ter. Add half a saltspoonful of salt, the same of white pepper, and of ground mace. Beat all into a smooth paste, shape into neat cutlets, and cook in a well greased bag from six to eight minutes.

HOT LOBSTER

can be made from tinned lobster quite as well as from fresh. The lobster must be pounded exactly as in the previous recipe, salt, pepper, and mace being added in the same proportions; mix in about half as much fine bread-crumbs as there is lobster, or rather less, and moisten with two well beaten eggs. Beat the mixture thoroughly, make into a shape as nearly resembling a lobster as may be, or into a plain roll if artistic talent is wanting, cover with tiny bits of b.u.t.ter, put into a well greased bag with great care, and cook from eight to ten minutes. In dis.h.i.+ng up, be very careful not to let the lobster crumble or break.

LOBSTER PATTIES.

Make some good paste with 1/2 lb. of flour, 1/4 lb. of b.u.t.ter, and an egg. Roll out to medium thickness, and with a pastry cutter cut into small rounds. Mix in a basin a tinned lobster cut into pieces, four tablespoonfuls of thick white sauce, a teaspoonful of finely minced parsley, a few drops of anchovy sauce, two or three of lemon juice, and a little cayenne pepper. Put small heaps of this mixture on half of the rounds, leaving the other halves to serve as lids to the patties, cover each with a lid, pinching the edges well together, and making them into scallops. Place in a b.u.t.tered bag, p.r.i.c.k the top of the bag with a skewer, slide into a hot oven, and bake from fifteen to twenty minutes.

The rich golden brown of the pastry will contrast prettily with the lobster mixture, and this dainty dish will be as tempting in appearance as it is appetising in flavour.