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Pike, Matelote Sauce For

Put a tea-spoonful of sugar into a stewpan, and place it over a quick fire. When it has dissolved, and is beginning to colour, put with it two ounces of fresh butter, and about twenty-five small button onions. Shake these over the fire until they are brown, then add a dessert-spoonful of flour, a glass of claret, and, gradually, a pint of water or stock. Stir the sauce till it boils, then put with it a bunch of sweet herbs, a tea-spoonful of salt, half a tea-spoonful of pepper, and a lump of sugar. Simmer gently, and skim carefully until the sauce is thick and smooth, and the flavour is drawn out of the herbs; then stir into it a table-spoonful of essence of anchovy, half a tea-spoonful of Bovril, and two or three drops of browning if the sauce is not sufficiently coloured. A few oysters or mushrooms will improve this sauce. Time to simmer, half an hour. Probable cost, exclusive of the wine, 8d. Sufficient for a large pike.