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Plaice, Baked

Empty one or two moderate-sized plaice, sprinkle a little salt over them, let them lie for a couple of hours, then drain them, and dry them well with a soft cloth. Cut them across into slices about two inches wide; then mince finely half an ounce of onions, spread a portion of them at the bottom of a baking-dish, and put in an ounce of butter or good beef dripping, and a tea-spoonful of chopped parsley. Put the slices of plaice upon the onion, and cover with the remainder, mixed with a little chopped parsley and some finely-grated bread-crumbs. Add a little pepper and salt if necessary, lay an ounce of fat, broken into pieces, on the top of the fish, and pour in at the side a wine-glassful of stock or water. Put the dish into a well-heated oven. As soon as the flesh seems to shrink from the bone it is done enough. Serve the plaice with its own gravy. If the fish is not sufficiently browned in the baking, hold a red-hot shovel over it for a minute or two. Time to bake, from ten to twenty minutes, according to size and thickness. Probable cost, plaice, when plentiful, 6d. or 8d. each. Sufficient for three or four persons.