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SOLE, BAKED (au Gratin)

Choose a thick sole as fresh as possible. Cleanse it, remove the gills, scale it, and strip off the dark skin by cutting it at the tail end and drawing it over the head. Wash the fish well, and wipe it dry; trim away the fins, and with a sharp knife make an incision a quarter of an inch deep down each side of the backbone on the skinned side. Butter a baking-dish rather thickly, and lay the sole in it. Sprinkle a little pepper and salt over it, and a few fine bread-raspings, and add about a dozen mushrooms chopped small, a small handful of picked, washed, and chopped parsley-leaves, and one finely-minced shallot. Cover the surface of the sole thickly with fine raspings, and moisten the fish with a glassful of French white wine, a tea-spoonful of anchovy essence, and a table-spoonful of mushroom ketchup. Put the dish in the oven till the sole is done enough. If the dish in which the fish is baked is suitable, serve the fish in it; if not, lift the fish carefully with a fish slicer, lay it on a hot dish, and pour the sauce over. Another table-spoonful of wine may be added to the sauce. If the surface of the fish is not sufficiently coloured, a salamander or red-hot shovel may be held over it for a few minutes. When expense is a consideration, a glassful of cider or perry will be found an excellent substitute for the light wine. Time to bake, ten to fifteen minutes, according to the size of the sole. Probable cost, 1s. to 1s. 6d. for a good-sized sole. Sufficient for three persons.