Fish a la Creme
1 pound of fish; 1 pint of milk; yolks of 2 eggs; 1 tablespoonful of butter; 1 tablespoonful of flour; 1 teaspoonful of salt; 1 teaspoonful (scant) of pepper.
Let the fish soak overnight or for several hours. Next day boil the fish and then pick apart into large flakes. Rub the butter and flour together, add the milk, and let it come to a boil. Remove from the fire, add the yolks of the eggs, the fish, and the seasoning. When thoroughly heated, turn into a buttered baking-dish, sprinkle bread crumbs over the top, and place in a hot oven to brown. Be careful not to bake it too long, as the egg will separate.
An economical creamed-fish gratin of the sort that turned salt cod or leftover boiled fish into a supper dish. Two details in the original carry the whole thing: the overnight soak, which tells you what fish was meant, and the warning about the egg.
- The soaking tells you it is salt fishThe soaking points to salt fish -- an overnight soak is what cured or dried fish requires, and the recipe leaves the type unnamed. Salt cod is the likeliest intention: about 1 lb dried salt cod, soaked 12-24 hours with two or three changes of cold water, then simmered gently until it flakes. With fresh fish, skip the soak entirely and simply poach it.
- Adjust the salt accordinglyThe added teaspoon of salt makes sense only for well-soaked cod, and even then taste the sauce before adding it. With fresh fish, a half teaspoon is ample.
- The pepperA scant teaspoon of pepper is very heavy for a pound of fish and a pint of milk. Start with a quarter teaspoon and build up; the amount as printed will dominate everything else.
- "A hot oven"425-450F. The dish goes in already hot and needs only 10-15 minutes to colour the crumbs.
- Why the egg separatesThe yolks are stirred into sauce that has been taken off the heat, and they must never be allowed to boil afterwards. Held too long in a hot oven the yolk proteins tighten and weep, and the sauce breaks into curds and thin liquid. Pull the dish the moment the top is browned.
- Sauce proportionsOne tablespoon each of butter and flour to a pint of milk gives a distinctly thin sauce by modern habit. It thickens further with the yolks, but if you want it to hold a spoon, use two tablespoons of each.
- CrumbsDry white breadcrumbs, tossed in a little melted butter, brown far more evenly than bare crumbs in the short time given.
- YieldServes four as a light main course with potatoes, or six as a first course.