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Fish en Matelote
Take any good, firm fish, clean it well, and cut it into strips two or three inches long. Sprinkle with salt, and set aside. Peel and slice 2 onions, put them in a saucepan, and boil until tender; drain. Season with salt and pepper, pour in a teacupful of hot water and half a teacupful of sherry; add the fish, and set over the fire to simmer. When ready to serve, drop a tablespoonful of butter rolled in flour into the saucepan, and let it all come to a boil.
A stripped-down version of the French fisherman's stew, reduced to onion, sherry and a butter-and-flour thickening. The whole dish takes under half an hour, and the only real risk is overcooking the fish.
- Simmer the fish brieflyStrips of firm fish two to three inches long are done in about five minutes at a bare simmer, less if thin. The recipe gives no time; go by opacity and the point at which the flesh just flakes, and keep the liquid below a rolling boil so the pieces hold their shape.
- TeacupfulThe teacup was not a standardised measure; in books of this period it is usually reckoned somewhere between 4 and 6 fl oz, smaller than a modern measuring cup. So roughly 1/2 to 3/4 cup hot water, and half that quantity of sherry. Use a dry or medium sherry, not cream sherry.
- Butter rolled in flourThis is beurre manié: work a tablespoon of soft butter into about a tablespoon of flour to a paste, then drop it in and let the sauce come to a boil once to cook out the raw flour and thicken. Add it in small pieces rather than one lump so it disperses.
- The onionsBoiling and draining the onions discards their flavour along with the water. Sweating them in a little butter until soft and translucent gives a better base and is closer to what a matelote is meant to taste like.