Fish Force-meat II

This is not a finished dish but a panada-free fish forcemeat — the base for quenelles, the poached dumplings that garnished clear soups in the era's more formal service. Everything depends on temperature.

• Keep it cold throughoutChill the fish, the bowl and the blade, and if the paste begins to look greasy or separated, refrigerate it before going on.
• The egg is the white onlyThe instructions call for white of egg worked in gradually. Yolk adds fat that loosens the bind and dulls the pale colour the dish is meant to have.
• Mortar to food processorA food processor will do in moments what pounding did by hand. Pulse the fish to a paste, add the white, then add the cream in a thin stream with the motor running. Stop as soon as it is smooth.
• Do not skip the sieveRubbing the paste through a fine sieve or tamis removes sinew and skin fragments and is what separates a silky quenelle from a grainy one. A drum sieve and a scraper are the usual tools; a fine-mesh strainer works with patience.
• "Heavy cream" herePeriod heavy cream was broadly comparable to modern heavy or whipping cream. Unhomogenised or simply pasteurised cream may give a lighter result.
• Test before you commitPoach a teaspoon of the mixture in barely simmering salted water for two to three minutes. If it falls apart, work in a little more egg white; if it is rubbery, beat in more cream.
• Cooking the forcemeatThe original gives no cooking step. Shape with two wet spoons, slide into water or fish stock held at 170-180F, and poach 6-10 minutes depending on size. Water at a rolling boil will tear them.
• YieldTwo-thirds cup of fish with a half cup of cream makes roughly 12 to 16 small quenelles — enough to garnish four to six bowls of soup.
• Fish choiceThe recipe specifies halibut, a white, lean fish. Cod, haddock, pike or sole behave much the same way. Oily fish such as salmon or mackerel will not give the pale, delicate result intended.