LET'S HAVE FISH!

New Zealand Listener, Volume 18, Issue 456, 19 March 1948, Page 26

LET'S HAVE FISH!

ISH is an important source of iodine and other minerals, as well as of protein, the tissuebuilder. Moreover, the food-value of the cheaper kinds is practically the same as that of the most expensive; and if served with vegetables and cooked carefully-tasty sauces added, and perhaps a flaky pastry topcrust or shell-there will be no complaints from the family. Get away from plain boiled fish with parsley sauce, or fried fish and chips-though these are nice enough if not served so often as to become monotonous. Fish a la Rangitiki It was the chef from the Rangitiki who gave us this delicious way of serving fish. Have fillets of terakihi or any fish. Slice a quantity of onions, separating slices into rings with fingers. Dry the fillets of fish, dip in seasoned flour. Shake off surplus flour; put fish into frying pan with 1 inch hot smoking fat, and cook evenly both sides. In saucepan have deep smoking fat. Dip the onion rings first in milk, then in flour. Shake off surplus flour, drop into smoking fat in saucepan. Will be cooked in 3 or 4 minutes. Remove with perforated spoon and drain on paper, Put cooked fish on dish, press a thin slice of skinned tomato on each, and put into hot oven for a few minutes to heat tomato through. On serving dish, pile nicely browned onion rings in the centre; around them lay fillets of fish with tomato slices. Have ready thin lemon slices cut in half. Dip the lemon slices in finely chopped parsley, coating them well. Arrange around the outside of the dish, Savoury Fish Pie Steam some fish fillets-any kind‘and flake up carefully. Boil some parsnips. and mash them very smooth with some butter (or substitute), pepper and creamy top-milk. Make a really good parsley sauce; also make or buy some good flaky pastry. Now line a piedish or casserole half way down with pastryno pastry at the bottom of the dish. At the bottom put a layer of the tasty parsnips, then a layer of parsley sauce, and then a layer of flaked fish. Repeat these till the dish is full. For variety you can put a little grated onion, if liked. Have the top layer of parsley sauce. Put tiny dabs of butter here and there, and sprinkle with wheat-flakes. Finish off by cutting out little rounds of flaky pastry and arranging them all round the edge of the piedish, each one resting on the edge of the next one, like coins, Bake in a hot oven to cook the pastry. Serve with a green vegetable, Scalloped Crayfish Mince the crayfish meat fairly small. Make a good sauce by melting 2 tablespoons of butter (or substitute) in a little saucepan, stirring in 2 tablespoons flour, and cooking a little; and then adding about % pint of milk, stirring as the sauce thickens. Season with pepper and salt to taste, add 2 good tablespoons of chopped parsley and a dessertspoon of tomato sauce. Butter an oven-dish,

put in first a layer of chopped crayfish, then cover well with sauce. Make the sauce thinner with milk if it is too thick, Repeat the layers of fish and sauce till dish is full; sprinkle with soft bread. crumbs, dot with little pieces of butter, and bake in a moderate oven till brown -about 30 minutes. Serve with new potatoes, Devonshire Fish Puffs Simmer about Y%lb. of smoked fish in milk until tender. Then flake up the cooked fish, add 2oz. flour sifted with a pinch of baking powder, a good table. spoon of finely chopped parsley and 2 beaten eggs. Mix altogether to a soft spongy mixture, adding some of the milk the fish was cooked in if necessary. It must be just thick enough to drop in tablespoonfuls in hot fat (smoking but stjll). These will puff-up nicely Fry golden brown. Serve very hot, with potatoes and a green vegetable. Snow-Fried Whitebait Wash whitebait well. Make batter, break an egg, beat lightly with folk, Add 1% teacup milk, and enough flour to make a thick cream. Also pinch of salt and a little baking soda. Dry whitebait thoroughly, toss them in flour, then into the batter. Try to keep them separate and using a big fork, put a few in at a time into hot smoking fat. They should be very pale brown. Stir in fat to keep them separated. Remove from fat with perforated spoon, drain, and serve with lemon. Hapuka or Groper Steaks Rub the steaks with lemon, juice; then dip in seasoned flour. Place them in greased oven-dish, cover barely with milk, sprinkle a little salt and pepper over, and bake, covered, for abaut 12 hour in moderate oven, Remove lid and sprinkle with grated cheese, top with fine breadcrumbs, put a dab of butter here and there, and return to oven till cheese is melted and the whole is nicely browned. Curried Smoked Fish Skin the smoked fish, cut it into suit-ably-sized pieces, and put into saucepan, Cover just barely with milk and simmer very gently until tender. In another pan, melt 2 tablespoons butter (or good cod-fat), stir in a tablespoon of grated onion and cook a little; then add a tablespoon of good curry powder (more or less according to taste) and let all cook together a minute or two, Then stir in a tablespoon of good cornflour mixed with a little milk. Stir and cook till it begins to thicken, then a 8 sufficient milk from the cooked. fish make the sauce of the consistency you like, More or less cornflour can be used, according to the quantity you want to make. When the sauce is ready, add rings of hard-boiled egg, and pour the whole over the pieces’ of smoked fish which have been arranged on serving dish or on individual plates. Soused Fish Two pounds of fish; a few peppercorns and cloves; 1 sliced, onion; bunch herbs; 3 teacups vinegar; cayenne to taste; 4% teaspoon spice; 12 teaspoon salt. Put prepared fish in flat baking

dish, cover with onion and other ingredients, pour. in vinegar, cover with greased paper, bake in moderate oven 20 minutes. Leave till cold, lift out carefully, garnish with lemon. strain liquor over. Serve with cucumber,