The Book of Household Management - The Original Classic Edition. Beeton Mrs

struggling very hard till they passed it. This shoal continued to move on, night and day without interruption for several weeks. Their progress might be at the rate of about a mile an hour. It was easy to catch the animals, though they were very active and nimble. They were eels perfectly well formed in every respect, but not exceeding two inches in length. I conceive that the shoal did not contain, on an average, less than from twelve to twenty in breadth; so that the number that passed, on the whole, must have been very great. Whence they came or whither they went, I know not; but the place where I saw this, was six miles from the sea."

       EEL PIE.

       253. INGREDIENTS.--1 lb. of eels, a little chopped parsley, 1 shalot; grated nutmeg; pepper and salt to taste; the juice of 1/2 a

       lemon, small quantity of forcemeat, 1/4 pint of bechamel (see Sauces); puff paste.

       Mode.--Skin and wash the eels, cut them into pieces 2 inches long, and line the bottom of the pie-dish with forcemeat. Put in the eels, and sprinkle them with the parsley, shalots, nutmeg, seasoning, and lemon-juice, and cover with puff-paste. Bake for 1 hour, or rather more; make the bechamel hot, and pour it into the pie.

       Time.--Rather more than 1 hour. Seasonable from August to March. COLLARED EEL.

       254. INGREDIENTS.--1 large eel; pepper and salt to taste; 2 blades of mace, 2 cloves, a little allspice very finely pounded, 6 leaves

       of sage, and a small bunch of herbs minced very small.

       Mode.--Bone the eel and skin it; split it, and sprinkle it over with the ingredients, taking care that the spices are very finely pounded,

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       and the herbs chopped very small. Roll it up and bind with a broad piece of tape, and boil it in water, mixed with a little salt and vinegar, till tender. It may either be served whole or cut in slices; and when cold, the eel should be kept in the liquor it was boiled in, but with a little more vinegar put to it.

       Time.--2 hours. Average cost, 6d. per lb. Seasonable from August to March.

       HAUNTS OF THE EEL.--These are usually in mud, among weeds, under roots or stumps of trees, or in holes in the banks or the bottoms of rivers. Here they often grow to an enormous size, sometimes weighing as much as fifteen or sixteen pounds. They seldom come forth from their hiding-places except in the night; and, in winter, bury themselves deep in the mud, on account of their great susceptibility of cold.

       EELS A LA TARTARE.

       255. INGREDIENTS.--2 lbs. of eels, 1 carrot, 1 onion, a little flour, 1 glass of sherry; salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste; bread

       crumbs, 1 egg, 2 tablespoonfuls of vinegar.

       Mode.--Rub the butter on the bottom of the stewpan; cut up the carrot and onion, and stir them over the fire for 5 minutes; dredge in a little flour, add the wine and seasoning, and boil for 1/2 an hour. Skin and wash the eels, cut them into pieces, put them to the other ingredients, and simmer till tender. When they are done, take them out, let them get cold, cover them with egg and bread crumbs, and fry them of a nice brown. Put them on a dish, pour sauce piquante over, and serve them hot.

       Time.--1-1/2 hour. Average cost, 1s. 8d., exclusive of the sauce piquante.

       Seasonable from August to March. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.

       VORACITY OF THE EEL.--We find in a note upon Isaac Walton, by Sir John Hawkins, that he knew of eels, when kept in ponds, frequently destroying ducks. From a canal near his house at Twickenham he himself missed many young ducks; and on draining, in order to clean it, great numbers of large eels were caught in the mud. When some of these were opened, there were found in their stomachs the undigested heads of the quacking tribe which had become their victims.

       EELS EN MATELOTE.

       256. INGREDIENTS.--5 or 6 young onions, a few mushrooms, when obtainable; salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste; 1 laurel-leaf,

       1/2 pint of port wine, 1/2 pint of medium stock, No. 105; butter and flour to thicken; 2 lbs. of eels.

       Mode.--Rub the stewpan with butter, dredge in a little flour, add the onions cut very small, slightly brown them, and put in all the other ingredients. Wash, and cut up the eels into pieces 3 inches long; put them in the stewpan, and simmer for 1/2 hour. Make round the dish, a border of croutons, or pieces of toasted bread; arrange the eels in a pyramid in the centre, and pour over the sauce. Serve very hot.

       Time.--3/4 hour. Average cost, 1s. 9d. for this quantity.

       Seasonable from August to March. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.

       TENACITY OF LIFE IN THE EEL.--There is no fish so tenacious of life as this. After it is skinned and cut in pieces, the parts will continue to move for a considerable time, and no fish will live so long out of water.

       [Illustration: THE LAMPREY.]

       THE LAMPREY.--With the Romans, this fish occupied a respectable rank among the piscine tribes, and in Britain it has at various periods stood high in public favour. It was the cause of the death of Henry I. of England, who ate so much of them, that it brought on an attack of indigestion, which carried him off. It is an inhabitant of the sea, ascending rivers, principally about the end of winter, and, after passing a few months in fresh water, returning again to its oceanic residence. It is most in season in March, April, and May, but is, by some, regarded as an unwholesome food, although looked on by others as a great delicacy. They are dressed as eels.

       FISH AND OYSTER PIE.

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       257. INGREDIENTS.--Any remains of cold fish, such as cod or haddock; 2 dozen oysters, pepper and salt to taste, bread crumbs sufficient for the quantity of fish; 1/2 teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, 1 teaspoonful of finely-chopped parsley.

       Mode.--Clear the fish from the bones, and put a layer of it in a pie-dish, which sprinkle with pepper and salt; then a layer of bread crumbs, oysters, nutmeg, and chopped parsley. Repeat this till the dish is quite full. You may form a covering either of bread crumbs, which should be browned, or puff-paste, which should be cut into long strips, and laid in crossbars over the fish, with a line of

       the paste first laid round the edge. Before putting on the top, pour in some made melted butter, or a little thin white sauce, and the

       oyster-liquor, and bake.

       Time.--If made of cooked fish, 1/4 hour; if made of fresh fish and puff-paste, 3/4 hour.

       Average cost, 1s. 6d.

       Seasonable from September to April.

       Note.--A nice little dish may be made by flaking any cold fish, adding a few oysters, seasoning with pepper and salt, and covering

       with mashed potatoes; 1/4 hour will bake it. FISH CAKE.

       258. INGREDIENTS.--The remains of any cold fish, 1 onion, 1 faggot of sweet herbs; salt and pepper to taste, 1 pint of water,

       equal quantities of bread crumbs and cold potatoes, 1/2 teaspoonful of parsley, 1 egg, bread crumbs.

       Mode.--Pick the meat from the bones of the fish, which latter put, with the head and fins, into a stewpan with the water; add pep-per and salt, the onion and herbs, and stew slowly for gravy about 2 hours; chop the fish fine, and mix it well with bread crumbs and cold potatoes, adding the parsley and seasoning; make the whole into a cake with the white of an egg, brush it over with egg, cover with bread crumbs, and fry of a light brown; strain the gravy, pour it over, and stew gently for 1/4 hour, stirring it carefully once or twice. Serve hot, and garnish with slices of lemon and parsley.

       Time--1/2 hour, after the gravy is made. BOILED FLOUNDERS.

       259. INGREDIENTS.--Sufficient water to cover the flounders, salt in the proportion of 6 oz. to each gallon, a little vinegar.

       Mode.--Pat on a kettle with enough water to cover the flounders, lay in the fish, add salt and vinegar in the above proportions, and when it boils, simmer very gently for 5 minutes. They must not boil fast, or they will break. Serve with plain melted butter, or parsley and butter.

       Time.--After the water boils, 5 minutes. Average cost, 3d. each.

       Seasonable from August to November. [Illustration: FLOUNDERS.]