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Fish Pudding

A historical recipe from Margaret Brown's French Cookery Book, by Margaret Brown (1886).

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A historical recipe

Margaret Brown's French Cookery Book, by Margaret Brown (1886). Project Gutenberg eBook #44915.

From an old book: a historical recipe, not current advice. Its methods, additives and storage may be unsafe by today's standards.

France

Known as a French recipe, with similar versions prepared across other nations.

Ingredients 7 ingredients

  1. Three pounds of rock
  2. 1/2 can of truffles
  3. 1 can of mushrooms
  4. 1/2 pint of milk
  5. 1/2 pint of cream
  6. a tablespoonful each of flour
  7. 1 quart of scoop French potatoes

Cook safely

Keep children and pets away from the hob and the oven, and keep oven gloves and a lid within reach.

  • Boiling water and steam. Turn pan handles inward, away from the edge of the hob. Lift lids away from you, and pour hot water away from your body: steam burns too.
  • Sharp knives. Cut on a board that doesn't slip (a damp cloth under it helps), and curl the fingers of the hand that holds the food.

Method

  1. Three pounds of rock, boil it not quite done enough to serve;
  2. take it out;
  3. let it get cool;
  4. then take all the skin off;
  5. take the fish from the bones in fine pieces, not mashed up;
  6. 1/2 can of truffles;
  7. 1 can of mushrooms;
  8. peel the truffles;
  9. cut the largest size truffles and mushrooms into rose and star shapes with little cutters;
  10. take a 3-pint pudding mould fluted and grease it well, setting the shapes all around the mould;
  11. cut most of the mushrooms with a little parsley very fine and put with the fish;
  12. the truffles must be cut up and put in the sauce;
  13. 1/2 pint of milk, a full tablespoonful of flour, medium size tablespoonful of butter;
  14. mix the flour and butter together;
  15. put the milk on to boil;
  16. then pour it into the flour and butter;
  17. then pour all on the fish;
  18. put pepper and salt in it;
  19. put fish in a mould;
  20. cover it up tight and place it in a pot of boiling water two-thirds up the sides of the mould and let it steam 1/2 hour;
  21. take 1/2 pint of cream and mushroom water;
  22. put it on the fire to boil;
  23. rub up a tablespoonful each of flour and butter;
  24. mix all together, putting in the balance of the truffles and mushrooms, and let all boil 10 or 15 minutes;
  25. season with pepper and salt;
  26. 1 quart of scoop French potatoes;
  27. boil them done in salt and water;
  28. when done put through a colander.
  29. When it is time to serve the fish pudding pour the fish out into the platter and pour the potatoes around the dish;
  30. serve the gravy in a sauce-bowl.

Plating

Cookware for this recipe

  • Large pot
  • Mixing bowl
  • Chef's knife
  • Vegetable peeler
  • Colander
Source Public domain in the USA
Credit

From Margaret Brown's French Cookery Book, by Margaret Brown (1886). Digitised by Project Gutenberg, eBook #44915 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44915). Public domain in the USA; its status may differ elsewhere.

What was changed: As printed, from the book's text; Project Gutenberg's header and licence removed. Ingredient lines were read out of the text by a program. A historical recipe, not current advice.