606. Soles

Soles should be skinned and trimmed by the fishmonger. If fried plain, dry them well with a clean cloth, flour them with a dredge, the pan should be well cleaned, and a quantity of lard placed in it, it should be boiling hot, before the fish is placed into the pan brown them nicely, dish with care; or they may, instead of being floured, be coated with the yolk of eggs beaten up with bread crumbs, previous to frying, they should be a light but not a pale brown when cooked.

607. Soles - Boiled

Choose a large thick sole, wash and clean thoroughly without disturbing the roe or the melt, lay it in a fish kettle with enough cold water to cover it, throw in a handful of salt, let it come gradually to a boil, and having kept the water well skimmed, place the kettle by the side of the fire, and in eight minutes the sole will be sufficiently cooked to dish, serve with shrimp sauce, cucumber sliced and dressed.

608. Bread Crumbed Fillets

The fillets you will roll up and fasten together with a small skewer or fine string round them; proceed exactly as for bread crumbed soles, they will take a little longer to fry, stand them up endways to dish them whether for garnish or a dish; be sure to draw out the skewer or the string.

609. Fillets Of Soles Make A Good Pie

Cut each fillet in half and lay them in your dish, season with pepper and salt, and a layer of oysters, chopped parsley, and some oyster liquor, with some good stock, or white sauce into the dish is best, add a gill of cream.

610. Soles A La Portuguese

Split two small soles or cut one large one in half and hone it, fry the fish slightly in a pan with a bit of butter and a squeeze of lemon juice, take it out and place on each piece of fish a layer of stuffing, or forcemeat, roll it up leaving the head for the outside, secure each roll with a small skewer.

Lay them in a pan, an earthenware one will be found the best; moisten them with a well beaten egg, and cover them with bread crumbs.

To a cup-full of meat gravy put one table-spoonful of essence of anchovy and some minced parsley, mix with it the remains of the egg used to moisten the rolls with, and pour it over them, then cover down closely and bake in a slow oven until the fish are done, they will take about twenty minutes. Lay the rolls in a very hot dish with the heads to each other, skim the gravy cleanly and quickly, pour it Over them and. serve.

Garnish with fried parsley.

611. Soles Au Plat

Bone the soles, trim them, take off the heads and lay them in a dish in which you have poured about two ounces of clarified butter, a table-spoonful of white broth, the juice of a quarter of a lemon, half a tea-spoonful of essence of anchovies, some parsley chopped as finely as possible, and a sprinkling of cayenne pepper. Previously to laying the soles upon this compound, brush them over lightly with the yolk of an egg, and strew finely powdered bread crumbs over them; bake them twenty minutes in a slow oven, serve in the dish with the sauce.

612. Maitre D'Hotel Fillets Of Soles

Get four good sized soles filleted, beat each fillet with your cutlet heater, dipping your cutlet beater into cold water frequently; then cut each fillet into three, rounding one end and leaving the other as a point to form a cutlet; have ready about a quarter of a pound of clarified butter in a saute-pan, and the juice of two lemons, cayenne pepper, and salt, mix well together, dip each cutlet as you cut it both sides in this, keeping the cutlets in the saute-pan; about twenty four cutlets will make a corner dish, paper them over, and either do them in the oven or. on the stove; when done take them out of the saute pan to drain, keep them hot until you dish them; the bones and trimmings with what is left in your saute-pan make the sauce from; put all your trimmings into a stewpan with a quart of stock, four anchovies, reduce it down to half a pint, thicken it, and strain it through a tammy into a clean stewpan, add a gill of cream, have ready some very fine chopped parsley to sprinkle over the last thing, pour the sauce over your fish.

Dish as cutlets.

613. Fillets Of Soles Fried, To Go Round Other Fish

Cut and prepare your soles as before, only laying each cutlet in a cloth to dry, and well flour them; then egg them and bread crumb them, let your bread be put through a wire sieve, put a little flour and salt to the crumbs; have ready in a stewpan some lard or oil, if for a catholic or Jew's family, oil when quite hot, which you will know by dropping into it a sprinkle of crumbs fried, and if it makes a great noise it is hot; then put in three or four cutlets shaking them about until a nice light brown, take them out to drain on paper, keep them hot, if for a dish by themselves; fry at the same time a good handful of parsley. In doing this, to prevent accidents, take your stewpan off the fire and hold it over the dripping-pan from you, then all at once throw in your parsley, you may in a minute return it to the fire until crisp and green.

614. Fillets Of Soles In Aspic

Cut the fillets of soles as for cutlets, and saute them the same, keeping them white and free from grease, dish them round the inside of the mould and ornament as before, if ornament is liked; or, dish them round your dish, a little small salad or lettuce in the middle, chopped aspic round, and cut cucumber in thin slices as a border to your dish.