1248. Salmon-Pie, A La Russe

Make two pounds of short paste (No. 1253), roll it up in a cloth, and keep it in a cool place till wanted. Cut two pounds of fresh salmon in slices about half an inch thick, and set them aside on a plate; fillet six anchovies, turn two dozen olives (removing the stone, by paring off the outer part without altering the shape), boil six eggs hard, and place the whole of these on a dish. Chop a pottle of mushrooms, two shalots, a handful of parsley, a little green-thyme, sweet basil, and tarragon; put these ingredients into a stewpan with two ounces of butter, a little nutmeg, pepper, and salt, and simmer them over the stove-fire for about five minutes; then add about half a pint of good brown sauce, and the juice of a lemon, stir the whole together over the stove-fire for five minutes longer, and then take it off. Next, roll out two-thirds of the paste to the thickness of the sixth of an inch, and after having thinly spread the inside of an oblong mould with butter, line it with this, and fill it with alternate layers of the slices of salmon, hard eggs, olives, and fillets of anchovies, at the same time spreading some of the fine-herbs sauce in between each layer; the pie must be covered with the remainder of the paste in the usual manner; bake it in a moderately-heated oven for about one hour and a half, and when done, dish it up on a napkin, and send to table.

Note. - These pies may also be made with sturgeon, trout, mackerel, char, gurnets, eels, soles, &c: the addition of some sliced thunny* tends considerably to improve the flavor.

1249. Preserved Hare, And Other Game

Bone a hare, lard it with narrow square strips of fat bacon, well seasoned with aromatic spices (No. 1250), and salt: then garnish the inside with some force-meat of fat livers (No. 247), and fold the hare so as to give to it a plump oval form ; then place it in an oval stewpan with a small glass of brandy; cover it with thin layers of fat bacon, put the lid on the stewpan, and set it in the oven, in order that the hare maybe sufficiently baked to set the meat: it should be then withdrawn.

Meanwhile, line the bottom and sides of an oval white earthen pan (sufficiently large to contain the hare) with thin layers of fat bacon, over these spread a coating of the force-meat about an inch thick, and place the hare in it, press it down tight, spread a thick layer of the force-meat on the top, cover this with layers of fat bacon, and place a covering of common paste over the whole; then, set the pan on a baking-sheet, and put it in the oven to bake slowly for about two hours: it should then be withdrawn and allowed to cool. Let the paste be removed, the edges and sides of the pan washed, and the contents of the pan pressed down tight, so as to exclude any confined air, and after pouring over the surface some well-reduced glaze (made from the carcass), to the depth of about a quarter of an inch, keep the pie in a cool place until wanted for use.

* Thunny is a fish abounding in the Mediterranean, and which is procurable, preserved in oil, at all the Italian warehouses.

When this kind of pie is intended to be kept for any length of time, some clean hog's-lard should be run over the surface to the depth of about an inch; when this has become set firm by cooling, the pan should be covered in with strong white paper pasted over it, or in lieu of this, a bladder (soaked in water, and well washed) may be tied over it.

Note. - All kinds of game should be preserved in the above method ; but, if preferred, game may be used instead of livers for making the force-meat. Indeed, this is by far the best plan when the preserved game is intended for keeping, as force-meat, when made with livers of any kind, is more liable to fermentation than when made with fresh-killed game.