505. Matelotte Of Eels, A La Parisienne

CUt the eels into four-inch lengths, put them into a stewpan with sliced carrot, etc. ; moisten with a bottle of French white wine, some essence of mushrooms, and the liquor produced by three dozen blanched oysters ; stew the eels thus prepared; drain, trim, and put the pieces of eels into a clean stewpan, with a little of their own liquor to keep them moist and to warm them in. Put the remainder of the liquor into a stewpan with a large ladleful of white veloute sauce, and two glasses of white wine; reduce the whole quickly on the fire, incorporate therein a leason of four yelks of eggs, a large pat of crayfish butter, some lemon-juice, and a little nutmeg; pass the sauce into a bain-marie containing the three dozen oysters before alluded to, some button-mushrooms, and crayfish tails. When about to dish up, first place upon the dish an oval piece of bread, about three inches high, cut in flutes all round and fried of a light color; then set the pieces of eels in a perpendicular position up against the fried bread, garnish the croustade with a group of small quenelles of whitings, sauce with the ragout prepared for the purpose, garnish round with large crayfish, and small fluted bread croustades filled with soft roes of mackerel or carp, and send to table.

506. Matelotte Of Eels, A La Genoise

Either cut the eels into three or four-inch lengths, or truss them into an oval or round shape; prepare them for stewing with the usual vegetables, etc, moisten with Claret or Burgundy wine, and set the eels on the fire to stew. When done, drain, trim, and glaze them with some lobster coral in the glaze; pile the eels up in a pyramidal group on a dish, sauce with some good Genoise sauce (No. 30), made with the liquor in which the eels have been stewed ; garnish round with alternate groups of button-mushrooms, small quenelles of carp, and crayfish tails, and send to table.

507. Eels, A La Dauphinoise

Bone two large eels, fill them with force-meat of whitings mixed with some simmered fine-herbs; then sew the eels up with a large worsted needle and some coarse thread; truss them in a circular form, place them in an oval stewpan with some mirepoix (No. 236), and set them to stew on the fire, or in the oven, basting them frequently with their own liquor, and taking care that they arc not allowed to boil fast, as that would cause them to break, and otherwise disfigure them. When the eels are done, glaze and.dish them up, one resting on the other in the dish; in the centre of one, place a group of quenelles of whitings mixed with some chopped truffles, and in the centre of the other, place another group of quenelles of whitings colored with lobster coral; sauce them with some Perigueux sauce (No. 23), in which has been mixed half the mirepoix the eels have been stewed in, and finish with a pat of anchovy butter and lemon-juice. Garnish round with large crayfish, placing a group of half-a-dozen of the finest of these in the centre of the dish.