Soles

Skin, gut, and wash your soles very clean, cut off their heads, and dry your fish in a cloth. Then very carefully cut the flesh from the bones and fins on both sides, and cut the flesh longways, and then across, so that each sole may be in eight pieces. Take the heads and bones, and put them into a saucepan, with a pint of water, a bundle of sweet herbs, an onion, a little whole pepper, two or three blades of mace, a little salt, a small piece of lemon peel, and a crust of bread. Cover close, and let it boil till half be wasted. Then strain through a fine sieve, and put it into a stewpan. Put in the soles and with them half a pint of white wine, a little parsley chopped fine, a few mushrooms cut small, a little grated nutmeg, and a piece of butter rolled in flour. Set all together on the fire, but keep shaking the pan all the while till the fish is enough.

Plaice And Flounders

Run your knife all along upon the bone on the back side of the fish, and raise the flesh on both sides, from the head to the tail. Then take out the bone clear, and cut your fish in six collops. Dry it well, sprinkle with salt, dredge them with flour, and fry them in a pan of hot beef dripping, so that the fish may be crisp. Take it out of the pan, and keep it warm before the fire; then clean the pan, and put into it some minced oysters, and their liquor strained, some white wine, a little grated nutmeg, and three anchovies. Having "stewed these up together, put in half a pound of butter, and then your fish. Toss them well together, dish them on sippets, and pour the sauce over them.

Skate Or Thornback

Having cut the meat clean from the bone, fins, etc. make it very clean. Then cut it into thin pieces, about an inch broad, and two inches long, and lay them in your stewpan. To one pound of the flesh put a quarter of a pint of water, a little beaten mace, and grated nutmeg; a small bundle of sweet herbs, and a little salt. Cover it and let it boil fifteen minutes. Take out the sweet herbs, put in a quarter of a pint of good cream, a piece of butter, the size of a walnut, rolled in flour, and a glass of white wine. Keep shaking the pan all the time one way, till it is thick and smooth; then serve.

Fish In General

To fricasee fish in general, melt butter according to the quantity of your fish, and cut your fish in pieces of the length and breadth of three fingers. Then put them and your butter into a stewpan, and put it on the fire : but take care that it does not boil too fast, as that may break the fish, and turn the butter into oil. Turn them often, till enough, having first put in a bunch of sweet herbs, an onion, two or three anchovies cut small, a little pepper and salt, some nutmeg, mace, lemon peel, and two or three cloves ; then put in some claret, and let them stew altogether. Beat up six yolks of eggs, and put them in with such pickles as you please, as mushrooms, capers, and oysters. Shake them well together, that they may not curdle ; and if you put the spice in whole, take it out when done. The seasoning ought to be stewed first in a little water, and the butter melted in that and the wine before you put your fish in. Jacks eat very well done in this manner.