James Beard's New Fish Cookery (23 page)

Spoon the mixture into a well-oiled mold and chill thoroughly. Unmold on a large plate and surround with pumpernickel fingers and crackers. Let people do their own spreading.

This is a favorite dish of mine for parties. I vary the seasonings, but the basic flavors must be sardine and lemon.

Sculpin

This is a bony fish with a large meaty head. Although it is common in Atlantic waters, it does not seem to be well known in the eastern area of the country. On the Pacific Coast, however, some sculpin is sold commercially in California markets, usually whole. I am sure that if you try it you will find it an excellent food fish.

Sea Bass

This popular game fish is a member of a large family of fishes that includes the groupers and the jewfish. Varieties are caught on both coasts, and the Atlantic sea bass is commercially important in the Middle Atlantic region.

The sea bass usually sold in Eastern markets lurk around sunken ships and pilings just offshore, a habit that makes trawl-fishing difficult. As a result, some of the commercial catch is taken in fishpots.

Market sizes range from about 1/2 pound to 5 pounds, and the fish is sometimes cut into steaks or fillets. Cooked and on the table, sea bass clearly resembles its relatives. It can be prepared in any of the ways suggested for striped bass.

(See also California black sea bass.)

SEA BASS ITALIAN

Butter

2/3 cup each of finely cut onion, carrot, celery

Several sprigs of parsley

Spring of thyme

1 bay leaf

2 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

11/2 cups red wine

1/2 cup water 1 whole sea bass

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

Juice of I lemon

Butter a good-sized saucepan or Dutch oven. Add all the vegetables and herbs, salt, pepper, wine, and water. Bring it to a boil. Place the cleaned fish on the bed of vegetables, cover the pan, and simmer according to the Canadian cooking theory for braising (page 17).

While the fish is cooking, melt the butter in a pan and blend in the flour. Remove the fish to a hot platter, strain the bouillon, and add it gradually to the mixed butter and flour. Stir until thickened. Taste for seasoning, add the juice of a lemon, and serve with the fish. Baked rice and asparagus are good with this dish. Also a bottle of rosé wine.

SAUTÉED SEA BASS

Small sea bass are delicious when sautéed and served with a tartar sauce (pages 35–36) or a rémoulade (page 35). I shall always remember a hot summer day when we sat down to a platter heaped with them — they had been caught that morning and were as delectable as any fish could be.

Clean the sea bass, roll in flour, dip in beaten egg, and then in dry bread crumbs. Sauté quickly in butter or olive oil, browning well on both sides. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve crisp and hot with your favorite sauce. Boiled potatoes and grilled tomatoes are ideal accompaniments.

SEA BASS FILLETS PACIFIC

Sea bass caught on the Pacific Coast are larger than the Eastern variety and are more often sold as fillets.

Marinate 2 good-sized fillets in lemon or lime juice for an hour. Dip them in flour, again in the lemon or lime juice, and roll them in sesame seeds. Sauté them in olive oil according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 10). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with lemon butter (page 31).

SEA BASS AMANDINE

Split a good-sized sea bass and rub it well with butter. Sprinkle with sliced blanched almonds and salt and pepper. Place in an oiled baking dish or pan and bake at 450° according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 8). Baste during the cooking with the butter in the pan.

HELEN EVANS BROWN’S BROILED SEA BASS SESAME

1 sea bass (3 or 4 pounds)

2 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 ounces whiskey
or
brandy

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup or more of sesame seeds

Slivers of ginger (if desired)

Split the fish and remove the backbone. Grind the garlic very fine or pound it in a mortar with the salt. Or you may crush it and mix it in a bowl with a heavy wooden spoon. Rub this mixture on the fish and let it stand for at least 1 hour — 2 or 3 will make it much better. Prepare a basting sauce with the soy sauce (use more than 2 tablespoons if you like the flavor), the whiskey or brandy, the lemon juice, and melted butter. Paint the fish with this mixture before and during the broiling process. This dish is much better if charcoal-broiled; in this case you should place it in a hinged broiler so that it can be turned. If you broil it in the oven, cook it skin side down.

Broil according to the Canadian cooking theory (pages 9–10). Near the end of the cooking time, sprinkle heavily with sesame seeds and continue broiling until the seeds are well toasted. Serve on a hot platter with wedges of lemon or lime.

Slivers of ginger (fresh or preserved) may be added to the basting sauce if you like the zest they give.

Sea Trout

Among the fish that bear this name are the California corbina, the white sea trout, the spotted weakfish or spotted sea trout, and the weakfish or gray sea trout. The weakfish is sought along the Middle Atlantic Coast by both anglers and commercial fishermen. Its name implies no lack of strength, but tenderness of flesh.

All sea trout like warm weather. At times they venture north, and when they are caught in unusually low temperatures, their flavor and texture are badly affected.

Since they are small, sea trout are usually sold whole, although you may find some fillets cut from larger fish.

SEA TROUT SAUTé MEUNIéRE

Follow directions on page 10.

BROILED SEA TROUT

Clean and split the fish, sprinkle with seasonings, and broil according to the Canadian cooking theory (pages 9–10).

VARIATION

Follow directions for bass flambé, page 267.

SEA TROUT BROILED OUTDOORS

Broil a whole sea trout over charcoal, basting it with a white wine and butter sauce. When almost done, brush well with a spicy barbecue sauce (page 30) and let the fish glaze. Serve with additional barbecue sauce.

SEA TROUT SAUTÉED WITH ALMONDS

See directions for sauté amandine, page 216.

PAN-FRIED SEA TROUT

Dip small whole fish or fillets in flour, then in beaten egg, and roll in any of the following: buttered crumbs, corn meal, cracker crumbs, sesame seeds, crumbs mixed with chopped nuts, or cornflakes. Pan fry quickly in butter or oil according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 10). Serve with lemon or sauce rémoulade (page 35).

SEA TROUT SAUTéED WITH TARRAGON

Sea trout

Flour

Butter

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup chopped tarragon

1/2 cup white wine

Use either fillets or whole sea trout. Clean the fish and flour lightly. Sauté in butter according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 10). Season to taste and remove to a hot platter. Add the chopped parsley and tarragon to the pan. Add the wine and let it cook down for 1 minute. Pour this over the fish. Serve with boiled potatoes and sautéed mushrooms.

BAKED SEA TROUT

Follow the directions for striped bass, page 269.

BAKED SEA TROUT SCANDINAVIAN

2 small sea trout

Parsley sprigs

Fresh dill

Butter

Sour cream

Salt

Capers

Paprika

Clean and stuff the sea trout with parsley sprigs and fresh dill. Sprinkle with salt. Arrange them on an oiled baking dish, dot them with butter, and bake at 425° according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 8). Near the end of the cooking time, cover the fish with sour cream that has been seasoned with chopped dill and salt. Return to the oven to finish cooking the fish and heat the cream thoroughly.

Sprinkle with capers and a dash of paprika.

Shad

This great gastronomic delight is native to Europe and to our Atlantic Coast. In the 1870s it was transplanted to the Pacific Coast, where it has flourished ever since. The shad is in season from early January, when the first of the southern catch arrives, until May, when the northernmost supply is at its height.

Shad has such an intricate bone structure that boned fillets are most desirable for general use. A stuffed baked shad, however, offers so much pure eating joy that the task of extracting all the bones is worth the effort. There was a time when people felt that shad should be slowly cooked for hours to dissolve the bones. If you care to eat fish that has been overcooked and is tasteless, you may try it.

BROILED SHAD

Unless you are an expert, don’t try to bone shad for broiling. It is a tedious job that requires skill. Either use the boned fillets or a split shad. In my opinion, it is wiser to leave the skin on the fillets. Place the fish skin side down, and broil according to the Canadian cooking theory (pages 9–10), turning once during the broiling. Serve with parsley butter (page 33).

SAUTÉED SHAD

Roll boned shad in flour and proceed as for sauté meuniére (page 10). Serve with lemon wedges or tartar sauce (pages 35–36).

VARIATION

Dip pieces of shad in flour, then in beaten egg and in rolled bread crumbs. Sauté in butter or oil until nicely browned. Serve with lemon butter (page 31) or rémoulade (page 35).

BAKED SHAD

Split a shad or buy a whole boned shad. Place it on a flat oiled baking dish or pan. Dot with butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Bake at 450° according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 8). Baste several times during the cooking process. Serve with herb butter (page 33) or lemon butter (page 31).

BAKED STUFFED SHAD

1 split, boned shad

2 large onions, sliced

4 tablespoons butter

1 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

1/2 teaspoon thyme

2 tablespoons finely chopped celery leaves

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg, well beaten

Sauté the onions in the butter until they are soft. Add the other ingredients and mix well. Stuff a split, boned shad with this mixture and sew it up or secure it with string. Place it in an oiled baking dish or pan and bake at 450° according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 8). Serve it with boiled parsley potatoes and fresh green peas. The fish needs no sauce, but if you must have one, use Hollandaise (pages 25–26) or tartar sauce (pages 35–36).

VARIATIONS

1. Sauté 1 sliced onion in butter until just soft. Add 1/2 pound chopped mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes. Season to taste and mix with 1/4 cup chopped parsley and 1/2 cup crumbs. Stuff the fish and sew it or tie it with string. Cover the fish with rashers of bacon and bake as above. Serve with a sauce duxelles (page 27).

2. Sauté 2 sliced onions in butter until soft. Add I clove garlic, 1 green pepper, and 4 ripe tomatoes, all chopped. Season and mix well. Stuff the fish with this and sew or tie securely. Place it on an oiled baking dish, dot with butter, season with salt and pepper, and pour 1 cup of white wine over it. Bake as above, basting often. Use the juices in the pan and additional wine to make a white wine sauce (page 24).

3. Split a shad and place it in the following marinade: 1 cup olive oil, 2 cloves crushed garlic, 1 sliced onion, 1 bay leaf, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 1/4 cup lemon juice, and enough white wine to cover. Let it stand for 12 hours. Prepare a stuffing with the following: 1 small chopped onion sautéed in 4 tablespoons fat, 1 cup dry bread crumbs, salt, pepper, 1/4 cup chopped parsley, 1/2 cup sliced, toasted almonds, and enough of the marinade to moisten. Mix this thoroughly and stuff the fish with it. Place it on an oiled pan or baking dish and bake as above. Heat the marinade separately and use as a basting sauce. Serve with the pan juices.

NOTE
: In France, shad is often served with sorrel — more commonly known in this country, where it grows wild, as “sour grass.” To some extent sorrel is cultivated here as a vegetable. It is delicious in soups; or it may be cooked in the same way as spinach; or it may be combined with spinach and made into a puree.

If you like the taste of sorrel, try stuffing a shad with a sorrel puree, or baking a shad on a bed of the puree. In France, shad stuffed with sorrel puree is often baked for seven hours, something we do not recommend.

SHAD BAKED IN CREAM

Split a shad and place it on an oiled baking dish. Dot with butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 450° according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 8). Add 3/4 cup heavy cream for the last 5 minutes of baking time. Serve with plenty of chopped parsley and the pan juices.

Shad Roe

This is one of our finest treats. Strangely enough, it is practically unknown in France, where the shad is greatly appreciated, and it is not done well in England. It seems to be a dish that has but two extremes — wonderful and horrible. The mistreatment of roe may almost always be attributed to overcooking. It should never be dry, never tasteless.

Roe are usually sold by the pair. They are apt to be expensive except at the end of the season, when they become plentiful. I believe that the only way to cook shad roe is as follows:

SMOTHERED SHAD ROE

For 2 pairs of roe, melt 6 ounces butter — 12 tablespoons — in a covered skillet. When the butter is melted and warm, but not hot, dip the roe in it and arrange them in the pan. Cover and simmer over a low flame for about 12 to 15 minutes, turning once. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and chopped parsley. Serve with lemon wedges and the butter from the pan. Accompany this dish with crisp bacon and boiled potatoes. This is a dinner that deserves to be enhanced by a good bottle of Chablis or a fine Meursault.

BROILED SHAD ROE

Personally, I think that to parboil and then broil shad roe is to make it unfit for human consumption. If you must broil it, do so without parboiling. Brush it well with butter and baste often during the process. Even then, it tends to become dry and uninteresting.

SHAD ROE SOUFFLÉ