The French Menu Cookbook by Richard Olney

Author:Richard Olney [Olney, Richard]
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-1-60774-015-5
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Published: 1969-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Clean the fish, tear out the gills, rinse fish, and sponge them dry with a towel. Large fish should have diagonal and parallel slits cut into the flesh at approximately 1½-inch intervals on either side to permit a regular penetration of heat.

Mix the elements of the marinade and sprinkle the fish, inside and out, with the marinade. Leave them in a cool place for 1 or 2 hours, turning them from time to time.

THE OURSINADE

To open a sea urchin, hold it in one hand (in several thicknesses of cloth for protection against the spines), pierce the orifice with the pointed blade of a pair of scissors, cut outward through the shell about ¾ of an inch, then cut all the way around in order to be able to lift out a circular “lid.” Discard the lid and either rinse the interior out with sea water or give it a shake to rid it of the water and blackish, granular material inside. Remove the corals with the help of a teaspoon and pass them through a sieve. Mix the purée with the olive oil and store in a cool place until ready for use (if stored in the refrigerator, remove it an hour before using as the oil will have solidified through contact with extreme cold). The coral purée is too heavy to remain in emulsion in the oil and the mixture must be stirred well before each serving (it will, of course, remain in emulsion in an olive-oil mayonnaise, which makes a splendid sauce also for grilled fish).

Small fish should be arranged in rows on a heavy steel-wire double-faced grill. Large fish can be dealt with easily only in the special, fish-shaped double grill. If the small fish are wrapped in vine leaves, the heat should be intense, and they need not be basted. Otherwise, grilled fish should be basted often with the marinating liquid, plus additional olive oil, if necessary, using little at a time to avoid its dropping into the hot coals and bursting into flame. The cooking time and the intensity of the heat both depend on the size of the fish, the smallest requiring a very lively bed of coals and only a couple of minutes’ exposure on each side. A large fish may take up to 15 minutes on each side, and the intensity of the heat should be proportionately less. The fish is done when the flesh is no longer resilient to the touch.

Lacking a bed of coals, the fish may be prepared in the oven, smaller fish being grilled directly beneath the broiler, larger ones being first baked, repeatedly basted, and browned at the last minute beneath the open flame.

Large fish should be filleted and served at table, the small fin bones being first removed, the fish slit lengthwise along the central line corresponding to the spinal column, and the fillets slipped loose. When the top fillets have been removed, the skeleton may easily be lifted, leaving the two other fillets clean. Serve the sauce separately.

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