From:
The Thorough Good Cook
Fish: 46. Salt Cod a la Maitre d'hotel
The black-skinned ones are generally reckoned
the best. Be particular to have the
salt well soaked out, put the
fish into cold
water, and place on the
fire. Let it be cooked in a large vessel, that it may have plenty of room. the moment it is beginning to
boil, take it of the fire, and keep it in the water well covered; it will then be tender, but if it should continue to boil, it will be
tough and thready. Make a Maitre d'hotel, with half a pound of
butter, a spoonful of
flour, four or five spoonfuls of
water, and a little
salt. When the sauce begins to thicken, work it well, that it may be more mellow. Have some
parsley chopped very fine, Mix a pinch of it with a little
glaze, and the
juice of a
lemon; then taste the
sauce. If it be too
brown in colour, a little thick
cream will make it both whiter and more mellow. Take away the
skin and
bones of the fish, and put them into the sauce, shaking it
gently for fear of breaking them. Send it up either in a vol-au-ven or-in a deep dish with crusts of
puff paste.