671.—TENCH, MARINADED AND BROILED. (Fr.—Tanche grillé.)
Ingredients.—Small tench; to 2 or 3 allow 1 small onion finely-chopped, 2 shallots finely-chopped, 1 dessertspoonful of parsley finely-chopped, of a teaspoonful of powdered mixed herbs, 2 or 3 tablespoonfuls of salad-oil, salt and pepper, piquant sauce.
Method.—Wash and clean the fish thoroughly, remove the gills, and completely cover the fish with boiling water. Let them remain for 5 minutes, then dry and scale them carefully. Place them in a deep dish, add a good seasoning of salt and pepper, and the onion, shallot, parsley, herbs and salad-oil. Allow the tench to lie for 2 hours, meanwhile basting frequently with the marinade, and then drain well. Have ready some pieces of well-oiled foolscap of suitable size, enclose each fish separately, and broil it over a clear fire for 10 or 15 minutes, according to size. When done, remove the papers and serve the fish with the piquant sauce poured over.
Time.—About 2½ hours. Average Cost, uncertain, tench being seldom offered for sale. Allow 1 for each person.
The Tench (Fr. tanche).—This fish generally inhabits stagnant and weedy waters, and rivers and ponds abounding in rushes. It thrives best in standing waters, and is found more frequently in pools and ponds, where it feeds on refuse vegetable matter, than in running streams. Tench taken from the latter are preferable for the table, the flavour being superior; those captured where the mud is foul have usually a bad taste if cooked immediately, but this may be obviated by placing the fish when caught in clear water. The tench is very tenacious of life, and may be preserved or carried for a long distance covered in damp weeds. In colour this fish is a greenish-olive above, and of a light tint below. It spawns in May and June. The flesh of the tench is somewhat coarse and insipid. The tench is a member of the carp family, and is frequently placed in ponds with carp.
672.—TENCH, MATELOT OF. (Fr.—Tanche en Matelote.)
Ingredients.—3 tench, 12 sauce oysters, 1 pint of good stock, ¼ of a pint of port wine or claret, 1 oz. of butter, 1 oz. of flour, 1 tablespoonful of finely-chopped onion, 12 button mushrooms, a bouquet-garni (parsley, thyme, bay-leaf), 2 cloves, 1 blade of mace, 1 teaspoonful of anchovy-essence, 1 dessertspoonful of lemon-juice, salt and pepper, cayenne.
Method.—Wash, clean and scale the fish, and cut each into 2 or 3 pieces. Put the stock, onion, bouquet-garni, mushrooms, cloves, mace, with a good pinch of cayenne, into a shallow stewpan. Simmer gently for 20 minutes, then put in the fish, cover closely, and simmer gently for ½ an hour. Meanwhile blanch the oysters in their own liquor, remove the beards, cut each oyster in two, and strain the liquor into the stewpan. Melt the butter in another stewpan, add the flour, and cook it for 4 or 5 minutes. When the fish is ready, remove it carefully to a hot dish, strain the sauce over the flour and butter, and
