WHITEBAIT AS PREPARED AT LOVEGROVE'S BLACKWALL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 431, 1 October 1869, Page 3

WHITEBAIT AS PREPARED AT LOVEGROVE'S BLACKWALL.

. .,-. As whitebait are now becoming plentiful, the following receipts, for cooking them will, if carried out, produce many a dainty dish, and at a. cost which will be within the reach of almost oil persons. The orthodox method >of, cooking white* ait, and that followed in the preparation of the whitebait dinners so celebrated among the gourmands of England, is to. cook them within an hour or so after being cawght. They are kept in water in a pan, and taken out as required by a skimmer They'.afe then thrown upon a layer of flour, contained in a napkin, and shaken until completely enveloped in flour. The fish are next fried in boiling lard or oil; in two minutes they are taken out and put on a fish strainer^and served instantly. The rapidity of the cooking process is of the utmost im- ' portahce; if not attended to the fish lose their crijpnes*.. To temper their richness, they are sprinkled witli cayenne pepper, a dash of lemon- juice ia squeezed over them, and they are ea u-n with brown bread and butter, the repast being washed down with a glass or two of good Burgundy— the Australian wine known as Kultida would be a capital substitute for Burgundy. Made into an omolette, with egg and bread-crumbs, and flavoured with parsley or other heibs, according to taste, whitebait are veiy delicious, and cooked in tHfo'ihanner may be eaten either hot or cojdy Plain boiled, and sent to tablejwith parsley and melted butter, these delicate fish are not to be despised. Curried whitebait forms an excellepfc. side-dish. A first-class relish for either breakfast or tea is made by sousing whitebait in vinegar, and -seasoning' with plenty of pepper and a little salt. Have our readers

ever ate a -whitebait salad ? Because, if they have not, there is yet a treat in store for them. Plain boil the whitebait, and, after carefully draining off the water, let them stnnd till cold, then take a plant or two of blanched endive arid a few young onions, just enough of the latter to serve as a condiment ; cut up the endive and onions, but not in too small pieces, mix the whitebait plentifully with them, then prepare the following dressing — a little vinegar, some cayenne pepper, a small teaspoonful of essence of anchovy, and a good quantity of the finest Lucca oil, in all ]U9t enough to moisten the mass of salad but not to swim it. Prepare this salad just before eating it, and its rare crispness and delicious flavour will cause it to become an established favourite wherever it has been once introduced. :