[Sca-cooks] Pennsic Potluck, revisited

[Robin Carroll-Mann]

On 26 Aug 2004, at 14:58, Phlip wrote:

> Now, shall we tell each other what we brought to the Potluck? I think the
> folks at home might enjoy the dishes- I certainly did ;-)

I hadn't planned in advance, but I brought a copy of de Nola with me.  I was 
browsing through the Lenten chapter, when I noticed that there was one fish 
recipe that was intended to be served cold.

GOOD ESCABECHE

Take a crustless piece of bread soaked in white vinegar, and take blanched 
almonds, and toasted hazelnuts, and pine nuts, and grind everything 
together until it is well-ground; and when it is ground, blend it with fish broth, 
and then strain it through a woolen cloth; and then take a few raisins with the 
seeds removed, and grind them well with the other things, and set it to cook. 
 And cast in the pot all fine spices and saffron, because the sauce ought to 
be very deep in color, and sweet in taste, and black; however, the sweetness 
should be from honey.  And when it is thick, remove it from the fire; and then 
take the fish when it is cold, and put it on a plate, and cast the escabeche 
on top.  

However, this sauce should be eaten with pandora or dentex before any other 
fish; and when you cook it, cast on the escabeche.  And when it is cold, put 
a little ground cinnamon on top; and then stick in some pine nuts, point 
upwards, all around the plate, and shredded parsley.  

And this sauce is commonly served cold, but [served] hot it is not bad.

****************************

Since the Giant Eagle supermarket had neither pandora nor dentex, I bought 
salmon.  I poached the salmon, then put it on ice to chill.  I made the sauce 
as described above.  The "fine spices" were what I had on hand: galingale, 
nutmeg and cinnamon (cassia).  I did not use a lot of saffron, so it was not 
"deep in color".  The sauce was not as smooth as it could have been if I'd 
had more time, or access to a modern kitchen.  I garnished the finished dish 
with pine nuts and parsley, but I sprinkled the pine nuts instead of placing 
them point up.

The fish was well-received (except by one lady who didn't like salmon to 
begin with), and only a few spoonfuls were left of the 2.5 pounds I cooked.  
All in all, I consider it a success, and would definitely make it again.


Brighid ni Chiarain *** mka Robin Carroll-Mann
Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom
rcmann4 at earthlink.net