Foodie Friday: Gateau of Fish from 1921

Perfect for Old School Pastry on a Foodie Friday: make a gateau of fish! This recipe comes from A Modern Manual of Cooking by Marion Harris Neil, published in 1921. The original recipe for the oyster sauce called for chopped eggs but none were included in the ingredients, so I omitted them.

Gateau of Fish

For Fish:

• 1 1/2 lbs. cooked white fish
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons shortening
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Lemon slices [for garnish]
• Oyster Sauce (recipe below)

Oyster Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup oyster liquor
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• Salt, pepper, and red pepper to taste
• 1 dozen small oysters

For the Fish: Cook the fish; remove skin and bone, chop it, then put it in a basin, add breadcrumbs, parsley, seasonings, milk, eggs well beaten, and melted shortening. Mix well, turn into a buttered mold, cover with a greased paper and steam one hour. Serve with sauce poured over, and dish garnished with lemon slices.

For the Sauce: Blend shortening and flour in a saucepan; cook one minute. Stir in milk, oyster liquor, stir till it boils for eight minutes, then add seasonings. Boil one minute, add oysters. Mix, until the oysters cook, and serve.