CJBS bought a side of haddock. Since I needed the oven on to cook my pretend fish, baking the (real) fish was money-saving and eco-friendly. But the best way to bake?
Patten has various ways of baking "fresh salted cod", the preserved-in-salt, then-washed-in-bicarb version of fresh fish that appeared after we invaded Iceland and slaved their economy to ours (a plan we also had for the then-Irish Free State should the U-Boats drive us into starvation) . But fresh salted cod is quite different, and Patten is bulking it out to a degree not needed when we could buy such a large piece (admittedly at a terrifyingly high price - £2.77 for just under half a pound).
My choice was to make something of an occasion of it. I took two tomatoes and scooped out the pulp; I chopped the flesh and half an onion. I melted a knob of our fat ration (vegetable lard) and put two diced slices of smoked bacon in to cook. When this started to sizzle, I added the onion. When the onion was soft, I added the tomato chunks.
When everything was heated through, I put two slices worth of breadcrumbs into the mixture, soaking up the fat, then took it off the heat. I put the fish into a baking tray and spread the bacon-tomato-breadcrumb mixture over the top. I dotted half an ounce of butter over the top, then put it in a medium oven. Half an hour later, I served the now crusty, crisp-topped haddock with some mashed potato (made with both an ounce of butter and a quarter pint of milk because there was no gravy on offer) and some steamed broccoli.
Now I'll see if the resulting large meal was enough or whether CJBS wants the baked apple I've offered but not made yet.
6 days ago
3 comments:
That was really delicious but somehow it tasted so rich and mouth watering that I felt we were cheating. But we weren't. It was all within ration, within scope of the scheme and did not rob from other ration categories. I think the reason for it feeling like a cheat is that for the first time, one of these dishes actually seemed vivid and exotic to the taste. One assumes this diet to be bland and 'samey' but how much is one influenced by lazy journalists and melodramatic historians? There is no reason a wartime dish must be dull or uninspiring. I could eat this twice a week. I hope RJG got equal satisfaction from his vegetarian fake fish. My real fish meal seemed of restaurant standard.. Admittedly the price of the side of haddock was a bit high for typical wartime domestic menus but a treat can be made from basics. This proves it. The crispy cooked breadcrumb top, suffused with chopped tomatoes, onion, bacon fat and bits of your actual bacon indeed, was a revelation. First time I have ever had bacon in a fish dish and boy does it work. Best meal yet!
Update 2115: The addition of mashed potato and steamed broccoli made the meal so satisfying that I was well filled by the end and so suggested we postpone the baked apple pudding until tomorrow night. My wish was granted...
That fish dish sounds mouthwateringly scrumptious! I'm not on a ration diet, but I might try that one just for the hell of it...
Sounds like the rationing experiment went well up to this point, and I'm still very much enjoying reading your blog. :-)
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