The French cook.: Prescribing the way of making ready of all sorts of meats, fish and flesh, with the proper sauces, either to procure appetite, or to advance the power of digestion. Also the preparation of all herbs and fruits, so as their naturall crudities are by art opposed; with the whole skil of pastry-work. Together with a treatise of conserves, both dry and liquid, a la mode de France. With an alphabeticall table explaining the hard words, and other usefull tables. / Written in French by Monsieur De La Varenne, clerk of the kitchin to the Lord Marquesse of Uxelles, and now Englished by I.D.G.

After the foregoing instruction or word of advise, followeth the Method of the Pastry-work for fish, concer∣ning Pies and Tourts, ac∣cording to the contents of the foregoing Table.

1. Salmon pie.

AFter your fish is dressed, lard it with Eele or Carp, seasoned with peper, salt, and beaten cloves, then put it in paste, and over it a bay leaf, and good fresh butter, or beaten lard, according to the day as you will use it; besprinkle it with lard, with a drop of vinegar, and close it up after the form of the fish; after it is baked, serve it warme or cold.

The pies of Troute, Becare, Carp, and Stur∣geon, are made up alike.

2. Pie of Dab.

Dress your Dab, and slit it on the top; if you will, lard it with Eele well seasoned, then dresse up your pie according to the bignesse of your Dab, and put it in it, well seasoned with salt, peper, cloves, fine hearbs, mush∣rums, morils, a little parsley fryed with fresh butter, mousserons, bottomes of artichocks,

broken sparagus, and good fresh butter, co∣ver it with open work, and if you will, en∣rich it with some works, and bake it; after it is baked, and well fed, serve it with a sauce made with verjuice of grapes, and yolkes of egges.

The pies of Turbot, Trout, and Plice, are made the same way.

3. Eele pie.

Dresse them, cut them into round slices, and season them, make up your pie, and fill it up with eeles, hard yolks of eggs, mush∣rums, troufles, if you have any bottomes of artichocks, and good fresh butter; serve it uncovered with a white sauce, made with yolks of eggs allayed in verjuice, and a drop of vinegar; lest it should fall down, bind it with butter'd paper; when it is baked, take the pa∣per off.

4. Pie of fresh cod.

Make it as that of Dab, and serve it warm.

5. Pie of Carp without bones.

Farce it the same way as for a first course, and make your pie up, put it into it garnished with what you will; bake it covered; after it hath baked two houres, serve it uncovered with a white sauce.

Another way.

Cut your Carp into peeces, and put it into paste, made up and seasoned with what you have; bake your pie, and serve it uncovered with a white sauce.

6. Pie after the Cardinal's way.

Take the flesh of carpe and of eele, mince them well with butter, and season with salt, peper, fine hearbs, and a few mushrums, then make up your pies, as small as you can; fill them up, cover, and endore them, and bake them, then serve.

7. Pie of flounders.

After they are dressed, slit them, and put them in your sheet of paste, season with salt, peper, beaten clove, mushrums passed in the panne with brown butter, fresh butter, and all what you have, cover it, bake it, and binde it with buttered paper; when it is baked, serve with a white sauce, nutmeg, a chalotte, the juice and slices of lemon, or of orenge.

8. Pie of grenost.

After it is dressed, slit it, and put it in your sheet of paste, seasoned with salt, peper, fresh butter, mushrums, trouffles, mousserons, moril∣les, parsley fried and bottomes of hartichocks; after the pie is made up & bound with butter∣ed paper, bake it, after it is baked, serve it un∣covered with a white sauce, or any other al∣laying you have.

9. Pie of soales.

It is made the same way as that of dab, be∣cause it is of the same kind of flesh; It is eaten warme.

10. Pie of soales half fried.

Passe them half in the panne with butter, take out the bone, and farce them with what

you will, as mushrums, capers, trouffles, mousserons, bottomes of hartichocks, fresh butter, all passed in the panne with parsley and chibols minced very small; put them in∣to paste made up, or into a sheet of puft paste, which you shall put in a tourte panne, and over it the remnant of your farce, in stead of garnish, with yolks of eggs, and very fresh butter; cover up your pie, and give it vent, a while after it is in the oven; when it is bak∣ed serve it with what sauce you will.

11. Pie made up with hash of eele.

It is made the same way as that of carpe, but that because the flesh of eele is fatter than that of carpe, it must not be allayed with but∣ter, as that of carpe; onely mixe them toge∣ther, and season them well with salt, peper, a ••ew of fine hearbs, then make a bed there∣with, and over it put mushrums, morilles, trouffles, and a little parsley minced, passed in the panne with butter, and over all that the remnant of your hash; then shut up your pie, and bake it; after it is baked, serve it with a white sauce.

12. Tourte of flounders.

It is made the same way as the pie of floun∣ders, above mentioned.

13. Tourte of new oisters.

After your oisters are cleansed and white∣ned in warme water, passe them in the panne with very fresh butter, parsley, and minced chibols, and mushrums, all well seasoned;

put all into a sheet of what paste you will, and garnish with hard yolks of eggs, bot∣toms of hartichocks, morilles, broken spara∣gus, all well fried; cover up your tourte, and bake it; after it is baked, serve with good sauce, which you shall make thus; paste in the panne two or three chibols whole, salt, peper, a drop of verjuice or of vinegar, then when it is brown, mixe with it two yolks of eggs well allayed with verjuice, take out the chibols, and put your tourte boiling hot, with a little nutmeg, stirre it a little, and serve it uncovered.

14. Tourte of liver of lotte.

After it is whitened a very little in warme water, very cleane, and dried, put it into a sheet of paste, then frie mousterons, morilles, trouffles, broken sparagus, a little parsley minced, bottoms of hartichocks, cardons, or cardes sod, and yolks of eggs, all well sea∣soned; and in such a proportion as your tourte may not change it's name, and that the gar∣nish may not exceed the principall, bake it, when it is baked, serve.

15. Tourte of laictances of carpes.

It is made as that of lottes here under, with such garnish as you have.

16. Tourte of lotte.

Whiten it well with water warme enough, for to take off the slime, untill it be white, then cut it into round slices as far as half the head, put it into a sheet of paste with salt, pe∣per,

beaten cloves, capers, mushrums, hard yolks of eggs, bottoms of hartichocks, parsley, chibols well minced, and upon, very fresh butter, shut it up with a sheet of puft paste, if you have any; When it is baked, serve it uncovered with a white sauce, and garnished with the lid cut into foure.

17. Tourte of carpe

It is made and seasoned a like with that of lotte, but that it must not be scalded, but well scailed.

18. Tourte of crawfish.

Seeth them with salt, peper, and very little vinegar, take off the feet, and the taile, then dresse them, and passe them in the pan with very fresh butter, mushrums, and all what you have to put in it, not forgetting some parsly minced, season all well, and put it in what paste you will, fine or puft; after it is baked, serve it with a red sauce, which you will make, if you stamp some bones of craw∣fishes, and after you have strained them through a linnen cloth, mixe them with some broth, some yolks of eggs, a drop of verjuice, and a little nutmeg; put this sauce in your tourte as it comes out of the oven, and ready to serve, then serve it uncovered.

19. Tourte of frogs.

Passe the great legs in the panne with good butter very fresh, mushrums, parsley, harti∣chocks sod and cut; and capers, all well sea∣soned, put it into a sheet of fine or puft paste,

and bake it; after it is baked, serve uncovered with a white sauce.

20. Tourte of tenches.

Scald them, and cause them to become white, then dresse them, and cut them into round slices, put them into your sheet of tourte, or pie, make it up and garnish with all what you have, as very fresh butter, ca∣pers, and minced parsley, bake them; after they are baked, serve with a white sauce, and a little nutmeg.

21. Tourte of butter.

Melt a peece of butter; after it is melted, put some sugar in it, and some stamped al∣monds with a little creame or milke allayed with flowre sod, then make a sheet of fine or puft paste, put your implements into it, make a brimme about it, bake it and serve it sugred, and with sweet water, if you have any.

22. Tourte of spinage.

Take spinage leaves, cleanse and whiten them: after they are whitened, draine them, and mince them very small, after they are minced, allay them with some melted butter, salt, sugar, and the weight of a macaron of stamped almonds; then put all in your sheet of paste and bake it; after it is baked, serve it sugred, and if you will, garnished about the dish with lemon peele preserved.

23. Tourte of meloone.

Grate your meloone, and stampe it in a

mortar; melt some butter, and put it with sugar, a corne of peper, salt, and a macaron, mixe all together, garnish your sheet with it, and serve it sugred.

24. Tourte of pistaches.

After your pistaches are peeled, beat them, and least they become oily, besprinkle them with flower of orenge water, or other sweet water; melt as much butter as there is of pist∣staches and take as much sugar, a little salt, and the crummes of white bread fried, and a drop of milke, and all being well allayed to∣gether, put it into a sheet of fine paste, make the tourte and the sheet very thinne; bake it, sugar it, and serve it warme, and besprink∣led with what sweet water you will.

25. Tourte of Almonds.

It is made the same way, but that for to besprinkle it, you must use milke in stead of sweet waters.

26. Tourte of pompkin.

Boile it with good milk, passe it through a straining panne very thicke, and mixe it with sugar, butter, a little salt; and if you will a few stamped almonds; let all be very thinne, put it in your sheet of paste, bake it; after it is is baked, besprinkle it with sugar, and serve.

27. Tourte of peares.

Pare your peares, and cut them very thin, seeth them with water and sugar; after they are well sod, put in a little of some very fresh

butter, beate all together, and put it in your sheet of paste very thinne; binde it, if you will, and bake it; when it is baked be∣sprinkle it with water of flowers, sugar it, and serve.

28. Tourte of creame.

Take very new creame, and allay it with a few beaten almonds, some sugar, and a little milke pappe well sod; let all boile together a very little, and when all this is cold, put it in your sheet of paste, and bake it; after it is baked, sugar it well, and if you will, put muske to it, and serve.

29. Tourte of apples.

It is made the same way as that of peare.

30. Tourte of franchipanne.

Take the fairest flowre you can get, and allay it with whites of eggs; presently take the twelfth part of your paste, and spread it untill you may see through it; butter your plate, or tourte panne, spread this first sheet, dresse it up, butter it at the top, and doe the same to the number of six, then put what creame you will, and make the top as the bottome to the number of six sheets; bake your tourte lea∣surely; after it is baked, besprinkle it with water of flowers, sugar it well and serve.

You must have a care to worke up your paste as soone as it is made, because it drieth up sooner then you are aware, and when it is dry, it is unusefull, because your sheets must

be as thinne as cobwebs, therefore you must choose a moist place.

31. Tourte of whites of eggs.

After they are well beaten, season them with a little salt and sugar, melt some fresh butter with milke, mixe all together, then put all into your sheet of fine paste; bake it; when it is baked, serve it warme and sugred.

32. Tourte of yolks of eggs.

Allay together some butter, five yolks of eggs, some sugar, two macarons; a little salt and milk; make up your tourte with them, and bake it, when it is baked, serve it sugred with lemon peele very thinne over it.

33. Tourte of Massepin,

For to make it full, glased, and broad as a plate; take halfe a pound of almonds, and a quarteron of sugar; beat your almonds, and put some sugar in; spread your paste, worke it low enough, and bake it on a hollow plate, upon a small fire; make a creame with milke, whereof you will finde the making hereafter; fill up this paste with it about the thickness of half an inche; bake it, and passe the fire-shovell over it; put over it, either cherries, or strawberries, or rasberies, or gooseberries, or verjuice, or preserved apricoks, a little more then half; after it is filled, put it in the oven againe, and make a glasing with the half of the white of an egge, and six times as much sugar well beaten together; when you are ready

to serve, powre it over your tourte, and give is a quick fire and little, then serve upon a plate.

For to make the creame of which mention is made above, allay a very little flowre with a quart of milk, seeth it well, and let it be very thinne; then put a little butter in it, four yolks of eggs, and two whites well bea∣ten; stirre well all over the fire, and mixe with it a very little salt and sugar, about half the quantity of your cream.

For to make it green, put in it some beaten pistaches, or some of the grating of lemon peele preserved.

You may serve your tourte glased without consits, and at the fruit, as well as at the in∣tercourse.