Whitefish · Saturday April 18, 2009 by Julie
Mom collected many of the recipes in her cookbook around 1941. Her maternal grandmother, famous in the family for her French blood, was one of those inspired cooks who puts an idea of this and a knifepoint of that into her dishes.
I was transcribing Mom’s comments and translations last month, and we came across a recipe for Schlei.
“Schlei, said Mom. “I don’t know that word, but I do know Forelle. Schubert wrote a song, you know?” Then, in her high, quavering voice, she sang. Tears came to both our eyes.
Later, I found that a Schlei is a whitefish, and is in the trout family. Forelle is trout.
Here’s the recipe:
A small fish or half of a bigger one is right for one person. Clean and wash the fish, then soak in very hot vinegar water for a while. To a pot of water add: one bay leaf, six peppercorns, one sliced onion, and enough salt to make it taste like a broth. Add the fish and simmer for a quarter of an hour. Make sure the fish doesn’t fall apart.
The Brother Dog Tragedy, Possibly Mitigated But Not Solved Completely