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Matelote of Haddock with Oysters or Mushrooms (matelote au vin blanc)

French-inspired fish stew: haddock fillet poached in a stock made from trimmings, white wine, and a bouquet garni, laid on a bed of cooked onion slices with salt, pepper, and lemon. The sauce is enriched with butter and egg yolks (must not boil) and poured over the fish along with oysters or mushrooms. Stor kokebok 1914, pp. 96–97.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 96 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

Matelote is a French fish stew that Erken adapts to Norwegian ingredients—here with haddock and white wine instead of the classic red-wine version. The recipe shows French kitchen technique in a Norwegian household around 1914: stock made from trimmings, the fish poached in the stock, and the sauce enriched with egg yolks and butter that must not boil.

How to make it

  1. 1

    Fillet the fish

    Clean the fish, cut the fillets free from skin and bones, and divide them into two or three pieces depending on size.

  2. 2

    Make the stock

    Put the head, bones, and skin in a pot. Pour in the white wine, any oyster liquor, and enough water to just cover. Add a slice of onion, the bouquet garni, and the carrot slice. Let the stock simmer for half an hour, and strain it.

  3. 3

    Assemble the pot

    Cook the thinly sliced onions until tender. Lay a layer of onion in the bottom of an enameled pot, place the fish pieces on top, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle with lemon juice and lay a few onion slices on top.

  4. 4

    Poach the fish

    Strain the stock over the fish and let it poach slowly, covered, until the fish is done, about 15 minutes. If using mushrooms, blanch them in the stock.

  5. 5

    Plate up

    Lift the fish carefully onto a warm serving platter and place oysters or mushrooms in between.

  6. 6

    Enrich the sauce

    Stir the egg yolks with a little stock, and enrich the hot stock with butter and the egg-yolk mixture. The sauce must not boil after the egg yolks are added. Pour the sauce over the fish and serve at once.

Changes from the original

Measures have been modernized (2 dl white wine), and the use of the onion clarified (cooked, thin slices as a bed). Oyster liquor is noted as optional since fresh oysters with their liquor are hard to come by; mushrooms are mentioned as an alternative, blanched in the stock. Otherwise the method is unchanged.

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Time machine – what changed?

Pick two editions and see what Henriette Schønberg Erken added, removed or changed between them.

1914 (proofread, p. 96) → 1949 (proofread, p. 117)~65% of the text changedremovedadded
1 (Matelote au vin blanc.) INGREDIENSER: 2 kg. fisk 2 1 løk salt pepper citron 1/2 sitron 2 eggeblommer eggeplommer 10 østers eller champignons 50 10 gr. smør 1 suppevisk 2 1 dl. hvitvin 1 FREMGANGSMÅTE: Fisken renses, filetene skjæres fra skinn og ben, tørres, strøes med litt salt. Sitronsaften, løkskiver, olje, pepper og persillekvister has på et fat, og i denne marinade ligger fiskefiletene i time. Tas op, deles i 2 å 3 stykker efter størrelsen, tørres, vendes i det sammenvispede egg og melk, derefter i støtt siktet kavring eller brød. Fisken stekes lyse brun i lett brunet smør. Fisken serveres med erter og gule røtter eller rødbeter. I skive gulerot. Fisken renses, fileterne filetene skjæres fra skind skinn og ben og skjæres i to à å tre stykker efter størrelsen. Hode, ben og skind sættes skinn settes over med saa så meget vand, vann, vinen og østersvandet, østers vannet at det netop staar nettop står over; tilsættes tilsettes en skive løk, suppevisken suppevisk og en skive gulerot; smaakoker ½ gulerot: småkoker 1/2 time. I en emaljert gryte lægges legges et lag tyndskaarne, tynnskårne, kokte løkskiver, herover lægges fiskestykkerne, legges fiskestykkene, salt, pepper, citronsaften sitronsaften og nogen løkskiver. Kraften siles over. Smaatrækker Småtrekker under lok, lokk til fisken er kokt, ca. 15 minutter. Pigghå er en god og billig fisk. Den egner sig særlig godt som stekt, røket, samt oplaget til kaker. Medisterkaker med 50 gr. flesk til 1/2 kg. skrapet fisk, 150 gr. kokte poteter, ca. 1 dl. melk, 1/2 spiseskje potetesmel, pepper og salt. Utmerket fiskefarse får man, og fortrinlig kraft til fiskesuppe. Fisken lægges legges op paa på varmt anretningsfat, og østersen lægges indimellem. legges innimellem. Sausen jevnes med smør og eggeblommer, eggeplommer, som først er rørt med litt kraft, og heldes helles over fisken. Sausen maa må ikke koke, koke efterat eggeblommerne eggeplommene er hat hatt i. Østers og champignons kan sløifes. Matelote kan tilberedes av forskjellige slags fisk fisk, som aal, ål, abbor, torsk o. lign.

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Frequently asked questions

What fish is used, and how is it divided?
The recipe uses 1 kg of haddock. The fish is cleaned, the fillets are cut from skin and bones, and divided into two or three pieces depending on size. The head, bones, and skin are used for the stock.
How long do the stock and fish cook?
The stock of head, bones, and skin with water, white wine, oyster liquor, onion slice, bouquet garni, and a slice of carrot simmers for half an hour. The fish then poaches, covered, for about 15 minutes.
Can I use mushrooms instead of oysters?
Yes, the recipe calls for 10 oysters or mushrooms. They are placed between the fish pieces on the warm serving platter.
Where does the recipe come from?
From Henriette Schønberg Erken's «Stor kokebok» (1914), page 96. The dish is called matelote au vin blanc and is calculated for 4 servings.

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