Matelot of Tench is a traditional British recipe, based on Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861, for a classic dish of tench pieces cooked in a mix of stock, port wine and onions, the cooking liquid of which is made into a sauce with oysters. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Matelot of Tench.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from the redoubtable Mrs Beeton's 1861 volume Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, the classic Victorian cookbook.
Original Recipe
334. INGREDIENTS.—1/2 pint of stock No. 105, 1/2 pint of port wine, 1 dozen button onions, a few mushrooms, a faggot of herbs, 2 blades of mace, 1 oz. of butter, 1 teaspoonful of minced parsley, thyme, 1 shalot, 2 anchovies, 1 teacupful of stock No. 105, flour, 1 dozen oysters, the juice of 1/2 lemon; the number of tench, according to size.
Mode.—Scale and clean the tench, cut them into pieces, and lay them in a stewpan; add the stock, wine, onions, mushrooms, herbs, and mace, and simmer gently for 1/2 hour. Put into another stewpan all the remaining ingredients but the oysters and lemon-juice, and boil slowly for 10 minutes, when add the strained liquor from the tench, and keep stirring it over the fire until somewhat reduced. Rub it through a sieve, pour it over the tench with the oysters, which must be previously scalded in their own liquor, squeeze in the lemon-juice, and serve. Garnish with croutons.
Time. 3/4 hour.
Seasonable from October to June.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
4 tench
300ml medium stock
300ml Port wine
12 button onions
6 button mushrooms, wiped clean
1 bunch of herbs, tied together
2 blades of mace
30g butter
1 tsp parsley, minced
1 tsp thyme, minced
1 shallot, finely chopped
4 anchovy fillets, pounded to a paste
200ml medium stock
12 oysters
juice of 1/2 lemon
Method:
Clean and scale the fish then cut into pieces and lay in a stockpot. Add the wine, 300ml stock, onions, mushrooms, bunch of herbs and mace. Bring to a simmer and cook gently for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, combine the parsley, thyme shallot, anchovy fillets and remaining stock in another pan, bring to a boil and continue boiling slowly for 10 minutes.
Remove the tench from the cooking liquid and set aside to keep warm. Strain the tench liquid into the second pan (discard the solids). Bring the contents of the pan to a boil, reduce to a simmer and keep cooking, stirring frequently, until slightly reduced.
In the meantime, wash and de-beard the oysters. Add to a hot pan and scald in their own liquor for 2 minutes. Remove the oysters and shuck them. Arrange the tench and the oyster meat in a serving bowl. Strain over the reduced sauce and serve.
