Soup de Poisson, or Fish Soup

Ingredients

• 1 cod's head
• water
• pepper
• salt
• mace
• celery
• parsley
• a few sweet herbs
• 2 or 3 onions
• fish cutlets
• equal quantities water and wine
• 1 large lump butter
• 1 lemon
• cream
• flour
• force-meat balls of cod's liver

Instructions

1. Make a good stock by simmering a cod's head in water with enough liquid to cover the fish. Season the stock with pepper, salt, mace, celery, parsley, a few sweet herbs, and two or three onions. When sufficiently cooked, strain the stock.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the fish cutlets by cutting very small, well-trimmed cutlets from sole or brill (or any good fish). Stew them gently in equal quantities of water and wine—just enough to cover—with a large lump of butter and the juice of a lemon, for about fifteen to twenty minutes.
3. Add the stewed cutlets and their cooking liquid to the strained stock. Thicken the soup with cream and flour mixed together. Serve in a tureen with the cutlets. Force-meat balls of cod's liver may be added if desired.