No. 2578 — Pike Pâté with Crayfish Tails
English historical translation of Molokhovets recipe No. 2578 from the 1901 Russian cookbook, retaining original methods and measures.
Clean 2 pounds of pike, split open, remove the backbone and pick out as many small bones as possible. Cut into pieces, salt lightly and fry in a saucepan with 2–3 tablespoons of oil in which a finely chopped onion and half a handful of parsley have first been fried. Transfer fish and juices to a dish and leave to cool.
In the meantime prepare fish forcemeat from pike according to recipe No. 2575 and pastry according to recipe No. 2574. Line a mould. Add a layer of forcemeat, several cooked crayfish tails, then fish with its sauce; repeat the layers, using about 30 crayfish tails in all.
Sprinkle with parsley and dill. Pour over crayfish oil made from the shells with 1–2 tablespoons of Provençal oil and diluted with 1 glass of fish stock. Cover with pastry and bake.
Serve separately sauce No. 468 or strong sauce No. 392 diluted with fish broth made from the pike's bones, head and tail together with roots and spices. The source notes that the total pike required is about 5 pounds.