No. 893 — Calf's Head with Prune Sauce
English historical translation of Molokhovets recipe No. 893 from the 1901 Russian cookbook, retaining original methods and measures.
Clean and boil a calf's head as in No. 889. Remove the meat from the bones and cut into slices.
Fry one spoonful of flour in one spoonful of butter, thin with three glasses of broth, boil and strain.
Caramelize one piece of sugar and stir it into the sauce. Add two more pieces of sugar, the juice of half a lemon and ½ Russian pound of washed prunes scalded with boiling water. Boil until the prunes are tender and the sauce reduced.
Arrange the calf's head on a vol-au-vent and pour over the prune sauce.
For the vol-au-vent, prepare puff pastry according to No. 303, bake a round base with a raised border, place it on a dish, and fill with calf's head, chicken or another preparation before adding sauce.
Boil the leftover bones further in the remaining broth with one Russian pound of meat and vinegar to make aspic for jellied dishes or mayonnaise-style preparations. The original says this may yield about three glasses in summer or up to five in winter.
To provide
1 large calf's head 1 carrot, 1 celery root and 1 parsley root 1 spoonful of flour and ½ Russian pound of butter | 3–4 pieces of sugar and lemon ½ Russian pound, or 1½ glasses, of prunes For the puff pastry: ½ Russian pound of butter and 2 glasses (⅔ Russian pound) of flour |