A Recipe from The Art of Dutch Cooking (1961)

About the Recipe

I’ve always been a bit hesitant to try cooking white, flaky fish. I have no good reason why, other than no one ever taught me how to cook it, so I’m relying simply on the recipe. The good news is – this is a great, easy to follow recipe.

This particular try was a lesson in the quarantine classic – make it work with what’s on hand. I used small potatoes and ended up substituting plain yogurt for the sour cream. I mixed in some shallots with the single onion that I had on hand. Lo and behold – it definitely works. The top is a nice, fluffy soufflé with a little crisp from the breadcrumbs. The inside is like a flaky fish stew, savory and delicious. This one will go into regular rotation for sure.

About the Book

This is a newer book to my shelves, and I was so delighted when it came and was even better than I had thought. The illustrations are so beautiful. Take a deeper look at it here:

From the two fisherman to their fishing basket, the details are just so lovely. While the recipes are a little bit vague, the book is wonderful. I love learning about a culture through their food, and this book is perfect for that kind of journey.

About the Glassware

Officially this dish is called the Deluxe Cinderella Casserole dish, but most folks call the pattern Golden Hearts. It was released only in 1959 and in its full set comes with a lid (not pictured) and a cradle with a double candle warmer. A dream for any aspiring hostess!

This was a gift from a close friend to warm my new home and kitchen. Lucky me – when she brought it over it was filled with her signature mashed potatoes. YUM!

The Recipe!

Ingredients:

2 onions, chopped
3 T butter
6 fillets of haddock or cod
1 pound potatoes
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
Bread crumbs

Directions:

Fry the onions in the butter. Flatten out the fish. Boil the potatoes for 10 minutes and slice them. Put in a greased ovenproof dish a layer of fish, cover with a layer of potatoes and some of the fried onions; then a layer of fish, and so forth. End with a layer of potatoes. Beat the eggs with the salt for a few minutes. Add the sour cream and pour over the fish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and bake in a moderate oven (350*F) for about 3/4 hour. Any kind of fish can be used for this recipe.