Canapes a la Fribourg

These are hard to resist. The recipe comes from my Great Great Granny who I wrote my book on . To recreate exactly is a time-consuming process so to cut corners with our 21st century gadgets to hand, use a blender. If you put the haddock mixture through a sieve, as advised in the original, it will be extra special. Gluten free bread can replace the bread in her recipes.

But first, here’s Granny Dot’s version:
Materials and Method.–Steam a haddock, and work the flesh through a sieve, moistening it with a little milk, when necessary. Mix this pulp in a stewpan with a spoonful or two of cream, 1/2 oz of fresh butter, season with salt and a little cayenne. When quite hot, pile it up on fried croutons, smoothing it neatly, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, and a few brown breadcrumbs, and serve very hot.
(Mrs C.S. Peel, Savouries Simplified, 1914)

Ingredients
100g/3.5oz smoked or unsmoked haddock
2 tbsp double cream
½ tbsp. lemon juice
salt
50g/1.8oz butter
stale gluten free bread cut into 20 rounds
4 tbsp finely grated Parmesan
parsley or chives to garnish

Makes approximately 20

1. Steam the haddock for 5 minutes or until it flakes.  You could also poach it in milk with peppercorns and a bay leaf, bringing it to simmer and then taking off the heat and leaving it for 5 minutes to cook through.
2. Put the haddock, butter and cream into a blender and whizz until smooth. Add half a tablespoonful of lemon juice and some sea salt. Taste and add a little more if necessary.
3. Heat a generous knob of butter in a pan until it sizzles when a breadcrumb is dropped into it.
4. Fry the 3–4 cm rounds of bread until lightly browned and then drain on kitchen paper.
5. Put teaspoonfuls of the paste onto the rounds of bread and pile a little grated Parmesan on top of these.
6. Grill until lightly browned.
7. Top with chives or parsley and serve immediately.