In the "Notebooks" by Ilf and Petrov there is a very interesting note: "The day before yesterday it was delicious. A strange dish! Body. Edible, put on his underwear and went to night. Idyll". But the authors do not give a description of the dish itself, leaving the reader in the dark as to what it is all the same - "corporeal". Let's try to figure it out.
Instructions
Step 1
The word "corporeal" takes us into the history of Ancient Russia: this is how a whole group of fish dishes from the ancient monastery cuisine was called for a long time. There are two most popular versions of the origin of the word "body":
- on the days of communion, Christians ate bread and wine, symbolizing the body and blood of Christ, it was also allowed to eat fish - hence the "corporeal";
- the majority of fish dishes were prepared from minced fish, that is, from chopped fillets - "body" - fish.
The abundance of old names of dishes using minced fish rather testifies to the second variant of the origin of the word "body". The manuscripts of the 16th-17th centuries mention "kulebyakatelnaya", "carnivorous", "ear with tel", "hammer", "circle of tel with horseradish", etc.
Step 2
The famous culinary historian V. V. Pokhlyobkin identified two varieties of veal in Russian cuisine: tapped (made from minced fish) and whole (made from whole fillets). Here is a recipe for a whole body:
Prepare 1 kg of fish fillet. To do this, clean the fish, remove the fins, divide each one along the ridge into two halves (do not remove the skin). Carefully select all the bones, then twist each fillet layer with a tight roll and tie with a thread. Bread rolls in 2 tbsp. tablespoons of flour, tightly put in a cloth or bag, wrap well and tie the bundle with thread. Boil 1.5 liters of water, add 1 peeled onion, a slice of parsley, a few bay leaves, 10 allspice peas, 2 teaspoons of salt, aromatic herbs and spices to taste. Gently dip the roll of fish into prepared boiling water and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the bundle from the broth and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Then remove the food from the napkin, remove the threads and serve warm with any side dish and sauce, or chilled with horseradish.
Step 3
In the twentieth century, the concept of "corporeal" began to be gradually forgotten, and the range of recipes was significantly narrowed: this is how they began to call fish zrazy in the shape of a crescent, and with mushroom filling. It is in this form that the recipe has come down to our days.
Preparation of the filling: soak a handful of dried mushrooms in cold water for several hours, then rinse under the tap, add clean water, bring to a boil and boil for half an hour. Drain the water, chop the mushrooms in a blender, meat grinder, or just finely chop. Instead of dry mushrooms, you can use fresh ones - for example, champignons. They need to be peeled, rinsed, boiled for 20 minutes and also chopped. Peel 2 onions, chop finely and fry in hot vegetable oil (2 tablespoons). Add chopped mushrooms, salt and fry the mixture for another 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat, add chopped herbs (parsley, dill) and 2 hard-boiled finely chopped eggs. Stir and cool.
Preparation of minced fish: chop 1 kilogram of fish fillets (for example, cod or pike perch) with a blender or scroll in a meat grinder. Add 2 eggs, 4 tbsp. tablespoons of flour, salt and pepper to taste. Instead of flour, you can take 3-4 slices of white bread soaked in milk and squeezed. Knead the mixture very thoroughly, or even better, beat with a mixer. If it turns out to be liquid, then add more flour.
Preparation at once: moisten hands with cold water; take minced fish with a spoon and form round cakes from it. Put a spoonful of minced mushroom in the center of each flat cake. Bend the cake in half and pinch the edges, give the shape of a crescent. The size of the cakes can be varied - the smaller the cake, the more times it will turn out. Then dip each "crescent" in a beaten egg, roll in breadcrumbs (or simply breaded in flour) and fry in hot vegetable oil (2-3 tablespoons) for 7-8 minutes on each side. Then fold the body into a fireproof form and put it in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 15-20 minutes. An alternative dietary option is to boil the food, for which it is necessary to wrap the "crescents" in a linen napkin, put in a saucepan, pour boiling water over and cook for 20-30 minutes.
Put the veal on a dish and decorate according to your taste and desire: herbs, fresh vegetables and pickles, olives and capers, lemon slices. Boiled and fried potatoes, fried cauliflower or broccoli, and canned green peas can be served as a garnish for the vegetable.
