WW1 Baked Salmon Ration Recipe – delicious I promise!

In a local village hall – I write ‘a’ because we live between quite a few villages and their halls in no-man’s land, not belonging to any in particular –  Granny Dot’s recipes were used for their annual fund-raising event, raising a grand sum of £600!  Among the recipes was this which was so popular that I am re-posting for everyone’s benefit, including many who asked for it.  It is seriously delicious and so simple to make using Granny Dot’s Miracle White Sauce – not that she calls it a miracle but I think it is, both in is speed and simplicity.  I had to give a short speech about my book, Bicycles, Bloomers and Rationing Recipes, following which we served 3 courses which included 5 of Granny Dot’s wartime recipes, though one of the two puddings was a post-war recipe which will follow.  I spared the war time gastronomists War Bread however which involves maize, mashed potato, rice flour, and very little wheat flour. Instead I made several loaves of crusty fresh white bread so that we were able to truly enjoy it, probably more than those who ate it a century ago were able to.

In the First World War food rationing Victory Cookery  Book, 1918, Dorothy Peel makes a 340g/12oz. tin of salmon stretch to 5 dishes, feeding a total of up to 12 people.  Here I give you the first dish.  So good and so simple.

In the words of Granny Dot:

‘Cheese is an important part of these dishes, but must be omitted when it is scarce.’

‘(1) Salmon Baked (for three Persons)

Materials – Best pieces of salmon, white sauce, pepper, a few drops of lemon juice, a little grated cheese or crumbs.

Method.- Place the pieces of salmon in a fireproof dish, previously lined with white sauce.  Add pepper to taste and lemon juice, cover with white sauce and sprinkle with grated cheese, and bake in a hot oven until brown.

The dish should be placed in another containing water white cooking.’

Serves 3

Ingredients
110g tinned salmon
2/3rd pint/400mls white sauce
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tbsp chopped parsley
seasoning, to taste
2 tbsp grated cheese
2 tbsp breadcrumbs (optional)

1.  Butter 3 ramekins or a heat proof dish..
2.  Mix the tinned salmon with the white sauce, lemon, parsley and seasoning.
3.  Sprinkle cheese and breadcrumbs on top.
4.  Bake in a hot oven of at least 180 degrees C for 10 minutes until lightly browned.
5.  Serve  crusty bread and butter.

Yum Yum!