Dresden Patties

Take three ounces of any kind of cold boiled fish, trim off the skin and bone and
chop the fish fine. Put one ounce of butter into a flat stewpan with a tablespoonful
of flour, stir over the fire until mixed, then pour in a teacupful of milk, and continue
stirring. Put the fish into the boiling milk, season to taste with salt and pepper, and
cook over a slow fire for fifteen minutes. Cut two large rounds of bread about four
inches in diameter and one and one-half inches in thickness and with a three-inch tin
cutter cut half way through each. Dip the rounds well in cream, then drain, and dip
them in well beaten egg. Season a small plate of finely grated breadcrumb with salt
and pepper, and roll the rounds in them, giving a good coating. Put a large lump of
clarified fat or lard into a fryingpan, place it over the fire till blue smoke rises, then
put in the rounds and fry them till lightly browned. Take them out of the fat with a
slice, and lay them on a sheet of kitchen paper to drain for a few minutes. Lift off
the inner round of bread with a sharp knife, and scoop out from the center of the
large round, all the soft bread. Fill the hollows with the fish mixture, and put the
small rounds on top. Place the patties on a hot dish, over which has been spread a
folded napkin or an ornamental dish-paper, garnish with a few neat sprigs of fried
parsley, and serve while very hot.