SALMON STEAKS IN CREAM

I owe this deliciously simple recipe to Mrs Charlotte , of Woodsville. It could equally well be used for cod steaks, or slices of angler-fish, or porbeagle. The ingredients may sound expensive, but they aren’t really as they include the sauce for the fish. Some new potatoes are all that is needed to accompany the salmon.

• Season the salmon steaks well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Choose an oven dish into which the steaks will fit closely in one layer, without being jammed tightly together.
• Butter the dish lavishly, then put in the steaks and enough cream to cover them well.
• Tuck in a small bay leaf, and bake in a fairly hot oven (gas 5, 190°C/ 375°F) for 20–25 minutes, until the steaks are cooked. Baste them once or twice with the cream, adding more if it reduces enough to leave the surface of the salmon much exposed.
• Serve with lemon quarters, incase people like to sharpen the sauce a little.