small scraps or cooked leftovers, or fish that
are bony or otherwise unsuited to serving in
large pieces. While meat mixtures are often
tenderized and enriched by chunks of fat, and
firmed by conversion of the meat’s connective
tissue into gelatin, fish contain little
connective tissue and no fat that is solid at
room temperature. Instead, many fish
mixtures aim for a distinctive lightness, and
have for many centuries, as is clear from
Anthimus’s early version of the classic French
dish quenelles de brochet (see box below).
Mousselines, Quenelles The basic
preparation for many refined fish mixtures is
the mousseline, from the French mousse, or
“foam,” a term that describes the airy,
delicate consistency aimed for. Chilled raw
fish is very finely chopped or pureed (with
care to avoid overheating in high-speed
processors), then whisked with one or more of
several binding and enriching ingredients. The