Mullet Supreme

Ingredients

2 large mullet
2 cups white wine
1 cup brown vinegar
2 teaspoons peppercorns, crushed
juice of 1 large lemon
1 teaspoon salt
1 large brown onion, sliced
2 bay leaves, crumbled
1 pinch basil
2 cups cooked, fluffy rice, seasoned with salt and freshly ground pepper
1 brown onion, chopped
1 pinch nutmeg
1 pinch cinnamon
1/2 green and red capsicum (pepper), chopped finely
1 large stalk celery, chopped finely
1/2 cup plain flour
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 dash Worcestershire sauce
1 dash Tabasco sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed and sliced (optional)
oil or butter
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 tablespoons plain flour
1 pinch salt and pepper
1 dash Tabasco sauce
1 teaspoon mustard powder
2 1/4 cups milk or 1/2 milk, 1/2 fish stock
1 teaspoon anchovy paste or essence
paprika
parsley, chopped
lemon wedges

Instructions

Ask your fishmonger to fillet the mullet, or take the whole mullet, remove head, cut away from backbone and remove. This lets the fish open flat. Mix all marinade ingredients together and pour into a flat baking dish. Place fish in dish and leave for 2 to 3 hours, turning fish as often as possible and spooning marinade over. When ready, drain off and discard marinade. Pat fish dry and remove black parts you may not have cleaned off. Mix together stuffing ingredients. Grease a baking dish well with oil or butter. Flatten out mullet in dish and place some stuffing on each fish. Cover with well-greased foil and bake for 30 minutes in a hot oven. To make sauce, melt butter in a saucepan over a low heat. Add flour and keep stirring until well combined. Add seasonings. (If you do not like sauce too hot, omit mustard.) Add milk slowly and keep stirring until you have a smooth, thick sauce (if too thick, add extra milk or cream). Add anchovy paste. This sauce can be used with any fish dish. When fish is ready, remove foil and use egg slice to remove from baking dish. Pour over sauce, which must be very hot. Sprinkle with paprika and parsley and decorate with plenty of lemon wedges. Serves 6