Baked Bass, Plain

With or without a glass of white wine added to this baked bass recipe, it's delicious.

Scale, wash and thoroughly clean a bass, leaving the head intact, if to be sent to table whole; then make a stuffing of two cupfuls of breadcrumbs, one teacupful of butter, the rind of a quarter of a lemon minced fine, and two or three sprigs of parsley, green thyme and marjoram. Season this mixture with pepper and salt. Beat up a couple of eggs, a very little water, and mix the stuffing with it. Fill into the fish and sew up when stuffed. Score both sides with a sharp knife by cutting down to the bone, and put a slice of salt pork, cut thin, into each incision; then bake in a pan and baste with stock and seasoning. Place a little tomato puree or tomato sauce into the pan with the gravy, after removing the fish, and allow it to come to a boil; then skim and strain and serve in a tureen with the fish. Care should be taken not to break the fish when transferring it from the pan to the dish. Some consider a glass of white wine added to each half pint of sauce an improvement.