No. 143.--Artichokes with Sauce Royale.
3 pounds artichokes.
1/2 pint water.
3/4 teaspoon salt.
1 pint sauce No. 172.
Wash and peel the artichokes, and boil for twenty minutes in the salt
and water. Should any of the water then remain, leave lid off for a few
minutes to allow it to evaporate. Turn the artichokes into a hot
vegetable dish and pour over them the sauce, which must have been
thoroughly heated previously.
No. 144.--Fried Beetroot.
(A Breakfast Dish.)
1 medium-sized beet.
2 ounces butter for frying.
1 teaspoon salt.
1/2 teaspoon pepper.
2 teaspoons flour.
2 tablespoons vinegar.
1 tablespoon water.
Peel the beetroot, and cut into slices about a quarter of an inch thick.
Dissolve the butter in a frying pan, place in the beetroot and fry for
twenty minutes, sprinkling each slice on both sides with the pepper and
salt. When done, arrange the slices on a hot dish. Reset the frying pan
on the fire, stir in the flour, thoroughly mixing it with the butter,
and fry for a couple of minutes, stirring all the time, then pour in the
water and vinegar, stir until quite smooth; pour over the beetroot and
serve quickly.
No. 145.--Brussels Sprouts.
Sprouts.
Salted water.
Clean the sprouts _very thoroughly_, removing all the decayed and
outside leaves, and when perfectly free from dirt and insects, place
them in plenty of fast-boiling salted water, and boil for about twenty
minutes, or until quite tender but not broken. Keep the lid off all the
time they are cooking, remove the scum as it rises, and be sure and use
_no_ soda. When they are tender, have ready a colander with a cloth laid
in it, lift the sprouts out with an egg slice, and lay them carefully on
the cloth to drain, place about a dozen of the best shaped ones on a hot
plate or dish, slide the remainder gently off the cloth on to a hot
drainer in a vegetable dish, and arrange the reserved ones on the top.
Sprouts are often spoiled in the dishing up, but no vegetable looks and
tastes nicer if properly cooked and served.
No. 146.--French Beans.
1 pint tomato juice.
1 shalot.
1 pound cooked French beans.
1/2 teaspoon salt.
A little pepper.
Thickening of flour and butter.
Slice the shalot, and stew it in the tomato juice for about half an
hour. Strain, add pepper and salt, and thicken the juice with the flour
and butter. Lay the French beans in, and thoroughly re-heat.
Note.--Tinned beans may be used, when fresh ones are not obtainable.
No. 147.--A nice way of serving Greens.
2 pounds greens.
Salted water.
1 ounce butter.
Boil the greens (Scotch kale, broccoli tops, etc.) in the usual way.
When quite tender, strain and press well, place on a board and chop very
finely; dissolve the butter in a stewpan, place in the greens, add a
little pepper and more salt if required, and stir briskly over the fire
for two or three minutes. Serve in a hot vegetable dish.
No. 148.--Tasty Greens.
2 eggs.
1 ounce butter.
1/2 pound cooked greens of any kind.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Dissolve the butter in a small stewpan, beat up the eggs, add them to
the butter, and stir over the fire until the sauce thickens, but on no
account allow it to boil; add the greens, which should be finely chopped
(see No. 147), also seasoning if required, and continue stirring over a
gentle heat for two or three minutes.
No. 149.--Haricot Beans.
1 pint soaked haricot beans.
1 pint water.
1 teaspoon salt.
1 ounce butter.
Boil the beans in the water for half an hour, add salt, and boil again
gently for another half or three-quarters of an hour; strain away the
liquor, and leave the beans in the colander to dry off. Dissolve the
butter in a stewpan, gently toss the beans in it, taking care not to
break them, and serve.
Either chopped parsley, grated nutmeg, or lemon juice may be added to
the butter, but the beans are extremely good quite plain.
Note.--They may also be served in the liquor. See General Hints, page 1.
No. 150.--Mushrooms Baked.
1 dozen mushrooms.
1 ounce butter.
2 tablespoonsful water.
Pepper and salt.
Peel the mushrooms, removing part of the stalks, and lay them (stalks
upwards) in a flat baking tin or dish containing the water; place a
small piece of the butter in the centre of each mushroom, pepper and
salt them to taste; cover them, and bake in a moderate oven for twenty
or thirty minutes. Serve very hot.
Note.--Great care must be taken that the mushrooms are quite free from
insects before cooking.
No. 151.--Green Peas Boiled.
1 pint shelled peas.
1 pint water.
A sprig of mint.
1 ounce butter.
1/4 teaspoon salt.
Wash the peas, and place them in a stewpan with the other ingredients,
simmer with the lid off until they are quite tender, remove the mint and
serve. The small quantity of liquor which remains will be found useful
for flavouring sauces, stews, etc.
Note.--This way of cooking peas is greatly superior to that of putting
them into a large quantity of water, as there is no waste and the entire
flavour and nutriment of the vegetable are retained.
No. 152.--Mashed Potatoes.
1/2 dozen large potatoes.
1 ounce fresh butter.
3 tablespoons milk.
1/2 teaspoon salt.
1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Wash and scrub the potatoes until perfectly free from dirt and mould,
bake them, and when done prick with a fork to allow the steam to escape,
then wipe with a cloth to remove any charred skin, etc. Have ready a
good-sized saucepan (enamelled for preference) in which the milk and
butter have been heated, halve the potatoes and squeeze them into it,
add salt and pepper (the latter should be omitted when being prepared
for children), then with a cook's fork beat backwards and forwards, then
round and round, until the whole mass is perfectly smooth and quite free
from lumps. Turn into a very hot vegetable dish, arrange in a pile and
mark prettily with a fork or knife, then place in the oven for two or
three minutes to re-heat.
Note.--Potatoes prepared in this way constitute an ideal diet. All the
valuable salts are retained instead of being thrown away in the water,
as when peeled before cooking, whilst the butter and milk supply the
fatty elements in which the potato is lacking. The colour also is good,
which is not the case when they are _boiled_ in their skins, and the
taste is delicious.
No. 153.--New Potatoes Fried.
20 very small new potatoes.
1 egg.
2 ounces bread crumbs.
1/4 teaspoon salt.
1/4 teaspoon pepper.
A pinch each of powdered mace and sweet herbs.
Boil the potatoes twenty minutes, then drain and remove the skins. Mix
well together the salt, pepper, mace, sweet herbs, and bread crumbs.
Roll the potatoes first in the egg, then in the savoury bread crumbs,
and fry in boiling oil until a golden brown.
Serve with sauce piquante No. 171.
No. 154.--Salsify.
1 dozen roots of salsify.
1 ounce butter.
1/2 ounce flour.
1 slice of lemon.
1/2 pint water.
1 gill of milk.
1/2 teaspoon salt.
Scrape the salsify, and throw it into cold water, cut into pieces about
two inches long, and place in an enamelled stewpan with the water, milk,
lemon, salt, and half an ounce of butter. Boil one hour or until quite
tender, remove the lemon, lift out the salsify and place in a warm
vegetable dish, thicken the liquor with the other half ounce of butter
and the flour, pour over the salsify and serve.
No. 155.--Tomatoes.
1 dozen tomatoes.
1 1/2 ounces butter.
1/2 teaspoon salt.
1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Scald the tomatoes by pouring boiling water over them, then place in
cold water for half a minute. Remove the skins, which will now come off
quite easily, slice the tomatoes into about four pieces with a very
sharp knife. Have ready a stewpan in which the butter has been dissolved,
place the tomatoes in it, add the seasoning, and stew gently for about
twenty minutes, stirring frequently.
Note.--When strained, this constitutes a very choice sauce, and it may
be slightly thickened.