=Beet Leaves Boiled.=--Take the young leaves of white beetroot, tie
them in bunches, and put them into salted boiling water. They can be
cooked in butter like Spinach, or served on buttered toast with Sauce
Hollandaise.
=Beet “Gnocchi.”=--Wash well and remove the midribs of a bundle of
beet leaves, boil, and then throw them into cold water, dry, and mince
them very finely, put them into an earthenware pot with four ounces of
freshly grated cheese, four fresh eggs, four ounces of curds or fresh
milk cheese, a little grated nutmeg, and some salt. When thick, put it
on a well-floured table and make a long roll the size of a finger, cut
into pieces about two inches long, flour them well, and throw them into
an earthen pot of boiling water.
As they come to the surface take them out, drain well, season with
butter, a little grated nutmeg, cinnamon, and cheese. These must be
cooked over a hot fire.--_Leaves from a Tuscan Kitchen._
=Boiled Beetroot.=--Select small, smooth beets and clean without
cutting or scraping them. Boil for an hour or two, and cool. Remove
the skins, cut them into slices, and serve either cold, or reheat in
melted butter with salt, pepper, vinegar, chopped parsley and a little
chopped, boiled onion added to season it.
=Stewed Beetroot.=--Prepare according to the direction given for boiled
beets, and cut into thin slices. Cook together a tablespoonful each
of butter and flour, add a cupful of water and a tablespoonful of
vinegar. Cook until thick, stirring constantly. Season with salt and
pepper, heat the beets in the sauce, and serve with small button onions
parboiled, and fried brown in butter and sugar.
_Another method._--Prepare according to directions given for boiled
beets. When peeled and sliced reheat, with salt, pepper and vinegar to
taste, a boiled onion chopped fine, and a little minced parsley; add a
little flour cooked in butter and simmer slowly for fifteen minutes,
stirring frequently.
=Cream Beets.=--Cook small white beets in salted water until tender.
Rinse in cold water, rub off the skins, and reheat in cream sauce, or
cut boiled beet into dice and mix with the sauce, adding more butter.
=Crême Sauce.=--A mixture of Béchamel Sauce. (See Sauce, p. 208.) Let
it cool and then add two tablespoonfuls of cream and the yolk of one
egg.
=Baked Beets.=--Wash without peeling, and bake slowly until done.
Remove the skin, cut into slices, and season with melted butter, salt,
and pepper. Serve very hot, with a little vinegar or sugar added to the
seasoning, or serve whole with seasoned, melted butter.
=Beets with Sour Sauce.=--Prepare according to directions given for
boiled beets, blend a heaped teaspoonful of cornflour with a little
cold water, mix with a scant cupful of vinegar, bring to the boil, and
cook till thick, stirring constantly. Add a teaspoonful each of butter
and sugar to the sauce, and season with salt and pepper. Pour over the
beets, and serve very hot in a covered dish. Less vinegar may be used,
adding water as needed, and the sugar can be omitted also.
=Pickled Beets.=--(1) Wash small beets, but do not cut or scrape them.
Cover with boiling water and boil until tender. Drain, rinse in cold
water. Rub off the peel with your fingers, cut into slices, sprinkle
with salt and pepper, cover with vinegar and let them stand for several
hours before using. Serve cold.
(2) Boil two cupfuls of vinegar with a few cloves and peppercorns, a
blade of mace, a tiny bit of ginger root. Take from the fire and add
two cupfuls more of vinegar, and cool. Two tablespoonfuls of grated
horse-radish and sugar to taste may be added. Prepare the beets
according to directions given for boiled beets, and when peeled and
sliced cover with the spiced vinegar. Let these stand for several hours
before using.
=Beets with Pink Sauce.=--Prepare according to directions given
for boiled beets. Peel and cut into dice, saving the juice. Make a
drawn-butter sauce, seasoning with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
Reheat the beets in the sauce until the sauce is coloured.
=Beet Sauté.=--Prepare according to directions given for boiled beets.
When peeled and sliced fry in butter, seasoning with pepper and sugar,
serve hot.
=Beets Green.=--Use young beets, no larger than a walnut. Don’t cut off
the tops. Wash thoroughly in several waters, using salt water first.
Cook quickly in salted water until tender, drain, cut off the tops, and
skin the beets by plunging into cold water and rubbing off the skins.
Drain the greens, cut them up, and mix with the beets, season with salt
and pepper, add melted butter and vinegar or lemon juice. Garnish with
slices of hard-boiled eggs. Serve cold.
=Beets à la Barbette.=--Wash the beets and cook in boiling salted water
until tender, leaving on a portion of the stalk. Rub off the peel,
slice, season with salt, pepper, and brown sugar, and a little caraway
seed. Pour over vinegar to taste, and let them stand several hours
before using. For a relish beets may be chopped fine and mixed with an
equal quantity of grated horse-radish.
=Beets à la Béchamel.=--Prepare according to directions given for
boiled beets, and reheat in Béchamel sauce.
=Beets à la Chartreuse.=--Prepare according to directions for boiled
beets. Cut a very thin slice of onion for every two slices of beet, and
sandwich a slice of onion between each two, pressing together gently.
Season with salt, pepper and vinegar, dip in butter, and fry slowly in
deep fat, or butter, or oil.
=Beets à la St. Laurence.=--Previously prepare according to boiled
beets. Fry a chopped onion in butter, dredge with flour, add two
cupfuls of vegetable stock or milk, and cook until thick, stirring
constantly. Add the beets, salt and pepper to taste, and cook for ten
minutes; add two tablespoonfuls of butter and one of vinegar, bring to
the boil, and serve.
=Beet-greens or Tops à l’Anglaise.=--Wash thoroughly and pick apart
tender young beet tops. Cook until tender in a covered saucepan,
using only enough melted butter to keep from burning. When tender,
season with pepper and salt, add melted butter. Garnish with sliced
hard-boiled eggs.
BORAGE (_Boraginaceæ_).
Sow in March and April in any ordinary garden soil in shallow drills a
foot apart. Thin out the seedlings to a foot apart and keep the ground
hoed between. The young leaves are used for claret, champagne, ginger
ale cups, and as flavouring and garnishing for salads.
=Borecole or Kale.=--For culture, see under Cabbage.
=Broccoli.=--For culture, see under Cabbage.