=To Boil Potatoes.=--Winter potatoes differ so much in quality and
habit that different varieties require different treatment. If they
turn black when cooked, or fall away outside before the heart is
tender, try them steamed in their jackets, or steamed without.
In England boiling the peeled potato is the universal custom, but in
Ireland they are wiser, and cook the tuber in the skin.
Wash the potatoes thoroughly, put into clean water, and peel with a
sharp knife; let the peel be as thin as possible, as the best part of
a potato lies near the outside; turn the tuber while peeling, this
greatly facilitates the process; cut out the eyes with a pointed knife;
plunge into abundance of cold water to cover. Put into a saucepan of
boiling water, a teaspoonful of salt to half a gallon of water, cook
for half an hour or a little less; drain off the water, put on one side
of the stove for five minutes, shaking constantly, dish very hot, and
serve. If it is necessary to keep them hot for some time, do not let
them remain in the water, but after draining draw to one side, and put
a clean towel, folded up in the pan, so as to absorb the steam.
=Steamed Potatoes.=--Prepare as for boiling, steam for three-quarters
of an hour; ten minutes before they are done, sprinkle a little salt
over them. Arrange neatly on the dish, and send to table very hot.
=Steamed Potatoes in their Jackets.=--Wash thoroughly, and leave them
to dry for a short time; then with a sharp knife make an incision round
the middle, steam for three-quarters of an hour, and before sending
to table remove the skins; these readily strip off in two parts. Be
careful to keep the potatoes hot.
=Baked Potatoes.=--Wash thoroughly, and leave them to dry for an hour;
then prick them and bake for an hour and a half in a moderate oven.
A longer time may be required if the potatoes are very large. Choose
tubers of equal size, and rather large. Up-to-Dates are the best
bakers. Send to table, with a napkin folded in the dish, but on no
account put a cover on; this would make them limp and dull.
=Brown Potatoes.=--Wash, peel, and dry the potatoes; cut to an equal
size. Put them in a dripping-tin, containing about an inch of melted
butter, or nutter; let it boil before the potatoes are put in, baste
occasionally, and when they have been in half an hour turn them over
and brown the other side; they will take an hour or more, according to
their size. Drain on kitchen paper, and serve in a hot tureen.
=Mashed Potatoes.=--Boil, and dry the potatoes according to directions
above; then draw the saucepan to one side and beat the potatoes with
a fork, or put them through a masher. Add half a cupful of hot milk,
with a piece of butter dissolved in it, and a little white pepper. More
or less milk may be used according to the quantity of potatoes; they
should be smooth and creamy, but not sticky.
=Browned Potatoes.=--Proceed as for mashed potatoes; heap them up in
the centre of a hot vegetable tureen, roughen them with a fork drawn
across and across. Then put in the oven to brown for a quarter of an
hour or ten minutes, or they may be browned in front of the fire or
with a salamander.
=New Potatoes.=--Wash in two or three waters to remove the sand; then
if they are freshly dug, the skin may be rubbed off with a gentle
movement of your thumb. The eyes will need to be removed afterwards,
but this method prepares the potatoes quickly, and with no waste; it
also preserves their shape. Drop them into a bowl of cold water as they
are finished. All potatoes turn brown if exposed to the air without
their skin when raw.
Allow half an hour to cook them, and see that they are all of the
same size as nearly as may be. Put them in cold water, enough to
quite cover, add a pinch of salt and a sprig of mint, and bring to
the boiling point. When tender pour off the water and drain for a
minute, then dish very hot, with a piece of fresh butter. Sometimes a
sprinkling of chopped parsley is added, but this interferes with the
delicate flavour of the potatoes, though it dresses the dish.
=Cold New Potatoes.=--(1) These may be used in various ways--none
should ever be wasted; they make a charming addition to a salad, cut
in slices, and put in the bottom of the bowl; cover with lettuce torn
into shreds, dress with a tiny pinch of salt, a good tablespoonful
of oil, toss well, then add half a teaspoonful of sugar, half a
tablespoonful of vinegar; mix thoroughly, decorate with sliced tomatoes
and hard-boiled eggs, cucumber, cold boiled peas, or young cold, boiled
carrots.
=Cold Boiled New Potatoes.=--(2) They may also be sliced and fried in
butter or nutter, with a sprinkle of pepper and salt, and a little
chopped parsley sprinkled over them.
=Children’s Pudding.=--Beat two ounces of sugar and two ounces of
butter together until smooth; beat two eggs together well, then stir
into the butter, adding a little juice and the grated rind of a lemon,
a little salt, and a little milk; pour this on to six tablespoonfuls of
mashed potatoes. Mix the whole thoroughly well together; pour it into a
greased pie-dish, and bake for about half an hour in a moderate oven.
=Potato Omelette.=--Press out the floury part of a large baked potato;
pass through a fine sieve; mix with it the yolks of three eggs, three
tablespoonfuls of milk, a few drops of lemon juice, a pinch of nutmeg,
a little salt and pepper; whisk the whites stiff, stir them lightly in,
and fry the omelette in one ounce of hot butter, cook very lightly, and
roll up very quickly.
=Potato Pie.=--Peel and slice two pounds of potatoes and one stick
of celery, shred an onion, and fry it in butter; put the whole into
a pie-dish, season with pepper and salt, add a little milk or water,
cover with short-crust paste, and bake in a quick oven for an hour.
=Potato Nüdelan.=--Make your nüdelans as the Italian gnocchi (see
Miscellaneous Dishes); only instead of flour make them with mashed
potatoes. Boil them for six minutes, and sprinkle them with more grated
Gruyère or Parmesan cheese, and pour over some brown melted butter
flavoured with onion.
=French Potato Pudding.=--Cook and mash some floury potatoes, rub
them through a sieve into a large dish, make into a paste by adding
two ounces of fresh butter and half a tumbler of cream or milk; beat
it into a smooth paste, season with salt and pepper, then add three
well-beaten yolks of eggs; butter a mould, and pour in the potato
mixture; make a hole in the centre, into which put some cooked and
seasoned mushrooms; cover the top with a piece of the paste, and cook
in the oven; when finished turn it into a dish, and serve hot.
=Potato Rissoles.=--Wash, peel, and boil ten potatoes, drain and rub
them through a wire sieve. Place them in a basin with salt, pepper,
and grated nutmeg, and add two yolks of eggs, one tablespoonful of
cream, and a dessertspoonful of chopped parsley. Beat up till smooth,
make up into rissole shapes, egg and bread-crumb them, and fry in hot
fat. Drain on kitchen paper, and dish up on a folded napkin or paper.
Garnish with fried parsley, and serve.
=Stuffed Potatoes.=--(1) Cut the tops from each of six potatoes, boiled
or baked in their jackets. Scoop out the pulp, and mash to a smooth
paste with three tablespoonfuls of butter; add cream, and salt and
pepper to season, and a quarter of a cupful of grated cheese, and cook
to a smooth paste. Take from the fire, and stir in one well-beaten egg.
Fill the skins, and bake.
=Stuffed Potatoes.=--(2) Peel some large potatoes, take out the
inside, and put in each one a stuffing made as follows:--One cup of
bread-crumbs, one cup of ground nuts, and a little chopped thyme and
parsley. Put the potatoes, with two ounces of butter, in a baking tin
to bake in a hot oven for an hour and a half. Baste frequently.
=Italian Potato Omelette.=--Mince up two cold boiled potatoes, sprinkle
with pepper and salt, and put them into a frying pan in which two
ounces of butter have been melted. Spread the potato one-third of
an inch deep in the pan, and cook slowly over a moderate fire for a
quarter of an hour, then turn over, as you would any other omelette,
and cook the other side. Serve hot.
=Stewed Potatoes in a Paper Bag.=--Wash and peel as many potatoes as
are wanted. Cut each into four thick slices and put into a greased
bag, with a finely chopped peeled onion, one tablespoonful of chopped
parsley, half a cupful of dripping, salt and pepper to taste, and half
a cupful of water. Bake in the oven for forty minutes or an hour. Turn
out on to a hot dish, and serve at once.
=Nut and Potato Croquettes.=--Two cupfuls of hot mashed potatoes and
three tablespoonfuls of cream, one teaspoonful of salt, one-eighth of
a teaspoonful of pepper, a few grains of cayenne, and a few drops of
onion juice. Beat thoroughly, and add the yolk of an egg. Mix with a
quarter of a cupful of cream until of the consistency of a thick paste;
then add another yolk of an egg, and leave it to cool. Make a mixture
of ground nuts and a little cream, with the well-beaten white of an
egg, and seasoning. Shape the potato mixture into small nests, fill the
nests with nut mixture, cover with potato mixture, and roll into balls.
Dip in egg and crumbs, and fry in deep fat, and drain on kitchen paper.
=Potato Puff.=--(1) Beat to a cream two cupfuls of cold mashed potatoes
and two tablespoonfuls of melted butter. Add the yolks of two eggs
beaten up with a cupful of cream or milk; salt and pepper to season.
Fold in the stiffly beaten white of the eggs and pour into a buttered
baking dish, and bake until well puffed and brown, about three-quarters
of an hour.
=Potato Puff.=--(2) Beat with a fork three cold boiled potatoes; add
a pinch of salt, half a cupful of milk, one tablespoonful of minced
parsley, two eggs well beaten, and enough flour to make a batter that
will drop from a spoon; sift in half a teaspoonful of baking powder
with the flour. Drop by spoonfuls into deep fat, and fry brown.
=Escalloped Potatoes and Eggs.=--Slice finely four cold boiled potatoes
and six hard-boiled eggs. Put a layer of potatoes into a buttered
baking dish, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover with a layer of
boiled eggs, and repeat until the dish is full, having potatoes on the
top. Pour over two cupfuls of thin cream and some white sauce. Cover
with buttered crumbs, and sprinkle with grated cheese if desired. Bake
until the crumbs are brown, half to three-quarters of an hour. Freshly
boiled potatoes may be used in the same way.
=Potato Timbâles.=--Cook, drain, and rub through a sieve enough boiled
potatoes to make one pound. Put into a bowl with three ounces of butter
melted, two whole eggs and the yolks of two. Season with salt, pepper,
and grated nutmeg, and mix thoroughly. Butter some plain timbâle
moulds, sprinkle with crumbs over the inside, fill with the potato
mixture. Sprinkle with crumbs and dot with butter, and bake for one
hour. Let the moulds stand for a few minutes before turning out.
=Potato with Cheese Sauce.=--Boil and mash one dozen peeled potatoes.
Season with salt and pepper and melted butter; add enough milk to make
very soft, and beat until very light. Heap into the centre of a baking
dish and make a hole in the centre. Brush with the beaten white of egg,
and brown in the oven. Melt a cupful of butter, and stir in gradually
five heaped tablespoonfuls of grated cheese and the beaten yolks of two
eggs. Season with salt and cayenne. Stir until thick and smooth, and
fill the hole in the potato mixture. Sprinkle with crumbs, and put into
the oven for five minutes longer.
=Deviled Stuffed Potatoes.=--Split lengthways, remove the pulp from
six baked potatoes. Mash smoothly, and add one hard-boiled egg chopped
finely. Salt, cayenne, and onion juice to season, and a little made
mustard. Fill the shells with the mixture, and brown in the oven.
PURSLANE (_Portulacea oleracea. Portulacaceæ_).
A light soil and a sunny border are best for this plant, which is a
half-hardy annual. Successional sowings may be made from May to the
beginning of August, in shallow drills; the plants should stand six
inches apart. Frequent waterings are necessary during dry weather.
The leaves are gathered as required, and either cooked or used in
salads.
The season of this subject may be prolonged by means of successional
sowings made in frames.
=Salad.=--Purslane is a kitchen-garden annual which has antiscorbutic
properties. There are several varieties of it, the best known being
the golden purslane, which, properly dressed, makes a tasty and much
appreciated salad. It is prepared like an ordinary salad, with the
addition of pimpernel, chervil, and tarragon. The stalks of purslane
can be pickled in vinegar, like gherkins.
RADISH (_Raphanus sativus. Cruciferæ_).
The earliest radishes may be sown in a frame in January. A light,
mellow soil is desirable, and if the slight bottom-heat of a nearly
exhausted hotbed be available, the radishes will be all the earlier.
For anything in the nature of forcing or framework it is important to
select a quick-growing, forcing variety with a strong tendency to the
formation of root rather than top, such as Early French Breakfast or
Wood’s frame varieties. Plenty of moisture and plenty of air during
non-frosty days are the secrets of growing radishes in a frame.
Later sowings of radish, beginning in March, may be made periodically,
according to the demand, as catch crops beneath a warm wall or fence,
then among early peas and in similar situations, and in summer in a
cool spot, with plenty of moisture available.
A radish must grow quickly and evenly, or it will be worthless.
Therefore they must have plenty of moisture, and not be crowded; half
an inch apart is quite near enough to grow them, whether sown broadcast
or in shallow drills.
Winter radishes may be sown in July or August in drills six inches
apart, the plants thinned to three inches in the rows. These form a
pleasant addition to winter salads, and are pulled as wanted, peeled
and sliced, much in the manner of cucumbers. The best variety for
winter salads is perhaps Large White Winter Spanish; we have also grown
the Chinese Rose Radish with success. Winter radishes are apt to be
rather strong and pungent, and it is largely on account of its flavour
we prefer the first named.
RAMPION (_Campanula Rapunculus. Campanulaceæ_).
This biennial native plant is not much used in the kitchen. Two sowings
may be made of it, one in May, the other six weeks later. Seed should
be sown very thinly in drills nine inches apart, and the plants thinned
to three inches distance in the rows. Rampion requires a plentiful
supply of water, and a fairly rich soil.
The roots will stand in the ground all the winter, and may be dug for
use as needed from October onwards.
The roots and leaves are used either raw in salads, or the roots may be
boiled and used after the manner of beetroots, or cooked and served as
a vegetable, like parsnips.
RHUBARB (_Rheum. Polygonaceæ_).
As this is a permanent crop the ground should be deeply trenched and
well manured for its reception. It prefers moist, cool soil, and is
extremely hardy. It is best propagated by division of the root, a good
crown bud with each root division.
February is the best month to plant, just before the roots in the
open would be naturally starting into growth. The distance between
the plants will depend both upon the variety selected and the nature
of the soil; they can be advantageously planted more closely in a
dry, thin soil than in a deep, cool loam, where they will naturally
attain a much larger size. For the small garden a small early red
variety is recommended, as this is a garden product well worth growing
for an early crop of well-flavoured produce: eighteen to thirty
inches distance should be allowed between the plants, according to
circumstances. A shady situation among fruit-trees will do well for
rhubarb.
The plants must not be pulled from the first year, and should have a
mulch given towards the end of May to tide them over the summer. Late
in January, or in February, boxes or pots should be placed over some of
the crowns; or a tripod of stakes may be placed over the crowns, and
loose litter shaken over. We dislike rhubarb forced by means of hot
manure, and think this method completely ruins the flavour.
Through the summer the plants will be none the worse for a very
occasional watering with weak liquid manure during showery weather. As
the leaves die down during autumn they should be cleared away, and all
made tidy for the winter.