minced onion (previously scalded), 1 oz. butter, 1 oz. flour, ¹⁄₄ pint
milk, 1 teaspoonful tomato catsup, 1 tablespoonful grated Parmesan
cheese, seasoning, chopped mint, ³⁄₄ pint aspic jelly, 1 gill stiffly
whipped cream.
_Method._--Cook the onion in the butter with a little finely chopped
mint (the quantity should depend on whether the flavour is liked)
for a few moments, then stir in the flour, and when it is smoothly
mixed add the milk and continue to stir until a very thick sauce is
formed; season it with a little salt and pepper, rub it through a
gravy-strainer into the basin containing the sieved peas, and mix
well. Then add the tomato catsup and Parmesan cheese and season with
salt, pepper, and nutmeg; whisk one and a half gills of cool aspic
jelly until it is quite white, add the whipped cream to it, and then
the prepared peas, by degrees, and as soon as the ingredients are
thoroughly mixed, pour the cream into a mould which has been lined with
aspic jelly and leave until the following day, when it should be turned
out and served with aigrettes, made according to the directions given
below. If the peas are carefully cooked in an uncovered pan they should
produce a bright green purée, but should the colour not be good a few
drops of vegetable greening must be added. The cream may be iced with
advantage.
_For the Aigrettes._--Put one ounce of butter into a small saucepan
with half a pint of cold water; when it boils, draw the pan to the side
of the stove and stir in, gradually, four ounces of flour, and continue
to stir until a smooth and very thick paste is formed, which leaves the
sides of the pan and collects round the spoon in the middle; then take
the pan from the stove and, when the mixture has cooled a little, beat
two whole eggs and an additional yolk into it, adding each separately,
and when these are mixed stir in three ounces of dry, grated cheese
(preferably Parmesan and Gruyère mixed) and season with salt, white
pepper, and a little curry powder. As soon as the paste is cool, dip a
teaspoon into a stewpan containing plenty (it must be deep) of clear
fat, which has been heated to just under boiling point; fill it with
some of the paste and drop the latter into the fat. Avoid putting many
aigrettes into the pan at the same time, and be careful to remove them
as soon as they are a deep golden colour. Let the aigrettes cool on a
wire tray, and serve them cold with the vegetable cream; they should
not be made too long before they are required. The above makes a good
dish for a cold supper.
VEGETABLE PIE
Four large, close potatoes (parboiled), ¹⁄₂ pint haricot beans (cooked
until just tender and skinned), 6 large mushrooms (cleansed and
peeled), 4 tomatoes, 1 stick celery (parboiled), butter, 2 hard-boiled
eggs, forcemeat balls, 1 dessertspoonful onion (scalded and minced),
seasoning, brown vegetable stock (slightly thickened), ¹⁄₂ lb. short
paste.
_Method._--Butter a pie-dish and put in a layer of sliced potatoes,
then a few slices of tomato, three mushrooms (cut in half), some of the
beans, some pieces of celery (about an inch in length), one hard-boiled
egg divided into quarters, and four or five little forcemeat balls;
season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and scatter half the quantity
of onion over the surface, then use the remaining ingredients in the
same way. Moisten the pie with the stock and cover it with the paste,
brush over with beaten egg (if practicable), and bake in a well-heated
oven for an hour. For the forcemeat balls proceed thus: Mix together
four ounces Hovis breadcrumbs, one dessertspoonful of minced parsley, a
little lemon-thyme (if the flavour is not disliked), a teaspoonful of
onion (scalded and minced), a very little grated lemon-peel, and season
with salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and cayenne; then add two
ounces of warm butter and sufficient beaten egg to form a fairly stiff
paste. Divide the latter into little balls, roll them on a floured
board, and they will be ready for use.
VEGETABLE STEAKS
Half a pound of red haricot beans, 2 ozs. butter, 3 ozs. minced onion,
2 large tomatoes (sliced), 1 small stick of celery, seasoning, ¹⁄₂
pint brown vegetable stock, 1¹⁄₂ eggs.
_Method._--Soak the beans over-night, boil them until tender, then
remove their skins and put them into an earthenware casserole with the
butter, onion, tomatoes, and celery, and fry for six minutes, stirring
well; season with salt, pepper, and a dust of mixed spice, and pour in
the stock. Cover the beans closely with greased paper before putting
on the lid of the casserole, and let them cook in a moderate oven for
about two hours, or until they are reduced to a soft mass and the stock
is all absorbed. Pass the beans and vegetables through a wire sieve;
add the yolk of egg to the purée, mixing it thoroughly; put it aside
to get cold, and then form on a floured board into six little steaks;
brush them over with beaten egg, dredge a little flour over them, and
fry until nicely browned in boiling fat; serve with celery fritters in
the middle and ribbon potatoes round the dish.
YORKSHIRE MINCE
Four ounces of mushrooms, 1 oz. butter, 1 gill thick brown sauce, 1
tablespoonful thick cream, lemon-juice, parsley, seasoning, Yorkshire
pudding mixture.
_Method._--Cleanse and peel the mushrooms and remove the stalks (which
can be used to flavour stock) and fry them in the butter for five
minutes, seasoning them with salt, pepper, and a little powdered mace;
then cover them with the sauce; place a greased paper over the pan
and let them stew by the side of the fire for half an hour. Pass the
mushrooms through a fine mincer, add a squeeze of lemon-juice, and
reheat them in the pan previously used, with a tablespoonful of cream,
stirring them occasionally to prevent them from burning. Prepare a
Yorkshire pudding in the usual way, and bake it carefully so that it is
nicely browned; when ready, spread the minced mushrooms evenly on the
top, scatter some parsley over it, and with a sharp knife cut it into
neat squares, and serve with, or without, a boat of thick brown sauce.
YORKSHIRE PUDDING WITH MUSHROOMS AND TOMATOES
Three ounces dry, sifted flour, 3 eggs, rather more than ¹⁄₄ pint
milk, baking powder, 2 ozs. butter, 4 mushrooms, 2 tomatoes, maître
d’hôtel butter, seasoning.
_Method._--Put the flour into a basin, add a little salt and some
freshly-ground black pepper, and make a hollow in the middle; whisk the
eggs well and mix the milk with them, then pour by degrees into the
flour, mixing it with a wooden spoon; when a perfectly smooth batter
is formed cover the basin with a cloth and let it stand for an hour
or two before cooking. Then melt the butter in a Yorkshire pudding
tin (ten by six inches), and when it is hot stir a saltspoonful of
baking powder into the batter, pour it into the hot tin, and bake in a
well-heated oven for from twenty to thirty minutes. While the pudding
is being cooked, fry two medium-sized tomatoes cut in half and four
fairly large mushrooms (cleansed and peeled); when the pudding is done
cut it into eight squares with a sharp knife and arrange them on a very
hot flat fireproof dish, place the mushrooms and tomatoes alternately
on the pieces, and put a little pat of maître d’hôtel butter on each;
it should be prepared thus: Beat three ounces of butter (or two ounces
if only for a small dish) until it is soft and creamy; season it with
salt, pepper, and cayenne, and add, by degrees, a tablespoonful of
lemon-juice; when it is thoroughly worked into the butter sprinkle
in a tablespoonful of finely-minced parsley and put into a cool place
until it is firm. Then take a small portion of the butter at a time,
and roll it into eight neat little balls; flatten them slightly into a
little pat and use as directed.
SAUCES
BROWN SAUCE
Two and a half ounces of butter, 1 onion, 1 large or 2 small carrots,
a few pieces of celery, 1 tomato, ¹⁄₂ turnip, 1 thick slice parsnip, 2
or 3 pieces parsley, 1 clove, seasoning, browning, Maggi’s essence.
_Method._--Slice the vegetables and let them simmer gently in one ounce
of the butter for a quarter of an hour; then add a pint of boiling
water, a teaspoonful of browning, a teaspoonful of Maggi’s essence,
salt, pepper, nutmeg, and a dust of curry powder, and let it boil
rapidly for ten minutes; at the end of the time draw the pan to the
side of the stove and let the stock cook slowly for three quarters of
an hour. When it is ready thicken it with two ounces of flour, and
one and a half ounces of butter, cooked together, add a squeeze of
lemon-juice, or a few drops of tarragon vinegar, and strain.
CURRY SAUCE
Two ounces of butter, 4 ozs. onion, 1 or 2 tomatoes, ¹⁄₂ a sweet
apple, 2 teaspoonfuls sweet chutney, 1 dessertspoonful curry
powder, 1 dessertspoonful flour, 1 teaspoonful tarragon vinegar (or
lemon-juice), ³⁄₄ pint brown vegetable stock.
_Method._--Slice the onion, tomatoes, and apple and fry in the butter
until the onion begins to show signs of becoming a golden colour; then
add the curry powder, and draw the pan to a cooler part of the stove,
and let the contents simmer for twelve minutes. At the end of the time
stir in the flour, taking care no lumps form, and when it is smoothly
mixed with the butter, pour in the stock gradually, and stir until
the sauce has boiled and thickened, then add the chutney and tarragon
vinegar, and let it simmer for half an hour, when it should be passed
through a gravy strainer into a basin (rubbing the ingredients through
with the back of a small wooden spoon) to be re-heated when required.
DUTCH SAUCE
Half a pint of thick white sauce, 1 raw yolk of egg, 1¹⁄₂ teaspoonfuls
lemon-juice, ¹⁄₂ oz. butter.
_Method._--Make the white sauce hot, ascertain that it has sufficient
seasoning, and when it reaches boiling point draw the pan to the
side of the stove and stir in the yolk of egg beaten up with the
lemon-juice and continue to stir for a few moments until the egg has
thickened, but it must not boil or it will curdle and be spoilt. Then
remove the pan from the stove and stir in the butter (which should be
divided into little pieces) by degrees, and if the sauce is not to be
used at once, keep it hot by placing the saucepan in a larger vessel
of hot water. Dutch sauce is nice with almost any kind of vegetable
(including potatoes), and also with macaroni.
TOMATO AND CELERY SAUCE
Half a pound of tomatoes, 3 or 4 nice white sticks of celery, 1 oz.
butter, seasoning, carmine, ¹⁄₂ pint white sauce.
_Method._--Slice the tomatoes and cut the celery into small pieces;
melt the butter in a saucepan, put in the vegetables, season them with
salt, pepper, a very little powdered mace, and let them simmer (not
fry) for ten minutes. Then add the white sauce and leave the pan where
the heat is moderate until the vegetables are quite tender, but the
sauce must not be allowed to boil. When it is ready, add a few drops
of carmine and a squeeze of lemon-juice, and pass it either through a
perforated gravy strainer or a sieve, and re-heat it carefully, letting
it only just reach boiling point.
TOMATO SAUCE
Three or four large tomatoes, 1¹⁄₂ ozs. sliced onion, 1¹⁄₂ ozs.
butter, 1¹⁄₂ pints thick brown sauce, seasoning, Chili vinegar,
carmine.
_Method._--Cut the tomatoes into slices and fry them gently with the
onion in one ounce of the butter; season with salt, freshly-ground
black pepper, nutmeg, and a dust of castor sugar, and as soon as the
tomatoes are quite soft, add the brown sauce, a few drops of Chili
vinegar, and sufficient carmine to make it a clear red; then pass it
through a sieve and re-heat it when required, stirring in the remaining
half ounce of butter after taking the saucepan from the stove; this
will add richness to the sauce, but it should not be re-heated after
the butter is put in, or it will become oily instead of blending with
the sauce.
WHITE SAUCE
One onion, a few pieces of celery, 2 or 3 thin strips lemon-peel, 2 or
3 pieces parsley, small blade of mace, salt, pepper, ³⁄₄ pint milk,
¹⁄₄ pint Plasmon stock, 2¹⁄₂ ozs. butter, 2 ozs. flour.
_Method._--Cut the onion in slices and put it into a saucepan with
the celery and one ounce of butter, and let it simmer gently for ten
minutes, taking great care that the butter does not become discoloured,
then add the milk, Plasmon, lemon-peel, parsley, mace, salt, and
pepper, and let the stock simmer gently (it must not boil) until the
vegetables are soft, when it should be strained into a basin. Melt the
remainder of the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour. As soon
as the latter is well mixed, pour in the flavoured milk, by degrees,
stirring quickly all the time with a wooden spoon, so that no lumps
may form; then place the pan on a slightly hotter part of the stove,
so that the sauce may boil and thicken satisfactorily. If carefully
prepared, it will be perfectly smooth, otherwise it should be passed
through a gravy strainer; if an additional half ounce of butter can be
spared, it will improve the sauce to have it stirred in the last thing
before it is served.
WHITE STOCK
One onion, 1 carrot, 1 small turnip, a few pieces of celery, a thick
slice of parsnip, 2 artichokes, a little bunch of parsley, a little
piece of lemon-thyme, 1 clove, a little piece of mace, salt, pepper,
¹⁄₂ pint milk, ³⁄₄ pint water or Plasmon stock, 1 oz. of crumbs from a
milk loaf.
_Method._--Slice the vegetables and put them into a saucepan with
the water, bread, herbs, and seasoning; let the water or stock reach
boiling point, and then simmer for half an hour; at the end of the time
add the milk and simmer again for twenty minutes, when the stock should
be strained and put aside until it is required.
LETCHWORTH
THE TEMPLE PRESS
PRINTERS
Transcriber’s Notes
Punctuation errors have been fixed.
Page 20: “with sphaghetti” changed to “with spaghetti”
Page 47: “for brasing” changed to “for braising”