Chapter XVII: =Vegetables.= (1)

THE quality of vegetables depends much both on the soil in which they are grown, and on the degree of care bestowed upon their culture; but if produced in ever so great perfection, their excellence will be entirely destroyed if they be badly cooked.

With the exception of artichokes, which are said to be improved by two or three days’ keeping, all the summer varieties should be dressed before their first freshness has in any degree passed off (for their flavour is never so fine as within a few hours of their being cut or gathered); but when this cannot be done, precaution should be taken to prevent their withering. The stalk-ends of asparagus, cucumbers, and vegetable-marrow, should be placed in from one to two inches of cold water; and all other kinds should be spread on a cool brick floor. When this has been neglected, they must be thrown into cold water for some time before they are boiled to recover them, though they will prove even then but very inferior eating.

Vegetables when not sufficiently cooked are known to be so exceedingly unwholesome and indigestible, that the custom of serving them _crisp_, which means, in reality, only half-boiled, should be altogether disregarded when health is considered of more importance than fashion; but they should not be allowed to remain in the water after they are quite done, or both their nutritive properties and their flavour will be lost, and their good appearance destroyed. Care should be taken to _drain them thoroughly_ in a warm strainer, and to serve them very hot, with well-made sauces, if with any.

Only dried peas or beans, Jerusalem artichokes, and potatoes, are put at first into cold water. All others require plenty of fast-boiling water, which should be ready salted and skimmed before they are thrown into it.

TO CLEAR VEGETABLES FROM INSECTS.

Lay them for half an hour or more into a pan of strong brine, with the stalk ends uppermost; this will destroy the small snails and other insects which cluster in the leaves, and they will fall out and sink to the bottom. A pound and a half of salt to the gallon of water will answer for this purpose, and if strained daily it will last for some time.

TO BOIL VEGETABLES GREEN.

After they have been properly prepared and washed, throw them into plenty of boiling water which has been salted and well skimmed; and keep them uncovered and boiling fast until they are done, taking every precaution against their being smoked. Should the water be very hard, a _small_ half-teaspoonful of carbonate of soda, may be added with the salt, for every two quarts, and will greatly improve the colour of the vegetables; but if used in undue proportion it will injure them; green peas especially will be quickly reduced to a mash if boiled with too large a quantity.

Water, 1 gallon; salt, 2 oz.; soda, 1/4 oz.; or carbonate of soda, 1 teaspoonful.

POTATOES.

(_Remarks on their properties and importance._)

There is no vegetable commonly cultivated in this country, we venture to assert, which is comparable in value to the potato when it is of a good sort, has been grown in a suitable soil, and is properly cooked and served. It _must_ be very nutritious, or it would not sustain the strength of thousands of people whose almost sole food it constitutes, and who, when they can procure a sufficient supply of it to satisfy fully the demands of hunger, are capable of accomplishing the heaviest daily labour. It may not be wise to depend for subsistence on a root of which the crop unhappily is so frequently in these days destroyed or greatly injured by disease, and for which it is so difficult to find a substitute that is equally cheap, wholesome and satisfying; but we can easily comprehend the predilection of an entire people for a tuber which combines, like the potato, the solidity almost of bread, with the healthful properties[103] of various other fresh vegetables, without their acidity; and which can also be cooked and served in so many different forms. The wretched manner in which it is dressed in many English houses renders it comparatively valueless, and accounts in a measure for the prodigality with which it is thrown away when cold, even in seasons when its price is highest.[104]

Footnote 103:

The late Dr. Pereira has stated in his excellent work on diet, page
370, that Dr. Baly, who has published some interesting observations on
the anti-scorbutic quality of the potato, says, “_As ordinarily
cooked, it is an admirable preservative_ against the scurvy,” for
which it appears to be also a cure, see the same work.

Footnote 104:

We cannot refrain from a few words of remark here on the daily waste
of wholesome food in this country which constitutes one of the most
serious _domestic_ abuses that exist amongst us; and one which it is
most painful to witness while we see at the same time the
half-starvation of large masses of our people. It is an evil which the
steady and resolute opposition of the educated classes would soon
greatly check; and which ought not vainly to appeal to their good
sense and good feeling, augmenting, as it must, the privations of the
scantily-fed poor; for the “_waste_” of one part of the community
cannot fail to increase the “_want_” of the remainder.

TO BOIL POTATOES.

(_As in Ireland._)

Potatoes, to boil well together, should be all of the same sort, and as nearly equal in size as may be. Wash off the mould, and scrub them very clean with a hard brush, but neither scoop nor apply a knife to them in any way, even to clear the eyes.[105] Rinse them well, and arrange them compactly in a saucepan, so that they may not lie loose in the water, and that a small quantity may suffice to cover them. Pour this in cold, and when it boils, throw in about a large teaspoonful of salt to the quart, and simmer the potatoes until they are nearly done, but for the last two or three minutes let them boil rapidly. When they are tender quite through, which may be known by probing them with a fork, pour all the water from them immediately, lift the lid of the saucepan to allow the steam to escape, and place them on a trivet, high over the fire, or by the side of it, until the moisture has entirely evaporated; then peel, and send them to table as quickly as possible, either in a hot napkin, or in a dish, of which the cover is so placed that the steam can pass off. There should be no delay in serving them after they are once taken from the fire. Irish families always prefer them served in their skins. Some kinds will be sufficiently boiled in twenty minutes, others in not less than three quarters of an hour.

Footnote 105:

“Because,” in the words of our clever Irish correspondent, “the water
through these parts is then admitted into the very heart of the
vegetable; and the latent heat, after cooking, is not sufficient to
throw it off; this renders the potatoes very unwholesome.”

20 minutes to 1 hour, or more.

_Obs. 1._—The water in which they are boiled should barely cover the potatoes. After it is poured off, they should be steamed for twenty minutes or _half an hour_, if large.

_Obs. 2._—Habitual potato-eaters know well that this vegetable is never so good as when served in _the skin_ the instant it is taken from the fire, dished in a hot napkin, or sent to table without a cover over it. It should also be clean and dry that it may at pleasure be taken in the fingers and broken like bread, or held in the dinner napkin while the inside is scooped out with the fork, thus forming it into a sort of cup. The large Yorkshire Regents dressed and eaten in this way afford in themselves an almost sufficient meal. We have found from long daily experience, that those which averaged three, or at the utmost four to the pound, were the best in quality, and remained so to quite the end of their season: they required as the spring advanced, an hour’s boiling or more.

TO BOIL POTATOES.

(_The Lancashire way._)

Pare the potatoes, cover them with cold water, and boil them slowly until they are quite tender, but watch them carefully, that they may not be overdone; drain off the water entirely, strew some salt over them, leave the saucepan uncovered by the side of the fire, and shake it forcibly every minute or two, until the whole of the potatoes appear dry and floury. Lancashire cooks dress the vegetable in this way to perfection, but it is far from an economical mode, as a large portion of the potato adheres to the saucepan; it has, however, many admirers.

TO BOIL NEW POTATOES.

These are never good unless freshly dug. Take them of equal size, and rub off the skins with a brush or a very coarse cloth, wash them clean, and put them without salt into boiling, or at least, quite hot water; boil them softly, and when they are tender enough to serve, pour off the water entirely, strew some fine salt over them, give them a shake, and let them stand by the fire in the saucepan for a minute; then dish and serve them immediately. Some cooks throw in a small slice of fresh butter, with the salt, and toss them gently in it after it is dissolved. This is a good mode, but the more usual one is to send melted butter to table with them, or to pour white sauce over them when they are very young, and served early in the season.

Very small, 10 to 15 minutes: moderate sized, 15 to 20 minutes.

_Obs._—We always, for our own eating, have new potatoes steamed for ten minutes or longer after the water is poured from them, and think they are much improved by the process. They should be thoroughly boiled before this is done.

NEW POTATOES IN BUTTER.

Rub off the skins, wash the potatoes well and wipe them dry; put them with three ounces of good butter, for a small dish, and with four ounces or more for a large one, into a well-tinned stewpan or Keep them well shaken or tossed, that they may be equally done, and throw in some salt when they begin to stew. This is a good mode of dressing them when they are very young and watery.

TO BOIL POTATOES.

(_Captain Kater’s Receipt._)

Wash, wipe, and pare the potatoes, cover them with cold water, and boil them gently until they are done, pour off the water, and sprinkle a little fine salt over them; then take each potato separately with a spoon, and lay it into a clean _warm_ cloth, twist this so as to press all the moisture from the vegetable, and render it quite round; turn it carefully into a dish placed before the fire, throw a cloth over, and when all are done, send them to table quickly. Potatoes dressed in this way are mashed without the slightest trouble; it is also by far the best method of preparing them for puddings or for cakes.

TO ROAST OR BAKE POTATOES.

Scrub and wash exceedingly clean some potatoes nearly assorted in size; wipe them very dry, and roast them in a Dutch oven before the fire, placing them at a distance from it, and keeping them often turned; or arrange them in a coarse dish, and bake them in a moderate oven. Dish them neatly in a napkin, and send them very hot to table; serve cold butter with them. 1-3/4 to upwards of 2 hours.

SCOOPED POTATOES. (ENTREMETS.[106])

Footnote 106:

Or second course dish.

Wash and wipe some large potatoes of a firm kind, and with a small scoop adapted to the purpose,[107] form as many diminutive ones as will fill a dish; cover them with cold water, and when they have boiled very gently for five minutes pour it off, and put more cold water to them; after they have simmered a second time for five minutes, drain the water quite away, place the cover of the saucepan so as to leave an inch or more of open space for the moisture to evaporate, and let them steam by the side of the fire from four to five minutes longer. Dish them carefully, pour white sauce over them, and serve them in the second course. Old potatoes thus prepared, have often been made to pass for _new_ ones, at the best tables, at the season in which the fresh vegetable was dearest.[108] The time required to boil them will of course vary with their quality; we give the method which we have found very successful.

Footnote 107:

This may be procured of any ironmonger.

Footnote 108:

Vegetables and fruit are now so generally forced and brought so early
into our markets, that there is little need of these expedients at
present.

CRISPED POTATOES, OR POTATO-RIBBONS. (ENTREMETS.)

(_Or to serve with Cheese._)

Wash well, and wipe, some potatoes of good flavour; cut them up into slices of from half to a whole inch thick, free them from the skins, and then pare them round and round in very thin, and very long ribbons. Lay them into a pan of cold water, and half an hour before they are wanted for table lift them on to a sieve that they may be well drained. Fry them in good butter, which should be very hot when they are thrown in, until they are quite crisp, and lightly browned; drain and dry them on a soft cloth, pile them in a hot dish, strew over them a mixed seasoning of salt and cayenne in fine powder, and serve them without delay. For the second course, dress them in the same manner, but omit the cayenne. Five or six minutes will fry them.

FRIED POTATOES. (ENTREMETS.)

(_A Plainer Receipt._)

After having washed them, wipe and pare some raw potatoes, cut them in slices of equal thickness, or into thin shavings, and throw them into plenty of boiling butter, or very pure clarified dripping. Fry them of a fine light brown, and very crisp; lift them out with a skimmer, drain them on a soft warm cloth, dish them very hot, and sprinkle fine salt over them. This is an admirable way of dressing potatoes, very common on the Continent, but less so in England than it deserves to be. Pared in ribbons or shavings of equal width, as in the receipt above, and served dry and well fried, lightly piled in a dish, they make a handsome appearance, and are excellent eating. If sliced they should be something less than a quarter of an inch thick.

MASHED POTATOES.

Boil them perfectly tender quite through, pour off the water, and steam them very dry by the directions already given in the receipt of page 310, peel them quickly, take out every speck, and while they are still hot, press the potatoes through an earthen cullender, or bruise them to a smooth mash with a strong wooden fork or spoon, but never pound them in a mortar, as that will reduce them to a close heavy paste. _Let them be entirely free from lumps_, for nothing can be more indicative of carelessness or want of skill on the part of the cook, than mashed potatoes sent to table full of these. Melt in a clean saucepan a slice of good butter with a few spoonsful of milk, or, better still, of cream; put in the potatoes after having sprinkled some fine salt upon them, and stir the whole over a gentle fire with a _wooden_ spoon, until the ingredients are well-mixed, and the whole is very hot. It may then be served directly; or heaped high in a dish, left rough on the surface, and browned before the fire; or it may be pressed into a well buttered mould of handsome form, which has been strewed with the finest bread-crumbs, and shaken free from the loose ones, then turned out, and browned in a Dutch or common oven. More or less liquid will be required to moisten sufficiently potatoes of various kinds.

Potatoes mashed, 2 lbs.; salt, 1 teaspoonful; butter, 1 to 2 oz.; milk or cream, 1/4 pint.

_Obs._—Mashed potatoes are often moulded with a cup, and then equally browned: any other shape will answer the purpose as well, and many are of better appearance.

ENGLISH POTATO BALLS, OR CROQUETTES.

Boil some floury potatoes very dry, mash them as smoothly as possible, season them well with salt and white pepper, warm them with about an ounce of butter to the pound, or rather more if it will not render them too moist, and a few spoonsful of good cream. Boil them very dry; let them cool a little, roll them into balls, sprinkle over them vermicelli crushed slightly with the hand, and fry them a fine light brown. They may be dished round a shape of plain mashed potatoes, or piled on a napkin by themselves. They may likewise be rolled in egg and fine bread-crumbs instead of in the vermicelli, or in ground rice, which answers very well for them.

POTATO BOULETTES. (ENTREMETS.)

(_Good._)

Boil some good potatoes as dry as possible, or let them be prepared by Captain Kater’s receipt; mash a pound of them very smoothly, and mix with them while they are still warm, two ounces of fresh butter, a teaspoonful of salt, a little nutmeg, the beaten and strained yolks of four eggs, and last of all the whites thoroughly whisked. Mould the mixture with a teaspoon and drop it into a small pan of boiling butter, or of very pure lard, and fry the _boulettes_ for five minutes over a moderate fire: they should be of a fine pale brown, and very light. Drain them well and dish them on a hot napkin.

Potatoes, 1 lb.; butter, 2 oz.; salt, 1 teaspoonful; eggs, 4: 5 minutes.

_Obs._—These _boulettes_ are exceeding light and delicate, and make an excellent dish for the second course; but we think that a few spoonsful of sweet fresh cream boiled with them until the mixture becomes dry, would both enrich them and improve their flavour. They should be dropped into the pan with the teaspoon, as they ought to be small, and they will swell in the cooking.

POTATO RISSOLES.

(_French._)

Mash and season the potatoes with salt, and white pepper or cayenne, and mix with them plenty of minced parsley, and a small quantity of green onions, or eschalots; add sufficient yolks of eggs to bind the mixture together, roll it into small balls, and fry them in plenty of lard or butter over a moderate fire, or they will be too much browned before they are done through. Ham, or any other kind of meat finely minced, may be substituted for the herbs, or added to them.

POTATOES À LA MAÎTRE D’HÔTEL.

Boil in the usual manner some potatoes of a firm kind, peel, and let them cool; then cut them equally into quarter-inch slices. Dissolve in a very clean stewpan or saucepan from two to four ounces of good butter, stir to it a small dessertspoonful of flour, and shake the pan over the fire for two or three minutes; add by slow degrees a small cupful of boiling water, some pepper, salt, and a tablespoonful of minced parsley; put in the potatoes, and toss them gently over a clear fire until they are quite hot, and the sauce adheres well to them: at the instant of serving add a dessertspoonful of strained lemon-juice. Pale veal gravy may be substituted for the water; and the potatoes after being thickly sliced, may be quickly cut of the same size with a small round cutter.

POTATOES À LA CRÈME.

Prepare the potatoes as above, and toss them gently in a quarter of a pint or more of thick white sauce or of common _bechamel_, with or without the addition of the minced parsley.

KOHL CANNON, OR KALE CANNON.

(_An Irish Receipt._)

Mix in about equal proportions (these can be varied to suit the convenience of the moment) some smoothly mashed potatoes, and some young sprouts or greens of any kind, first boiled quite tender, pressed very dry, and chopped a little if needful. Mash up the whole well together, add a seasoning of pepper and salt, a small bit of butter, and a spoonful or two of cream or milk; put a raw onion into the middle of the mass, and stir it over a clear fire until it is very hot, and sufficiently dry to be moulded and turned out for table, or dished in the usual manner. Take out the onion before the kohl cannon is served. In Ireland mashed parsneps and potatoes are mingled in the same way, and called _parsnep cannon_. A good summer variety of the preparation is made there also with Windsor beans boiled tender, _skinned_, and bruised to a paste, then thoroughly blended with the potatoes. Turnips, too, are sometimes substituted for the parsneps; but these or any other _watery_ vegetable should be well dried over a gentle fire as directed for mashed turnips in this chapter, before they are added to the potatoes.

TO BOIL SEA-KALE.

Wash, trim, and tie the kale in bunches, and throw it into plenty of boiling water with some salt in it. When it is perfectly tender, lift it out, drain it well from the water, and send it to table with good melted butter. When fashion is not particularly regarded we would recommend its being served upon a toast like asparagus. About twenty minutes will boil it, rather less for persons who like it crisp.

18 to 20 minutes.

SEA-KALE STEWED IN GRAVY. (ENTREMETS.)

Boil the kale for ten minutes in salt and water; drain it well, and put it into a saucepan with as much good brown gravy as will nearly cover it; stew it gently for ten minutes or until it is tender, and send it to table in the gravy very hot. Another excellent mode of serving this vegetable is, to boil it in salt and water, and to pour over it plenty of rich white sauce after it is dished.

SPINACH. (ENTREMETS.)

(_French Receipt._)

Pick the spinach leaf by leaf from the stems, and wash it in abundance of spring water, changing it several times; then shake it in a dry cloth held by the four corners, or drain it on a large sieve. Throw it into sufficient well-salted boiling water to allow it to float freely, and keep it pressed down with a skimmer that it may be equally done. When quite young it will be tender in from eight to ten minutes, but to ascertain if it be so, take a leaf and squeeze it between the fingers. If to be dressed in the French mode, drain, and then throw it directly into plenty of fresh water, and when it is cool form it into balls and press the moisture thoroughly from it with the hands. Next, chop it extremely fine upon a clean trencher; put two ounces (for a large dish) of butter into a stewpan or bright thick saucepan, lay the spinach on it, and keep it stirred over a gentle fire for ten minutes, or until it appears dry; dredge in a spoonful of flour, and turn the spinach as it is added; pour to it gradually, a few spoonsful of very rich veal gravy, or, if preferred, of _good_ boiling cream (with the last of these a dessertspoonful or more of pounded sugar may be added for a second-course dish, when the true French mode of dressing the vegetable is liked.) Stew the whole briskly until the liquid is entirely absorbed; dish, and serve the spinach very hot, with small, pale fried sippets round it, or with leaves of puff paste fresh from the oven, or well dried after having been fried. For ornament, the sippets may be fancifully shaped with a tin cutter. A proper seasoning of salt must not be omitted in this, or any other preparation of the spinach.

SPINACH A L’ANGLAISE. (ENTREMETS.)

(_Or, English fashion._)

Boil the spinach as already directed, and after it has been well squeezed and chopped, stir it over a moderate fire until it is very dry; moisten it with as much thick rich gravy as will flavour it well, and turn and stew it quite fast until it is again very dry; then press it into a hot mould of handsome form, turn it into a dish and serve it quickly. Two or three ounces of fresh butter may be laid into the saucepan with the spinach at first, as a substitute for the gravy. When a perforated tin shape, ordinarily used for moulding spinach, is not at hand, one of earthenware, slightly buttered, will serve nearly as well.

SPINACH.

(_Common English mode._)

Boil the spinach very green in plenty of water, drain, and then press the moisture from it between two trenchers; chop it small, put it into a clean saucepan, with a slice of fresh butter, and stir the whole until well mixed and very hot. Smooth it in a dish, mark it in dice, and send it quickly to table.

ANOTHER COMMON ENGLISH RECEIPT FOR SPINACH.

Take it leaf by leaf from the stalks, and be very careful to clear it from any weeds that may be amongst it, and to free it by copious and repeated washings from every particle of sand, or earth. Put it into a large well-tinned stewpan or saucepan, with the water only which hangs about it; throw in a small spoonful of salt, and keep it constantly pressed down with a wooden spoon, and turned often for about a quarter of an hour, or until it is perfectly tender. Drain off the superfluous moisture, chop the spinach quickly on a hot trencher; dish and serve it immediately. Fried sippets of bread should always be served round this vegetable, unless it be prepared for an invalid.

TO DRESS DANDELIONS LIKE SPINACH, OR AS A SALAD.

(_Very wholesome._)

This common weed of the fields and highways is an excellent vegetable, the young leaves forming an admirable adjunct to a salad, and much resembling endive when boiled and prepared in the same way, or in any of the modes directed for spinach. The slight bitterness of its flavour is to many persons very agreeable; and it is often served at well-appointed tables. It has also, we believe, the advantage of possessing valuable medicinal qualities. Take the roots before the blossom is at all advanced, if they can readily be found in that state; if not, pluck off and use the young leaves only. Wash them as clean as possible, and boil them tender in a large quantity of water salted as for sprouts or spinach. Drain them well, press them dry with a wooden spoon, and serve them quite plain with melted butter in a tureen; or, squeeze, chop, and heat them afresh, with a seasoning of salt and pepper, a _morsel_ of butter rolled in flour, and a spoonful or two of gravy or cream. A very large portion of the leaves will be required for a dish, as they shrink exceedingly in the cooking. For a salad, take them very young and serve them entire, or break them quite small with the fingers; then wash and drain them. Dress them with oil and vinegar, or with any other sauce which may be preferred with them.

BOILED TURNIP-RADISHES.

These should be freshly drawn, young and white. Wash and trim them neatly, leaving on two or three of the small inner leaves of the top. Boil them in plenty of salted water from twenty to thirty minutes, and as soon as they are tender send them to table well drained, with melted butter or white sauce. Common radishes when young, tied in bunches, and boiled from eighteen to twenty-five minutes, then served on a toast like asparagus, are very good.

BOILED LEEKS.

Trim off the coarser leaves from some young leeks, cut them into equal lengths, tie them into small bunches, and boil them in plenty of water which has been previously salted and skimmed; serve them on a toast, and send melted butter to table with them.

20 to 25 minutes.

STEWED LETTUCES.

Strip off the outer leaves, and cut away the stalks; wash the lettuces with exceeding nicety, and throw them into water salted as for all green vegetables. When they are quite tender, which will be in from twenty to thirty minutes, according to their age, lift them out and press the water thoroughly from them; chop them a little, and heat them in a clean saucepan with a seasoning of pepper and salt, and a small slice of butter; then dredge in a little flour and stir them well; add next a small cup of broth or gravy, boil them quickly until they are tolerably dry, then stir in a little pale vinegar or lemon-juice, and serve them as hot as possible, with fried sippets round them.

TO BOIL ASPARAGUS.

With a sharp knife scrape the stems of the asparagus lightly but very clean, from within one to two inches of the green tender points; throw them into cold water as they are done, and when all are ready, tie them in bunches of equal size, cut the large ends evenly, that the asparagus may be all of the same length, and put it into plenty of boiling water prepared by the directions of page 309. Cut a round of bread quite half an inch thick, and after having pared off the crust, toast it a delicate brown on both sides. When the stalks of the asparagus are tender, lift it out directly, or it will lose both its colour and its flavour, and will also be liable to break; dip the toast quickly into the water in which it was boiled, and dish the vegetable upon it, with the points meeting in the centre. Send rich melted butter to table with it. In France, a small quantity of vinegar is stirred into the sauce before it is served; and many persons like the addition. Asparagus may be preserved for a day or two sufficiently fresh for use, by keeping the stalks immersed in an inch-depth of cold water; but it is never so good as when dressed directly it is cut, or within a few hours after.

20 to 25 minutes.

_Obs._—Abroad, boiled asparagus is very frequently served cold, and eaten with oil and vinegar, or a sauce Mayonnaise.

ASPARAGUS POINTS DRESSED LIKE PEAS. (ENTREMETS.)

This is a convenient mode of dressing asparagus, when it is too small and green to make a good appearance plainly boiled. Cut the points so far only as they are perfectly tender, in bits of equal size, not more than the third of an inch in length; wash them very clean, and throw them into plenty of boiling water, with the usual quantity of salt and a _few_ grains of carbonate of soda. When they are tolerably tender, which will be in from ten to twelve minutes, drain them well, and spread them on a clean cloth; fold it over them, wipe them gently, and when they are quite dry put them into a clean stewpan with a good slice of butter, which should be just dissolved before the asparagus is added; stew them in this over a brisk fire, shaking them often, for eight or ten minutes; dredge in about a small teaspoonful of flour, and add half that quantity of white sugar; then pour in boiling water to nearly cover the asparagus, and boil it rapidly until but little liquid remains: stir in the beaten yolks of two eggs, heap the asparagus high in a dish, and serve it very hot. The sauce should adhere entirely to the vegetable as in green peas _à la Française_.

TO BOIL GREEN PEAS.

To be eaten in perfection these should be young, very freshly gathered, and shelled just before they are boiled; should there be great inequality in their size, the smaller ones may be separated from the others, and thrown into the saucepan four or five minutes later. Wash, and drain the peas in a cullender, put them into plenty of fast-boiling water, salted by the directions of page 309; keep the pan uncovered, and let them boil rapidly until they are tender; drain them well, dish them quickly, and serve them very hot, with good melted butter in a tureen; or put a slice of fresh butter into the midst of the peas, heap them well over it in the centre of the dish, and let it dissolve before they are disturbed. Never, on any account, boil or mix mint with them unless it be expressly ordered, as it is particularly distasteful to many persons. It should be served in small heaps round them, if at all.

15 to 25 minutes, or more if _old_.

GREEN PEAS À LA FRANÇAISE, OR FRENCH FASHION. (ENTREMETS).

Throw a quart of young and freshly-shelled peas into plenty of spring water with a couple of ounces of butter, and with the hand work them together until the butter adheres well to the peas; lift them out, and drain them in a cullender; put them into a stewpan or thick saucepan without any water, and let them remain over a gentle fire, and be stirred occasionally for twenty minutes from the time of their first beginning to simmer; then pour to them as much boiling water as will just cover them; throw in a small quantity of salt, and keep them boiling quickly for forty minutes: stir well amongst them a small lump of sugar which has been dipped quickly into water, and a thickening of about half an ounce of butter very smoothly mixed with a teaspoonful of flour; shake them over the fire for two minutes, and serve them directly heaped high in a very hot dish; there will be no sauce except that which adheres to the peas if they be properly managed. We have found marrowfats excellent, dressed by this receipt. Fresh and good butter should be used with them always.

Peas, 1 quart; butter, 2 oz.: 20 minutes. Water to cover the peas; little salt: 40 minutes. Sugar, small lump; butter, 1/2 oz.; flour, 1 teaspoonful: 2 minutes.

GREEN PEAS WITH CREAM. (ENTREMETS.)

Boil a quart of young peas perfectly tender in salt and water, and drain them as dry as possible. Dissolve an ounce and a half of butter in a clean stewpan, stir smoothly to it when it boils a dessertspoonful of flour, and shake these over the fire for three or four minutes, but without allowing them to take the slightest colour; pour gradually to them a cup of rich cream, add a small lump of sugar pounded, let the sauce boil, then put in the peas and toss them gently in it until they are very hot: dish, and serve them quickly.

Peas, 1 quart: 18 to 25 minutes. Butter, 1-1/2 oz.; flour, 1 dessertspoonful: 3 to 5 minutes. Sugar, 1 saltspoonful; cream, 1 cupful.

TO BOIL FRENCH BEANS.

When the beans are very small and young, merely take off the ends and stalks, and drop them into plenty of spring water as they are done; when all are ready wash and drain them well, throw them into a large saucepan of fast-boiling water, salted as usual (see page 309), and when they are quite tender, which will be in from twelve to eighteen minutes, pour them into a cullender, shake the water from them, dish, and send them quickly to table with good melted butter in a tureen. When from half to two parts grown, cut the beans obliquely into a lozenge form, or, when a less modern fashion is preferred, split them lengthwise into delicate strips, and then cut them once across: the strings should be drawn off with the tops and stalks. No mode of dressing it can render this vegetable good when it is old, but if the sides be pared off, the beans cut thin, and boiled tender with rather more than the ordinary proportion of soda, they will be of excellent colour, and tolerably eatable.

FRENCH BEANS À LA FRANÇAISE. (ENTREMETS.)

Boil, and drain them thoroughly; then put them into a clean stewpan, or well-tinned iron saucepan, and shake them over the fire until they are very dry and hot; add to them from two to four ounces of fresh butter cut into small bits, some white pepper, a little salt, and the juice of half a lemon; toss them gently for a few minutes over a clear fire, and serve them very hot. Should the butter turn to oil, a spoonful or two of veal gravy or boiling water must be added.

AN EXCELLENT RECEIPT FOR FRENCH BEANS À LA FRANÇAISE.

Prepare as many young and freshly-gathered beans as will serve for a large dish, boil them tender, and drain the water well from them. Melt a couple of ounces of fresh butter, in a clean saucepan, and stir smoothly to it a small dessertspoonful of flour; keep these well shaken, and gently simmered until they are lightly browned, add salt and pepper, and pour to them by degrees a small cupful of good veal gravy (or, in lieu of this, of sweet rich cream), toss the beans in the sauce until they are as hot as possible; stir quickly in, as they are taken from the fire, the beaten yolks of two fresh eggs, and a little lemon-juice, and serve them without delay. The eggs and lemon are sometimes omitted, and a tablespoonful of minced parsley is added to the butter and flour; but this, we think, is scarcely an improvement.

Beans, 1 to 2 quarts: boiled 15 to 20 minutes. Butter, 2 oz.; flour, 1 dessertspoonful; salt and pepper; veal gravy, _small_ cupful; yolks of eggs, 2; lemon-juice, a dessertspoonful.

TO BOIL WINDSOR BEANS.

When young, freshly gathered, and well dressed, these beans, even with many persons accustomed to a luxurious table, are a favourite accompaniment to a dish of streaked bacon, or delicate pickled pork. Shell them only just before they are wanted, then wash, drain, and throw them into boiling water, salted as for peas. When they are quite tender, pour them into a hot cullender, drain them thoroughly, and send them to table quickly, with a tureen of parsley and butter, or with plain melted butter, when it is preferred. A boiled cheek of bacon, trimmed free of any blackened parts, may be dished over the beans, upon occasion.

20 to 30 minutes; less, when _very_ young.

_Obs._—When the skin of the beans appears wrinkled, they will generally be found sufficiently tender to serve, but they should be tasted to ascertain that they are so. This vegetable is often _skinned_ after it is boiled, and then gently tossed up with a little butter before it is dished.

DRESSED CUCUMBERS.

Pare and slice them very thin, strew a little fine salt over them, and when they have stood a few minutes, drain off the water, by raising one side of the dish, and letting it flow to the other; pour it away, strew more salt, and a moderate seasoning of pepper on them, add two or three tablespoonsful of the purest salad-oil, and turn the cucumbers well, that the whole may receive a portion of it; then pour over them from one to three dessertspoonsful of chili vinegar, and a little common, should it be needed; turn them into a clean dish and serve them.

_Obs._—If very young, cucumbers are usually dressed without being pared, but the tough rind of full-grown ones being extremely indigestible, should be avoided. The vegetable, though apt to disagree with persons of delicate habit, when sauced in the common English mode, with salt, pepper, and vinegar only, may often be eaten by them with impunity when dressed with plenty of oil. It is difficult to obtain this perfectly fresh and pure here; and hence, perhaps, arises in part the prejudice which, amongst us, is so often found to exist against the use of this most wholesome condiment.

MANDRANG, OR MANDRAM.

(_West Indian Receipt._)

Chop together very small, two moderate-sized cucumbers, with half the quantity of mild onion; add the juice of a lemon, a saltspoonful or more of salt, a third as much of cayenne, and one or two glasses of Madeira, or of any other dry white wine. This preparation is to be served with any kind of roast meat.

ANOTHER RECEIPT FOR MANDRAM.

Take three or four cucumbers, so young as not to require paring; score the ends well, that when they are sliced they may fall into small bits; add plenty of young onions, cut fine, the juice of half a lemon, a glass of sherry or Madeira, and a dessertspoonful of chili vinegar.

DRESSED CUCUMBERS.

(_Author’s Receipt._)

Cut into lengths of an inch or rather more, one or two freshly gathered cucumbers, take off the rind, and then pare them round and round into thin ribbons, until the watery part is reached:—this is to be thrown aside. When all are done, sprinkle them with cayenne and fine salt, and leave them to drain a little; then arrange them lightly in a clean dish, and sauce them with very fine oil, well mixed with chili vinegar, or with equal parts of chili and of common vinegar.

Cucumbers, 2 or 3; salt, 1 to 2 saltspoonsful; little cayenne; oil, 6 to 8 tablespoonsful; chili vinegar, or equal parts of this and common vinegar, 2 to 4 tablespoonsful.

_Obs._—When the flavour of eschalots is much liked, a teaspoonful or more of the vinegar in which they have been steeped or pickled may be added to this dish.

STEWED CUCUMBERS.

(_English mode._)

Pare, and split into quarters, four or five full-grown but still young cucumbers; take out the seeds and cut each part in two; sprinkle them with white pepper or cayenne; flour and fry them lightly in a little butter, lift them from the pan, drain them on a sieve, then lay them into as much good brown gravy as will nearly cover them, and stew them gently from twenty-five to thirty minutes, or until they are quite tender. Should the gravy require to be thickened or flavoured, dish the cucumbers and keep them hot while a little flour and butter, or any other of the usual ingredients, is stirred into it. Some persons like a small portion of lemon-juice, or of chili vinegar added to the sauce; cucumber vinegar might be substituted for these with very good effect, as the vegetable loses much of its fine and peculiar flavour when cooked.

25 to 30 minutes.

_Obs._—The cucumbers may be left in entire lengths, thrown into well-salted boiling water, and simmered for ten minutes, then thoroughly drained upon the back of a sieve, and afterwards stewed very quickly until tender in some highly-flavoured brown gravy, or in the Spanish sauce of page 101.

CUCUMBERS À LA POULETTE.

The cucumbers for this dish may be pared and sliced very thin; or quartered, freed from the seeds, and cut into half-inch lengths; in either case they should be steeped in a little vinegar and sprinkled with salt for half an hour before they are dressed. Drain, and then press them dry in a soft cloth; flour them well, put a slice of butter into a stewpan or saucepan bright in the inside, and when it begins to boil throw in the cucumbers, and shake them over a gentle fire for ten minutes, but be careful to prevent their taking the slightest colour; pour to them gradually as much strong, but very pale veal stock or gravy as will nearly cover them; when it boils skim off the fat entirely, add salt and white pepper if needed, and when the cucumbers are quite tender, strew in a large teaspoonful of finely-minced parsley, and thicken the sauce with the yolks of two or three eggs. French cooks add the flour when the vegetable has stewed in the butter, instead of dredging it upon them at first, and this is perhaps the better method.

CUCUMBERS À LA CRÊME.

Boil them tolerably tender in salt and water, drain them well, then stew them for a few minutes in a thick _béchamel_, and serve them in it.

FRIED CUCUMBERS TO SERVE IN COMMON HASHES AND MINCES.

If very young they need not be pared, but otherwise, take off the rind, slice, and dredge them lightly with pepper and flour, but put no salt at first; throw them into very hot butter or clarified dripping, or they will not brown; when they are nearly done sprinkle some salt amongst them, and as soon as they are quite tender, lift them out with a slice, drain them well, and place them lightly over the hash or mince. A small portion of onion may be fried with them when it is liked.

MELON.

This in France and in other parts of the Continent is served and eaten with the _bouilli_ (or beef boiled tender in the soup-pot), with a seasoning of salt and pepper only; but the fruit is there far more abundant, and of infinitely finer growth than with us, and requires so little care, comparatively, that it is planted in many places in the open fields, where it flourishes admirably.

TO BOIL CAULIFLOWERS.

Trim off the outside leaves, and cut the stems quite close to the cauliflowers; let them lie for an hour in plenty of cold water with a handful of salt in it, to draw out any insects that may be amongst them; then wash them very thoroughly, and examine them well, to be assured that none remain in any part of them; throw them into a large pan of boiling water salted as for asparagus, and quite cleared from scum; for this, if not removed, will adhere to the cauliflowers and spoil their appearance. When the stalks are tender lift them out, dish them neatly, and send good melted butter to table with them.

20 to 30 minutes.

CAULIFLOWERS.

(_French Receipt._)

Cut the cauliflowers into small handsome tufts, and boil them until three parts done, drain them well, toss them for a moment in some _thick_ melted butter or white sauce, and set them by to cool. When they are quite cold, dip them separately into the batter of Chapter V., fry them a light brown, arrange them neatly in a dish, and serve them very hot.

CAULIFLOWERS WITH PARMESAN CHEESE.

Take all the green leaves from two or three fine white cauliflowers, and cut the stalks off very closely, so that they will stand upright in the dish in which they are served; boil them tolerably tender, but not sufficiently so as to hazard their breaking; drain them well, and dish them, so as to give the whole the appearance of one cauliflower; pour a little good white sauce equally over the tops, and on this strew grated Parmesan cheese, drop over it a little clarified butter, add another layer of cheese, and cover the whole with the finest bread-crumbs; moisten these with more clarified butter, and brown them with a salamander, or set the dish into the oven, to give them colour; pour white sauce round the cauliflowers, and send them very hot to table.

CAULIFLOWERS À LA FRANÇAISE.

Strip away all the green leaves, and divide each cauliflower into three or four parts, trimming the stalks quite close; put them, with the heads downwards, into a stewpan which will just hold them, half filled with boiling water, into which an ounce of good butter and some salt have previously been thrown; so soon as they are quite tender, drain the water from them, place a dish over the stewpan and turn it gently upside down; arrange the vegetables neatly in the form of one large cauliflower and cover it with good melted butter, into which a little lemon-juice has been stirred.

12 to 18 minutes.

BROCCOLI.

This is boiled, and served in the same manner as cauliflowers when the heads are large; the stems of the branching broccoli are peeled, and the vegetable, tied in bunches, is dressed and served, like asparagus, upon a toast.

10 to 20 minutes.

TO BOIL ARTICHOKES.

After they have been soaked and _well_ washed, cut off the stems quite close, trim away a few of the lower leaves, and clip the points of all; throw the artichokes into plenty of fast-boiling water, ready salted and skimmed, with the addition of the proportion of soda directed in page 309, as this will greatly improve the colour of the vegetable. When extremely young, the artichokes will be tender in from half to three quarters of an hour, but they will require more than double that time when at their full growth: when the leaves can be drawn out easily they are done. Send good melted butter to table with them. They should be boiled always with the stalk-ends uppermost.

Very young, 1/2 to 3/4 hour; full-grown, 1-1/4 to 2 hours.

_Obs._—French cooks lift the tops from the artichokes before they are served, and replace them after having taken out the chokes: this is an excellent plan, but it must be expeditiously done to prevent the vegetable from cooling.

FOR ARTICHOKES EN SALADE

(_See Chapter VI._)

VEGETABLE MARROW.

It is customary to gather this when not larger than a turkey’s egg, but we should say that the vegetable is not then in its perfection. The flesh is whiter and of better flavour when the gourd is about six inches long; at least we have found it so with the kinds which have fallen under our observation. It may either be boiled in the skin, then pared, halved, and served upon a toast; or quartered, freed from the seed, and left until cold, then dipped into egg and fine crumbs of bread, and fried; or it may be cut into dice, and re-heated in a little good white sauce; or stewed tender in butter, and served in well-thickened veal gravy, flavoured with a little lemon-juice. It may likewise be mashed by the receipt which we have given for turnips, and in that form will be found excellent. The French make a fanciful dish of the marrows thus: they boil them tender in water, and halve them lengthwise as is usual, they then slice a small bit off each to make them stand evenly in the dish, and after having hollowed the insides, so as to leave a mere shell, about half an inch thick, they fill them with a thick rich mince of white meat, and pour white sauce round them; or they heap fried bread-crumbs over the tops, place the dish in the oven for a few minutes, and serve them without sauce.

Size of turkey’s egg, 10 to 15 minutes; moderate-sized, 20 to 30; large, 3/4 to 1 hour.

ROAST TOMATAS.

(_To serve with roast leg, loin, or shoulder of mutton._)

Select them nearly of the same size, take off the stalks, and roast them gently in a Dutch oven, or if more convenient, place them at the edge of the dripping-pan, taking care that no fat from the joint shall fall upon them, and keeping them turned that they may be equally done. From ten to fourteen minutes will roast them.

STEWED TOMATAS.

Arrange them in a single layer, and pour to them as much gravy as will reach to half their height; stew them very softly until the under sides are done, then turn, and finish stewing them. Thicken the gravy with a little arrow-root and cream, or with flour and butter, and serve it round them.

FORCED TOMATAS.

(_English Receipt._)

Cut the stems quite close, slice off the tops of eight fine tomatas, and scoop out the insides; press the pulp through a sieve, and mix with it one ounce of fine crumbs of bread, one of butter broken very small, some pepper or cayenne, and salt. Fill the tomatas with the mixture, and bake them for ten minutes in a moderate oven; serve them with brown gravy in the dish. A few small mushrooms stewed tender in a little butter, then minced and added to the tomata pulp, will very much improve this receipt.

Bake 10 minutes.

FORCED TOMATAS.

(_French Receipt._)

Let the tomatas be well shaped and of equal size; divide them nearly in the middle leaving the blossom-side the largest, as this only is to be used; empty them carefully of their seeds and juice, and fill them with the following ingredients, which must previously be stewed tender in butter but without being allowed to brown: minced mushrooms and shalots, with a moderate proportion of parsley, some lean of ham chopped small, a seasoning of cayenne, and a little fine salt, if needed; let them cool, then mix with them about a third as much of fine crumbs of bread, and two yolks of eggs; fill the tomatas, cover them with fine crumbs, moisten them with clarified butter, and bake them in a brisk oven until they are well coloured. Serve them as a garnish to stewed rump or sirloin of beef, or to a boned and forced leg of mutton.