CHAPTER XVII.

=Vegetables.= [Illustration] 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. [Illustration] 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. Minced lean of ham, 2 oz.; mushrooms, 2 oz.; bread-crumbs, 2 oz.; shalots, 4 to 8; parsley, full teaspoonful; cayenne, quarter saltspoonful; little salt, if needed; butter, 2 oz.; yolks of eggs, 2 to 3: baked 10 to 20 minutes. _Obs._—The French pound the whole of these ingredients with a bit of garlic, before they fill the tomatas with them, but this is not absolutely necessary, and the garlic, if added at all, should be parboiled first, as its strong flavour, combined with that of the eschalots, would scarcely suit the general taste. When the lean of a dressed ham is at hand, only the herbs and vegetables will need to be stewed in the butter; this should be mixed with them into the forcemeat, which an intelligent cook will vary in many ways. PURÉE OF TOMATAS. Divide a dozen fine ripe tomatas, squeeze out the seeds, and take off the stalks; put them with one small mild onion (or more, if liked), and about half a pint of very good gravy, into a well-tinned stewpan or saucepan, and simmer them for nearly or quite an hour; a couple of bay-leaves, some cayenne, and as much salt as the dish may require, should be added when they begin to boil. Press them through a sieve, heat them again, and stir to them a quarter of a pint of good cream, previously mixed and boiled for five minutes with a teaspoonful of flour. This purée is to be served with calf’s head, veal cutlets, boiled knuckle of veal, calf’s brains, or beef palates. For pork, beef, geese, and other brown meats, the tomatas should be reduced to a proper consistence in rich and highly-flavoured brown gravy, or Spanish sauce. TO BOIL GREEN INDIAN CORN. When still quite green and tender, the ears of maize or Indian corn are very good boiled and served as a vegetable; and as they will not ripen well in this country unless the summer be unusually warm and favourable, it is an advantageous mode of turning them to account. Strip away the sheath which encloses them, and take off the long silken fibres from the tops; put the corn into boiling water salted as for asparagus, and boil it for about half an hour. Drain it well, dish it on a toast, and send it to table with melted butter. The Americans, who have it served commonly at their tables, use it when more fully grown than we have recommended, and boil it without removing the inner leaves of the sheath; but it is sweeter and more delicate before it has reached so advanced a state. The grains may be freed from the corn-stalks with a knife, and tossed up with a slice of fresh butter and some pepper and salt, or served simply like green peas. Other modes of dressing the young maize will readily suggest themselves to an intelligent cook, and our space will not permit us to enumerate them. 25 to 30 minutes. MUSHROOMS AU BEURRE. (_Delicious._) Cut the stems from some fine meadow mushroom-buttons, and clean them with a bit of new flannel, and some fine salt; then either wipe them dry with a soft cloth, or rinse them in fresh water, drain them quickly, spread them in a clean cloth, fold it over them, and leave them for ten minutes, or more, to dry. For every pint of them thus prepared, put an ounce and a half of fresh butter into a thick iron saucepan, shake it over the fire until it _just_ begins to brown, throw in the mushrooms, continue to shake the saucepan over a clear fire that they may not stick to it nor burn, and when they have simmered three or four minutes, strew over them a little salt, some cayenne, and pounded mace; stew them until they are perfectly tender, heap them in a dish, and serve them with their own sauce only, for breakfast, supper, or luncheon. Nothing can be finer than the flavour of the mushrooms thus prepared; and the addition of any liquid is far from an improvement to it. They are very good when drained from the butter, and served cold, and in a cool larder may be kept for several days. The butter in which they are stewed is admirable for flavouring gravies, sauces, or potted meats. Small flaps, freed from the fur and skin, may be stewed in the same way; and either these, or the buttons, served under roast poultry or partridges, will give a dish of very superior relish. Meadow mushrooms, 3 pints; fresh butter 4-1/2 oz.: 3 to 5 minutes. Salt, 1 small teaspoonful; mace, half as much; cayenne, third of saltspoonful: 10 to 15 minutes. More spices to be added if required—much depending on their quality; but they should not overpower the flavour of the mushrooms. _Obs._—Persons inhabiting parts of the country where mushrooms are abundant, may send them easily, when thus prepared (or when potted by the following receipt), to their friends in cities, or in less productive counties. If poured into jars, with sufficient butter to cover them, they will travel any distance, and can be re-warmed for use. POTTED MUSHROOMS. Prepare either small flaps or buttons with great nicety, without wetting them, and wipe the former very dry, after the application of the salt and flannel. Stew them quite tender, with the same proportion of butter as the mushrooms _au beurre_, but increase a little the quantity of spice; when they are done turn them into a large dish, spread them over one end of it, and raise it two or three inches that they may be well drained from the butter. As soon as they are quite cold, press them very closely into small potting-pans; pour lukewarm clarified butter thickly over them, and store them in a cool dry place. If intended for present use, merely turn them down upon a clean shelf; but for longer keeping cover the tops first with very dry paper, and then with melted mutton-suet. We have ourselves had the mushrooms, after being simply spread upon a dish while hot, remain perfectly good in that state for seven or eight weeks: they were prepared late in the season, and the weather was consequently cool during the interval. MUSHROOM-TOAST, OR CROÛTE AUX CHAMPIGNONS. (_Excellent._) Cut the stems closely from a quart or more, of small just-opened mushrooms; peel them, and take out the gills. Dissolve from two to three ounces of fresh butter in a well-tinned saucepan or stewpan, put in the mushrooms, strew over them a quarter of a teaspoonful of pounded mace mixed with a little cayenne, and let them stew over a gentle fire from ten to fifteen minutes; toss or stir them often during the time; then add a small dessertspoonful of flour, and shake the pan round until it is lightly browned. Next pour in, by slow degrees, half a pint of gravy or of good beef-broth; and when the mushrooms have stewed softly in this for a couple of minutes, throw in a little salt, and a squeeze of lemon-juice, and pour them on to a crust, cut about an inch and a quarter thick, from the under part of a moderate-sized loaf, and fried in good butter a light brown, after having been first slightly hollowed in the inside. New milk, or thin cream, may be used with very good effect instead of the gravy; but a few strips of lemon-rind, and a small portion of nutmeg and mushroom-catsup should then be added to the sauce. The bread may be buttered and grilled over a gentle fire instead of being fried, and is better so. Small mushrooms, 4 to 5 half pints; butter, 3 to 4 oz.; mace, mixed with a little cayenne, 1/4 teaspoonful: stewed softly 10 to 15 minutes. Flour, 1 small dessertspoonful: 3 to 5 minutes. Gravy or broth, 1/2 pint: 2 minutes. Little salt and lemon-juice. TRUFFLES AND THEIR USES. The truffle, or underground mushroom, as it has sometimes been called, is held in almost extravagant estimation by epicures,[109] and enters largely into what may be termed first-class cookery, both in England and abroad; though it is much less generally known and used here than in France, Germany, and other parts of the Continent, where it is far more abundant, and of very superior quality. Footnote 109: It has been named by a celebrated gastronomer of past days, “_Le diamant de la cuisine_.” As it is in constant demand for luxuriously-served tables, and has hitherto, we believe, baffled all attempts to increase it by cultivation, it bears usually a high price in the English market,[110] and is seldom to be had cheap in any; but although too costly for common consumption, where the expenditure is regulated by rational economy, it may at times be made to supply, at a reasonable expense, some excellent store-preparations for the breakfast and luncheon-table; as a small portion will impart its peculiar flavour to them. Footnote 110: Varying from eight to sixteen shillings the pound at the best foreign warehouses. The truffles which are pared, bottled and steamed like fruit, are more expensive still; but they can be kept after the season of the fresh ones is entirely past. English truffles—which are found in Hampshire (in the New Forest)—and in some few other of our counties, are very good, though seldom or ever equal in quality to those of France, Germany, and of different parts of Italy. The most esteemed of the French ones are from _Perigord_. The blackest truffles are considered the best. All are in their perfection during the latter part of November, December, and January; though they may be procured usually from October to March; yet as they are peculiarly subject to decay—or, properly speaking, become really _putrid_—from exposure to the air, it is an advantage to have them as early in their season as may be. In sumptuous households the very finest foreign truffles are often served _as a vegetable_ in the second course. TO PREPARE TRUFFLES FOR USE. First soak them for an hour or two in fresh water, to loosen the earth which adheres to them; then rinse them well from it, and with a hard brush scrub them until not a particle of the mould in which they have been embedded can be seen upon them. This part of the operation should be especially attended to, because the parings are as useful as the truffles themselves. It is often needful to leave them longer in the water after it has been changed; and even to soak them sometimes in lukewarm water also: when they are _perfectly_ cleaned, wipe them gently with a soft cloth, or fold them in to dry, should they be wanted for any preparation to which moisture would be injurious. TRUFFLES À LA SERVIETTE. Select the finest truffles for this dish, be particular in smelling them, and reject any that have a musty smell. Wash and brush them well with cold water only, change it several times, and when they are perfectly clean line a stewpan with slices of bacon; put in the truffles with a bunch of parsley, green onions, and thyme, two or three bay-leaves, half a dozen cloves, and a little sweet basil; pour in sufficient rich veal gravy to cover them, with the addition of from half a pint to half a bottle of champagne; boil them very softly for an hour, then draw them aside and let them cool in the gravy. Heat them afresh in it when they are wanted for table; lift them out and drain them in a very clean cloth, and dish them neatly in a fine and beautifully white napkin, which will contrast as strongly as possible with the dark hue of the truffles. TRUFFLES À L’ITALIENNE. Wash perfectly clean, wipe, and pare some truffles extremely thin; slice them about the size of a penny; put them into a sauté-pan (or small frying-pan), with a slice of fresh butter, some minced parsley and eschalot, salt and pepper; put them on the fire and stir them, that they may fry equally; when they are done, which will be in about ten minutes, drain off part of the butter, and throw in a bit of fresh butter, a small ladleful of Spanish sauce (see page 101), the juice of one lemon, and a little cayenne pepper. This is a dish of high relish. TO BOIL SPROUTS, CABBAGES, SAVOYS, LETTUCES, OR ENDIVE. All green vegetables should be thrown into abundance of fast boiling water ready salted and skimmed, with the addition of the small quantity of carbonate of soda which we have recommended, in a previous page of this chapter; the pan should be left uncovered, and every precaution taken to prevent the smoke from reaching its contents. Endive, sprouts, and spring greens, will only require copious washing before they are boiled; but savoys, large lettuces, and close-leaved cabbages should be thrown into salt and water for half an hour or more before they are dressed, with the tops downwards to draw out the insects. The stems of these last should be cut off, the decayed leaves stripped away, and the vegetable halved or quartered, or split deeply across the stalk-end, and divided entirely before it is dished. Very young greens, 15 to 20 minutes; lettuces, 20 to 30 minutes, large savoys, or cabbages, 1 to 1-1/2 hour, or more. _Obs._—When the stalk of any kind of cabbage is tender it is ready to serve. Turnip-greens should be well washed in several waters, and boiled in a very large quantity to deprive them of their bitterness. STEWED CABBAGE. Cut out the stalk entirely, and slice a fine firm cabbage or two in very thin strips; throw them after they have been well washed and drained, into a large pan of boiling water ready salted and skimmed, and when they are tender, which will be in from ten to fifteen minutes, pour them into a sieve or strainer, press the water thoroughly from them, and chop them slightly. Put into a very clean saucepan about a couple of ounces of butter, and when it is dissolved add the cabbage with sufficient pepper and salt to season it, and stir it over a clear fire until it appears tolerably dry; then shake lightly in a tablespoonful of flour, turn the whole well, and add by slow degrees a cup of thick cream: veal gravy or good white sauce may be substituted for this, when preferred to it. TO BOIL TURNIPS. Pare entirely from them the fibrous rind, and either split the turnips once or leave them whole; throw them into boiling water slightly salted, and keep them closely covered from smoke and dust until they are tender. When small and young they will be done in from fifteen to twenty minutes; at their full growth they will require from three quarters to a full hour, or more, of gentle boiling. After they become old and woolly they are not worth dressing in any way. When boiled in their skins and pared afterwards, they are said to be of better flavour and much less watery than when cooked in the usual way. Young turnips, 15 to 20 minutes: full grown, 3/4 to 1 hour, or more. TO MASH TURNIPS. Split them once or even twice should they be large after they are pared; boil them very tender, and press the water thoroughly from them with a couple of trenchers, or with the back of a large plate and one trencher. To ensure their being free from lumps, it is better to pass them through a cullender or coarse hair-sieve, with a wooden spoon; though, when quite young, they may be worked sufficiently smooth without this. Put them into a clean saucepan, and stir them constantly for some minutes over a gentle fire, that they may be very dry; then add some salt, a bit of fresh butter, and a little cream, or in lieu of this new milk (we would also recommend a seasoning of white pepper or cayenne, when appearance and fashion are not particularly regarded), and continue to simmer and to stir them for five or six minutes longer, or until they have quite absorbed all the liquid which has been poured to them. Serve them always as hot as possible. This is an excellent receipt; but the addition of a little good white sauce would render it still better. Turnips, weighed after they are pared, 3 lbs.: dried 5 to 8 minutes. Salt, 1 teaspoonful; butter, 1 oz. to 1-1/2 oz.; cream or milk, nearly 1/2 pint: 5 or 6 minutes. TURNIPS IN WHITE SAUCE. (ENTREMETS.) When no scoop for the purpose is at hand, cut some small finely-grained turnips into quarters, and pare them into balls, or into the shape of plums or pears of equal size; arrange them evenly in a broad stewpan or saucepan, and cover them nearly with good veal broth, throw in a little salt, and a morsel of sugar, and boil them rather quickly until they are quite tender, but preserve them unbroken; lift them out, draining them well from the broth; dish, and pour over them some thick white sauce. As an economy, a cup of cream, and a teaspoonful of arrow-root, may be added to the broth in which the turnips have stewed, to make the sauce; and when it boils, a small slice of butter may be stirred and well worked into it, should it not be sufficiently rich without. TURNIPS STEWED IN BUTTER. (GOOD.) This is an excellent way of dressing the vegetable when it is mild and finely grained; but its flavour otherwise is too strong to be agreeable. After they have been washed, wiped quite dry, and pared, slice the turnips nearly half an inch thick, and divide them into dice,. Just dissolve an ounce of butter for each half-pound of the turnips, put them in as flat as they can be, and stew them very gently indeed, from three quarters of an hour to a full hour. Add a seasoning of salt and white pepper when they are half done. When thus prepared, they may be dished in the centre of fried or nicely broiled mutton cutlets, or served by themselves. For a small dish: turnips, 1-1/2 lb.; butter, 3 oz.; seasoning of white pepper; salt, 1/2 teaspoonful, or more: 3/4 to 1 hour. Large dish: turnips, 2 lbs.; butter 4 oz. TURNIPS IN GRAVY. To a pound of turnips sliced and cut into dice, pour a quarter of a pint of boiling veal gravy, add a small lump of sugar, some salt and cayenne, or white pepper, and boil them quickly from fifty to sixty minutes. Serve them very hot. TO BOIL CARROTS. Wash the mould from them, and scrape the skin off lightly with the edge of a sharp knife, or, should this be objected to, pare them as thin and as equally as possible; in either case free them from all blemishes, and should they be very large, divide them, and cut the thick parts into quarters; rinse them well, and throw them into plenty of boiling water with some salt in it. The skin of very young carrots may be rubbed off like that of new potatoes, and from twenty to thirty minutes will then be sufficient to boil them; but at their full growth they will require from an hour and a half to two hours. It was formerly the custom to tie them in a cloth, and to wipe the skin from them with it after they were dressed; and old-fashioned cooks still use one to remove it; but all vegetables should, we think, be dished and served with the least possible delay after they are ready for table. Melted butter should accompany boiled carrots. Very young carrots, 20 to 30 minutes. Full-grown ones, 1-1/2 to 2 hours. CARROTS. (ENTRÉE.) (_The Windsor Receipt._) Select some good carrots of equal size, and cut the upper parts into even lengths of about two inches and a half, then trim one end of each into a point, so as to give the carrot the form of a sugar loaf.[111] When all are ready, throw them into plenty of ready-salted boiling water, and boil them three quarters of an hour. Lift them out, and drain them well, then arrange them upright, and all on a level in a broad stewpan or saucepan, and pour in good hot beef-broth or veal gravy to half their height; add as much salt as may be needed, and a small teaspoonful of sugar, and boil them briskly for half an hour, or longer, should they require it. Place them again upright in dishing them, and keep them hot while a little good brown gravy is thickened to pour over them, and mixed with a large teaspoonful of parsley and a little lemon-juice; or sauce them with common _béchamel_ (see Chapter V.), or white sauce, with or without the addition of parsley. Footnote 111: See plate, page 338. Thick part of carrots cut in cones: boiled 3/4 hour. With gravy or broth, little salt and sugar: 1/2 hour, or more. Sauce: thickened gravy, _béchamel_ made without meat, or common white sauce. _Obs._—The carrots dressed thus are exceedingly good without any sauce beyond the small quantity of liquid which will remain in the stewpan with them, or with a few spoonsful more of gravy added to this, and thickened with butter and a little flour. SWEET CARROTS. (ENTREMETS.) Boil quite tender some fine highly-flavoured carrots, press the water from them, and rub them through the back of a fine hair-sieve; put them into a clean saucepan or stewpan, and dry them thoroughly over a gentle fire; then add a slice of fresh butter, and when this is dissolved and well mixed with them, strew in a dessertspoonful or more of powdered sugar, and a little salt; next, stir in by degrees some good cream, and when this is quite absorbed, and the carrots again appear dry, dish and serve them quickly with small sippets _à la Reine_ (see page 5), placed round them. Carrots, 3 lbs., boiled quite tender: stirred over a gentle fire 5 to 10 minutes. Butter, 2 oz.; salt, 1/2 teaspoonful; pounded sugar, 1 dessertspoonful; cream, 1/2 pint, stewed gently together until quite dry. _Obs._—For excellent _mashed carrots_ omit the sugar, add a good seasoning of salt and white pepper, and half a pint of rich brown gravy; or for a plain dinner rather less than this of milk. MASHED (OR BUTTERED) CARROTS. (_A Dutch Receipt._) Prepare some finely flavoured carrots as above, and dry them over a gentle fire like mashed turnips; then for a dish of moderate size mix well with them from two to three ounces of good butter, cut into small bits, keeping them _well stirred_. Add a seasoning of salt and cayenne, and serve them very hot, garnished or not at pleasure with small sippets (_croutons_) of fried bread. CARROTS AU BEURRE, OR BUTTERED CARROTS. (_French._) Either boil sufficient carrots for a dish quite tender, and then cut them into slices a quarter of an inch thick, or first slice, and then boil them: the latter method is the most expeditious, but the other best preserves the flavour of the vegetable. Drain them well, and while this is being done just dissolve from two to three ounces of butter in a saucepan, and strew in some minced parsley, some salt, and white pepper or cayenne; then add the carrots, and toss them very gently until they are equally covered with the sauce, which should not be allowed to boil: the parsley may be omitted at pleasure. Cold carrots may be re-warmed in this way. CARROTS IN THEIR OWN JUICE. (_A simple but excellent Receipt._) By the following mode of dressing carrots, whether young or old, their full flavour and all the nutriment they contain are entirely preserved; and they are at the same time rendered so palatable by it that they furnish at once an admirable dish to eat without meat, as well as with it. Wash the roots very clean, and scrape or lightly pare them, cutting out any discoloured parts. Have ready boiling and salted, as much water as will cover them; slice them rather thick, throw them into it, and should there be more than sufficient to just _float_ them (and barely that), pour it away. Boil them gently until they are tolerably tender, and then very quickly, to evaporate the water, of which only a spoonful or so should be left in the saucepan. Dust a seasoning of pepper on them, throw in a morsel of butter rolled in flour, and turn and toss them gently until their juice is thickened by them and adheres to the roots. Send them immediately to table. They are excellent without _any_ addition but the pepper; though they may be in many ways improved. A dessertspoonful of minced parsley may be strewed over them when the butter is added, and a little thick cream mixed with a _small_ proportion of flour to prevent its curdling, may be strewed amongst them, or a spoonful or two of good gravy. TO BOIL PARSNEPS. These are dressed in precisely the same manner as carrots, but require much less boiling. According to their quality and the time of year, they will take from twenty minutes to nearly an hour. Every speck or blemish should be cut from them after they are scraped, and the water in which they are boiled should be well skimmed. They are a favourite accompaniment to salt fish and boiled pork, and may be served either mashed or plain. 20 to 25 minutes. FRIED PARSNEPS. Boil them until they are about half done, lift them out, and let them cool; slice them rather thickly, sprinkle them with fine salt and white pepper, and fry them a pale brown in good butter. Serve them with roast meat, or dish them under it. JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES. Wash the artichokes, pare them quickly, and throw them as they are done into a saucepan of cold water, or of equal parts of milk and water; and when they are about half boiled add a little salt to them. Take them up the instant they are perfectly tender: this will be in from fifteen to twenty-five minutes, so much do they vary in size and as to the time necessary to dress them. If allowed to remain in the water after they are done, they become black and flavourless. Melted butter should always be sent to table with them. 15 to 25 minutes. TO FRY JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES. (ENTREMETS.) Boil them from eight to twelve minutes; lift them out, drain them on a sieve, and let them cool; dip them into beaten eggs, and cover them with fine bread-crumbs. Fry them a light brown, drain, pile them in a hot dish, and serve them quickly. JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES, À LA REINE. [Illustration: Artichokes à la Reine. ] Wash and wipe the artichokes, cut off one end of each quite flat, and trim the other into a point; boil them in milk and water, lift them out the instant they are done, place them upright in the dish in which they are to be served, and sauce them with a good _béchamel_, or with nearly half a pint of cream thickened with a rice-crustspoonful of flour, mixed with an ounce and a half of butter, and seasoned with a little mace and some salt. When cream cannot be procured use new milk, and increase the proportion of flour and butter. MASHED JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES. Boil them tender, press the water well from them, and then proceed exactly as for mashed turnips, taking care to dry the artichokes well, both before and after the milk or cream is added to them; they will be excellent if good white sauce be substituted for either of these. HARICOTS BLANCS. The _haricot blanc_ is the seed of a particular kind of French bean, of which we find some difficulty in ascertaining the English name, for though we have tried several which resembled it in appearance, we have found their flavour, after they were dressed, very different, and far from agreeable. The large white Dutch runner, is, we believe, the proper variety for cooking; at least we have obtained a small quantity under that name, which approached much more nearly than any others we had tried to those which we had eaten abroad. The haricots, when fresh may be thrown into plenty of boiling water, with some salt and a small bit of butter; if dry, they must be previously soaked for an hour or two, put into cold water, brought to boil gently, and simmered until they are tender, for if boiled fast the skins will burst before the beans are done. Drain them thoroughly from the water when they are ready, and lay them into a clean saucepan over two or three ounces of fresh butter, a small dessertspoonful of chopped parsley, and sufficient salt and pepper to season the whole; then gently shake or toss the beans until they are quite hot and equally covered with the sauce; add the strained juice of half a lemon, and serve them quickly. The vegetable thus dressed, is excellent; and it affords a convenient resource in the season when the supply of other kinds is scantiest. In some countries the dried beans are placed in water, over-night, upon a stove, and by a very gentle degree of warmth are sufficiently softened by the following day to be served as follows:—they are drained from the water, spread on a clean cloth and wiped quite dry, then lightly floured and fried in oil or butter, with a seasoning of pepper and salt, lifted into a hot dish, and served under roast beef, or mutton. TO BOIL BEET ROOT. Wash the roots delicately clean, but neither scrape nor cut them, for should even the small fibres be taken off before they are cooked, their beautiful colour would be much injured. Throw them into boiling water, and, according to their size, which varies greatly, as they are sometimes of enormous growth, boil them from one hour and a half to two and a half, or longer if requisite. Pare and serve them whole, or cut into thick slices and neatly dished in a close circle: send melted butter to table with them. Cold red beet root is often intermingled with other vegetables for winter salads; and it makes a pickle of remarkably brilliant hue. A common mode of serving it at the present day is in the last course of a dinner with the cheese: it is merely pared and sliced after having been baked or boiled tender. 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 hours, or longer. TO BAKE BEET ROOT. Beet root if slowly and carefully baked until it is tender quite through, is very rich and sweet in flavour, although less bright in colour than when it is boiled: it is also, we believe, remarkably nutritious and wholesome. Wash and wipe it very dry, but neither cut nor break any part of it; then lay it into a coarse earthen dish, and bake it in a gentle oven for four or five hours: it will sometimes require even a longer time than this. Pare it quickly if it be served hot; but leave it to cool first, when it is to be sent to table cold. In slow oven from 4 to 6 hours. STEWED BEET ROOT. Bake or boil it tolerably tender, and let it remain until it is cold, then pare and cut it into slices; heat and stew it for a short time in some good pale veal gravy (or in strong veal broth for ordinary occasions), thicken this with a teaspoonful of arrow-root, and half a cupful or more of good cream, and stir in, as it is taken from the fire, from a tea to a tablespoonful of chili vinegar. The beet root may be served likewise in thick white sauce, to which, just before it is dished, the mild eschalots of page 128 may be added. TO STEW RED CABBAGE. (_Flemish Receipt._) Strip the outer leaves from a fine and fresh red cabbage; wash it well, and cut it into the thinnest possible slices, beginning at the top; put it into a thick saucepan in which two or three ounces of good butter have been just dissolved; add some pepper and salt, and stew it very slowly indeed for three or four hours in its own juice, keeping it often stirred, and well pressed down. When it is perfectly tender add a tablespoonful of vinegar; mix the whole up thoroughly, heap the cabbage in a hot dish, and serve broiled sausages round it; or omit these last, and substitute lemon-juice, cayenne pepper, and a half-cupful of good gravy. The stalk of the cabbage should be split in quarters and taken entirely out in the first instance. 3 to 4 hours. BRUSSELS SPROUTS. These delicate little sprouts, or miniature cabbages, which at their fullest growth scarcely exceed a large walnut in size, should be quite freshly gathered. Free them from all discoloured leaves, cut the stems even, and wash the sprouts thoroughly. Throw them into a pan of water properly salted, and boil them quickly from eight to ten minutes; drain them _well_, and serve them upon a rather thick round of toasted bread buttered on both sides. Send good melted butter to table with them. This is the Belgian mode of dressing this excellent vegetable, which is served in France with the sauce poured over it, or it is tossed in a stewpan with a slice of butter and some pepper and salt: a spoonful or two of veal gravy (and sometimes a little lemon-juice) is added when these are perfectly mixed. 8 to 10 minutes. SALSIFY. We are surprised that a vegetable so excellent as this should be so little cared for in England. Delicately fried in batter—which is a common mode of serving it abroad—it forms a delicious second course dish: it is also good when plain-boiled, drained, and served in gravy, or even with melted butter. Wash the roots, scrape gently off the dark outside skin, and throw them into cold water as they are done, to prevent their turning black; cut them into lengths of three or four inches, and when all are ready put them into plenty of boiling water with a little salt, a small bit of butter, and a couple of spoonsful of white vinegar or the juice of a lemon: they will be done in from three quarters of an hour to an hour. Try them with a fork, and when perfectly tender, drain, and serve them with white sauce, rich brown gravy, or melted butter. 3/4 to 1 hour. FRIED SALSIFY. (ENTREMETS.) Boil the salsify tender, as directed above, drain, and then press it lightly in a soft cloth. Make some French batter (see Chapter V.), throw the bits of salsify into it, take them out separately, and fry them a light brown, drain them well from the fat, sprinkle a little fine salt over them after they are dished, and serve them quickly. At English tables, salsify occasionally makes its appearance fried with egg and bread-crumbs instead of batter. Scorgonera is dressed in precisely the same manner as the salsify. BOILED CELERY. This vegetable is extremely good dressed like sea-kale, and served on a toast with rich melted butter. Let it be freshly dug, wash it with great nicety, trim the ends, take off the coarse outer-leaves, cut the roots of equal length, tie them in bunches, and boil them in plenty of water, with the usual proportion of salt, from twenty to thirty minutes. 20 to 30 minutes. STEWED CELERY. Cut five or six fine roots of celery to the length of the inside of the dish in which they are to be served; free them from all the coarser leaves, and from the green tops, trim the root ends neatly, and wash the vegetable in several waters until it is as clean as possible; then, either boil it tender with a little salt, and a bit of fresh butter the size of a walnut, in just sufficient water to cover it quite, drain it well, arrange it on a very hot dish, and pour a thick _béchamel_, or white sauce over it; or stew it in broth or common stock, and serve it with very rich, thickened, Espagnole or brown gravy. It has a higher flavour when partially stewed in the sauce, after being drained thoroughly from the broth. Unless very large and old, it will be done in from twenty-five to thirty minutes, but if not quite tender, longer time must be allowed for it. A cheap and expeditious method of preparing this dish is to slice the celery, to simmer it until soft in as much good broth as will only just cover it, and to add a thickening of flour and butter, or arrow-root, with some salt, pepper, and a small cupful of cream. 25 to 30 minutes, or more. STEWED ONIONS. Strip the outer skin from four or five fine Portugal onions, and trim the ends, but without cutting into the vegetable; arrange them in a saucepan of sufficient size to contain them all in one layer, just cover them with good beef or veal gravy, and stew them very gently indeed for a couple of hours: they should be tender quite through, but should not be allowed to fall to pieces. When large, but not _mild_ onions are used, they should be first boiled for half an hour in plenty of water, then drained from it, and put into boiling gravy: strong, well-flavoured broth of veal or beef, is sometimes substituted for this, and with the addition of a little catsup, spice, and thickening, answers very well. The savour of this dish is heightened by flouring lightly and frying the onions of a pale brown before they are stewed. Portugal onions, 4 or 5 (if fried, 15 to 20 minutes); broth or gravy, 1 to 1-1/2 pint: nearly or quite 2 hours. _Obs._—When the quantity of gravy is considered too much, the onions may be only half covered, and turned when the under side is tender, but longer time must then be allowed for stewing them. STEWED CHESTNUTS. Strip the outer rind from forty or fifty fine sound Spanish chestnuts, throw them into a large saucepan of hot water, and bring it to the point of boiling; when the second skin parts from them easily, lift them out, and throw them into plenty of cold water; peel, and wipe them dry; then put them into a stewpan or bright saucepan, with as much highly-flavoured cold beef or veal gravy as will nearly cover them, and stew them very gently from three-quarters of an hour to a full hour: they should be quite tender, but unbroken. Add salt, cayenne, and thickening if required, and serve the chestnuts in their gravy. We have found it an improvement to have them floured and lightly browned in a little good butter before they are stewed, and also to add some thin strips of fresh lemon-rind to the gravy. Chestnuts, 40 or 50; gravy, 3/4 pint, or more: 3/4 to 1 hour. _Obs._—A couple of bay-leaves and a slice of lean ham will give an improved flavour to the sauce should it not be sufficiently rich: the ham should be laid under the chestnuts, but not served with them. When these are to be browned, or even otherwise, they may be freed readily from the second skin by shaking them with a small bit of butter in a frying-pan over a gentle fire. ------------------------------------------------------------------------