SPANISH SAUCE
This is a rich sauce which is used as a basis for many sauces, and can be made at a leisure time and used any time within a few days. Any stock in which vegetables have been cooked may be used, but the best one is made as follows: Wash 4 or 5 cups of red beans or lentils, and after soaking them in 2 quarts of water for ten hours or more empty them with the same water into a saucepan, and put with them 3 onions halved, 3 sprigs of parsley, 1 cup of carrots quartered, ½ cup of diced turnips, 1 tablespoon of salt, 2 stalks of celery cut in short lengths, and a small bag containing 1 teaspoon of thyme, 2 bay leaves, 6 cloves, 6 whole peppers, and 1 teaspoon of allspice berries. Let boil hard for one minute, then set on the stove where it will simmer slowly for two hours. Strain the broth through a fine sieve, and use the vegetables in a stew, a deep pie, or a curry. To finish the Spanish sauce put 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan, and when melted stir into it 2 tablespoons of flour and let brown, stirring constantly; then add a little stock at a time until about 2 cups have been used and the sauce is the consistency of thick cream. Darken with 1 teaspoon of brown colouring, add 1 tablespoon of sherry, and pepper and salt.