DUTCH SAUCE FOR FISH.
405. INGREDIENTS.—1/2 teaspoonful of flour, 2 oz. of butter, 4 tablespoonfuls of vinegar, the yolks of 2 eggs, the juice of 1/2 lemon; salt to taste.
Mode.—Put all the ingredients, except the lemon-juice, into a stew-pan; set it over the fire, and keep continually stirring. When it is sufficiently thick, take it off, as it should not boil. If, however, it happens to curdle, strain the sauce through a tammy, add the lemon-juice, and serve. Tarragon vinegar may be used instead of plain, and, by many, is considered far preferable.
Average cost, 6d.
Note.—This sauce may be poured hot over salad, and left to get quite cold, when it should be thick, smooth, and somewhat stiff. Excellent salads may be made of hard eggs, or the remains of salt fish flaked nicely from the bone, by pouring over a little of the above mixture when hot, and allowing it to cool.
[Illustration: THE LEMON.]
THE LEMON.—This fruit is a native of Asia, and is mentioned by Virgil as an antidote to poison. It is hardier than the orange, and, as one of the citron tribe, was brought into Europe by the Arabians. The lemon was first cultivated in England in the beginning of the 17th century, and is now often to be found in our green-houses. The kind commonly sold, however, is imported from Portugal, Spain, and the Azores. Some also come from St. Helena; but those from Spain are esteemed the best. Its juice is now an essential for culinary purposes; but as an antiscorbutic its value is still greater. This juice, which is called citric acid, may be preserved in bottles for a considerable time, by covering it with a thin stratum of oil. Shrub is made from it with rum and sugar.
GREEN DUTCH SAUCE, or HOLLANDAISE VERTE.
406. INGREDIENTS.—6 tablespoonfuls of Béchamel, No. 367, seasoning to taste of salt and cayenne, a little parsley-green to colour, the juice of 1/2 a lemon.
Mode.—Put the Béchamel into a saucepan with the seasoning, and bring it to a boil. Make a green colouring by pounding some parsley in a mortar, and squeezing all the juice from it. Let this just simmer, when add it to the sauce. A moment before serving, put in the lemon-juice, but not before; for otherwise the sauce would turn yellow, and its appearance be thus spoiled.
Average cost, 4d.
BÉCHAMEL SAUCE—This sauce takes its name from a Monsieur Béchamel, a rich French financier, who, according to Borne authorities, invented it; whilst others affirm he only patronized it. Be this as it may, it is one of the most pleasant sauces which come to table, and should be most carefully and intelligently prepared. It is frequently used, as in the above recipe, as a principal ingredient and basis for other sauces.
TO PICKLE EGGS.
407. INGREDIENTS.—16 eggs, 1 quart of vinegar, 1/2 oz. of Black pepper, 1/2 oz. of Jamaica pepper, 1/2 oz. of ginger.
Mode.—Boil the eggs for 12 minutes, then dip them into cold water, and take off the shells. Put the vinegar, with the pepper and ginger, into a stewpan, and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Now place the eggs in a jar, pour over them the vinegar, &c., boiling hot, and, when cold, tie them down with bladder to exclude the air. This pickle will be ready for use in a month.
Average cost, for this quantity, 1s. 9d.
Seasonable.—This should be made about Easter, as at this time eggs are plentiful and cheap. A store of pickled eggs will be found very useful and ornamental in serving with many first and second course dishes.
[Illustration: GINGER.]
The ginger-plant, known to naturalists as Zingiber officinale, is a native, of the East and West Indies. It grows somewhat like the lily of the valley, but its height is about three feet. In Jamaica it flowers about August or September, fading about the end of the year. The fleshy creeping roots, which form the ginger of commerce, are in a proper state to be dug when the stalks are entirely withered. This operation is usually performed in January and February; and when the roots are taken out of the earth, each one is picked, scraped, separately washed, and afterwards very carefully dried. Ginger is generally considered as less pungent and heating to the system than might he expected from its effects on the organs of taste, and it is frequently used, with considerable effect, as an anti-spasmodic and carminative.
EGG BALLS FOR SOUPS AND MADE DISHES.
408. INGREDIENTS.—8 eggs, a little flour; seasoning to taste of salt.
Mode.—Boil 6 eggs for 20 minutes, strip off the shells, take the yolks and pound them in a mortar. Beat the yolks of the other 2 eggs; add them, with a little flour and salt, to those pounded; mix all well together, and roll into balls. Boil them before they are put into the soup or other dish they may be intended for.
Time.—20 minutes to boil the eggs. Average cost, for this quantity, 8d.
Sufficient, 2 dozen balls for 1 tureen of soup.