MASHED POTATOES.
1145. INGREDIENTS.—Potatoes; to every lb. of mashed potatoes allow 1 oz. of butter, 2 tablespoonfuls of milk, salt to taste.
Mode.—Boil the potatoes in their skins; when done, drain them, and let them get thoroughly dry by the side of the fire; then peel them, and, as they are peeled, put them into a clean saucepan, and with a large fork beat them to a light paste; add butter, milk, and salt in the above proportion, and stir all the ingredients well over the fire. When thoroughly hot, dish them lightly, and draw the fork backwards over the potatoes to make the surface rough, and serve. When dressed in this manner, they may be browned at the top with a salamander, or before the fire. Some cooks press the potatoes into moulds, then turn them out, and brown them in the oven: this is a pretty mode of serving, but it makes them heavy. In whatever way they are sent to table, care must be taken to have them quite free from lumps.
Time.—From 1/2 to 3/4 hour to boil the potatoes.
Average cost, 4s. per bushel.
Sufficient,—1 lb. of mashed potatoes for 3 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
PUREE DE POMMES DE TERRE, or, Very Thin-mashed Potatoes.
1146. INGREDIENTS.—To every lb. of mashed potatoes allow 1/4 pint of good broth or stock, 2 oz. of butter.
Mode.—Boil the potatoes, well drain them, and pound them smoothly in a mortar, or beat them up with a fork; add the stock or broth, and rub the potatoes through a sieve. Put the puree into a very clean saucepan with the butter; stir it well over the fire until thoroughly hot, and it will then be ready to serve. A puree should be rather thinner than mashed potatoes, and is a delicious accompaniment to delicately broiled mutton cutlets. Cream or milk may be substituted for the broth when the latter is not at hand. A casserole of potatoes, which is often used for ragoûts instead of rice, is made by mashing potatoes rather thickly, placing them on a dish, and making an opening in the centre. After having browned the potatoes in the oven, the dish should be wiped clean, and the ragout or fricassée poured in.
Time.—About 1/2 hour to boil the potatoes; 6 or 7 minutes to warm the purée.
Average cost, 4s. per bushel.
Sufficient.—Allow 1 lb. of cooked potatoes for 3 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
[Illustration: SWEET POTATO.]
VARIETIES OF THE POTATO.—These are very numerous. "They differ," says an authority, "in their leaves and bulk of haulm; in the colour of the skin of the tubers; in the colour of the interior, compared with that of the skin; in the time of ripening; in being farinaceous, glutinous, or watery; in tasting agreeably or disagreeably; in cooking readily or tediously; in the length of the subterraneous stolones to which the tubers are attached; in blossoming or not blossoming; and finally, in the soil which they prefer." The earliest varieties grown in fields are,—the Early Kidney, the Nonsuch, the Early Shaw, and the Early Champion. This last is the most generally cultivated round London: it is both mealy and hardy. The sweet potato is but rarely eaten in Britain; but in America it is often served at table, and is there very highly esteemed.
POTATO RISSOLES.
1147. INGREDIENTS.—Mashed potatoes, salt and pepper to taste; when liked, a very little minced parsley, egg, and bread crumbs.
[Illustration: POTATO RISSOLES.]
Mode.—Boil and mash the potatoes by recipe No. 1145; add a seasoning of pepper and salt, and, when liked, a little minced parsley. Roll the potatoes into small balls, cover them with egg and bread crumbs, and fry in hot lard for about 10 minutes; let them drain before the fire, dish them on a napkin, and serve.
Time,—10 minutes to fry the rissoles.
Seasonable at any time.
Note.—The flavour of these rissoles may be very much increased by adding finely-minced tongue or ham, or even chopped onions, when these are liked.
QUALITIES OF POTATOES.—In making a choice from the many varieties of potatoes which are everywhere found, the best way is to get a sample and taste them, and then fix upon the kind which best pleases your palate. The Shaw is one of the most esteemed of the early potatoes for field culture; and the Kidney and Bread-fruit are also good sorts. The Lancashire Pink is also a good potato, and is much cultivated in the neighbourhood of Liverpool. As late or long-keeping potatoes, the Tartan or Red-apple stands very high in favour.
POTATO SNOW.
1148. INGREDIENTS.—Potatoes, salt, and water.
Mode.—Choose large white potatoes, as free from spots as possible; boil them in their skins in salt and water until perfectly tender; drain and dry them thoroughly by the side of the fire, and peel them. Put a hot dish before the fire, rub the potatoes through a coarse sieve on to this dish; do not touch them afterwards, or the flakes will fall, and serve as hot as possible.
Time.—1/2 to 3/4 hour to boil the potatoes.
Average cost, 4s. per bushel.
Sufficient,—6 potatoes for 3 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
THE POTATO AS AN ARTICLE OF HUMAN FOOD.—This valuable esculent, next to wheat, is of the greatest importance in the eye of the political economist. From no other crop that can be cultivated does the public derive so much benefit; and it has been demonstrated that an acre of potatoes will feed double the number of people that can be fed from an acre of wheat.
TO DRESS SALSIFY.
1149. INGREDIENTS.—Salsify; to each 1/2 gallon of water allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt, 1 oz. of butter, 2 tablespoonfuls of lemon-juice.
Mode.—Scrape the roots gently, so as to strip them only of their outside peel; cut them into pieces about 4 inches long, and, as they are peeled, throw them into water with which has been mixed a little lemon-juice, to prevent their discolouring. Put them into boiling water, with salt, butter, and lemon-juice in the above proportion, and let them boil rapidly until tender; try them with a fork; and, when it penetrates easily, they are done. Drain the salsify, and serve with a good white sauce or French melted butter.
Time.—30 to 50 minutes. Seasonable in winter.
Note.—This vegetable may be also boiled, sliced, and fried in batter of a nice brown. When crisp and a good colour, they should be served with fried parsley in the centre of the dish, and a little fine salt sprinkled over the salsify.
SALSIFY.—This esculent is, for the sake of its roots, cultivated in gardens. It belongs to the Composite class of flowers, which is the most extensive family in the vegetable kingdom. This family is not only one of the most natural and most uniform in structure, but there is also a great similarity existing in the properties of the plants of which it is composed. Generally speaking, all composite flowers are tonic or stimulant in their medical virtues.
BOILED SEA-KALE.
1150. INGREDIENTS.—To each 1/2 gallon of water allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt.
[Illustration: BOILED SEA-KALE.]
Mode.—Well wash the kale, cut away any wormeaten pieces, and tie it into small bunches; put it into boiling water, salted in the above proportion, and let it boil quickly until tender. Take it out, drain, untie the bunches, and serve with plain melted butter or white sauce, a little of which may be poured over the kale. Sea-kale may also be parboiled and stewed in good brown gravy: it will then take about 1/2 hour altogether.
Time.—15 minutes; when liked very thoroughly done, allow an extra 5 minutes.
Average cost, in full season, 9d. per basket.
Sufficient.—Allow 12 heads for 4 or 5 persons.
Seasonable from February to June.
[Illustration: SEA-KALE.]
SEA-KALE.—This plant belongs to the Asparagus tribe, and grows on seashores, especially in the West of England, and in the neighbourhood of Dublin. Although it is now in very general use, it did not come into repute till 1794. It is easily cultivated, and is esteemed as one of the most valuable esculents indigenous to Britain. As a vegetable, it is stimulating to the appetite, easily digestible, and nutritious. It is so light that the most delicate organizations may readily eat it. The flowers form a favourite resort for bees, as their petals contain a great amount of saccharine matter.
BOILED SALAD.
1151. INGREDIENTS.—2 heads of celery, 1 pint of French beans, lettuce, and endive.
[Illustration: FRENCH BEANS.]
[Illustration: CHERVIL.]
Mode.—Boil the celery and beans separately until tender, and cut the celery into pieces about 2 inches long. Put these into a salad-bowl or dish; pour over either of the sauces No. 506, 507, or 508, and garnish the dish with a little lettuce finely chopped, blanched endive, or a few tufts of boiled cauliflower. This composition, if less agreeable than vegetables in their raw state, is more wholesome; for salads, however they may be compounded, when eaten uncooked, prove to some people indigestible. Tarragon, chervil, burnet, and boiled onion, may be added to the above salad with advantage, as also slices of cold meat, poultry, or fish.
Seasonable from July to October.
ACETARIOUS VEGETABLES.—By the term Acetarious vegetables, is expressed a numerous class of plants, of various culture and habit, which are principally used as salads, pickles, and condiments. They are to be considered rather as articles of comparative luxury than as ordinary food, and are more desirable for their coolness, or their agreeable flavour, than for their nutritive powers.
CAULIFLOWER.—The cauliflower is less indigestible than the cabbage; it possesses a most agreeable flavour, and is sufficiently delicate to be served at the tables of the wealthy. It is a wholesome vegetable, but should be eaten moderately, as it induces flatulence. Persons of weak constitutions and delicate stomachs should abstain from cauliflower as much as possible. They may be prepared in a variety of ways; and, in selecting them, the whitest should be chosen; those tinged with green or yellow being of indifferent quality.
SUMMER SALAD.
1152. INGREDIENTS.—3 lettuces, 2 handfuls of mustard-and-cress, 10 young radishes, a few slices of cucumber.
[Illustration: SALAD IN BOWL.]
Mode.—Let the herbs be as fresh as possible for a salad, and, if at all stale or dead-looking, let them lie in water for an hour or two, which will very much refresh them. Wash and carefully pick them over, remove any decayed or wormeaten leaves, and drain them thoroughly by swinging them gently in a clean cloth. With a silver knife, cut the lettuces into small pieces, and the radishes and cucumbers into thin slices; arrange all these ingredients lightly on a dish, with the mustard-and-cress, and pour under, but not over the salad, either of the sauces No. 506, 507, or 508, and do not stir it up until it is to be eaten. It may be garnished with hard-boiled eggs, cut in slices, sliced cucumbers, nasturtiums, cut vegetable-flowers, and many other things that taste will always suggest to make a pretty and elegant dish. In making a good salad, care must be taken to have the herbs freshly gathered, and thoroughly drained before the sauce is added to them, or it will be watery and thin. Young spring onions, cut small, are by many persons considered an improvement to salads; but, before these are added, the cook should always consult the taste of her employer. Slices of cold meat or poultry added to a salad make a convenient and quickly-made summer luncheon-dish; or cold fish, flaked, will also be found exceedingly nice, mixed with it.
Average cost, 9d. for a salad for 5 or 6 persons; but more expensive when the herbs are forced.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable from May to September.
CUCUMBERS.—The cucumber is refreshing, but neither nutritious nor digestible, and should be excluded from the regimen of the delicate. There are various modes of preparing cucumbers. When gathered young, they are called gherkins: these, pickled, are much used in seasonings.
[Illustration: CUCUMBER-SLICE.]
RADISHES.—This is the common name given to the root of the Raphanus satious, one of the varieties of the cultivated horseradish. There are red and white radishes; and the French have also what they call violet and black ones, of which the black are the larger. Radishes are composed of nearly the same constituents as turnips, that is to say, mostly fibre and nitrogen; and, being generally eaten raw, it is on the last of these that their flavour depends. They do not agree with people, except those who are in good health, and have active digestive powers; for they are difficult of digestion, and cause flatulency and wind, and are the cause of headaches when eaten to excess. Besides being eaten raw, they are sometimes, but rarely, boiled; and they also serve as a pretty garnish for salads. In China, the radish may be found growing naturally, without cultivation; and may be occasionally met with in England as a weed, in similar places to where the wild turnip grows; it, however, thrives best in the garden, and the ground it likes best is a deep open loam, or a well-manured sandy soil.
[Illustration: TURNIP RADISHES.]
[Illustration: LONG RADISHES.]
WINTER SALAD.
1153. INGREDIENTS.—Endive, mustard-and-cress, boiled beetroot, 3 or 4 hard-boiled eggs, celery.
Mode.—The above ingredients form the principal constituents of a winter salad, and may be converted into a very pretty dish, by nicely contrasting the various colours, and by tastefully garnishing it. Shred the celery into thin pieces, after having carefully washed and cut away all wormeaten pieces; cleanse the endive and mustard-and-cress free from grit, and arrange these high in the centre of a salad-bowl or dish; garnish with the hard-boiled eggs and beetroot, both of which should be cut in slices; and pour into the dish, but not over the salad, either of the sauces No. 506, 507, or 508. Never dress a salad long before it is required for table, as, by standing, it loses its freshness and pretty crisp and light appearance; the sauce, however, may always be prepared a few hours beforehand, and when required for use, the herbs laid lightly over it.
Average cost, 9d. for a salad for 5 or 6 persons.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable from the end of September to March.
SALADS.—Salads are raw vegetables, of which, among us, the lettuce is the most generally used; several others, however, such as cresses, celery, onions, beetroot, &c., are occasionally employed. As vegetables eaten in a raw state are apt to ferment on the stomach, and as they have very little stimulative power upon that organ, they are usually dressed with some condiments, such as pepper, vinegar, salt, mustard, and oil. Respecting the use of these, medical men disagree, especially in reference to oil, which is condemned by some and recommended by others.
POTATO SALAD.
1154. INGREDIENTS.—10 or 12 cold boiled potatoes, 4 tablespoonfuls of tarragon or plain vinegar, 6 tablespoonfuls of salad-oil, pepper and salt to taste, 1 teaspoonful of minced parsley.
Mode.—Cut the potatoes into slices about 1/2 inch in thickness; put these into a salad-bowl with oil and vinegar in the above proportion; season with pepper, salt, and a teaspoonful of minced parsley; stir the salad well, that all the ingredients may be thoroughly incorporated, and it is ready to serve. This should be made two or three hours before it is wanted for table. Anchovies, olives, or pickles may be added to this salad, as also slices of cold beef, fowl, or turkey.
Seasonable at any time.
CHICKEN SALAD.—(See No. 931.)
GROUSE SALAD.—(See No. 1020.)
LOBSTER SALAD.—(See No. 272.)
TO BOIL SPINACH (English Mode).
1155. INGREDIENTS.—2 pailfuls of spinach, 2 heaped tablespoonfuls of salt, 1 oz. of butter, pepper to taste.
[Illustration: SPINACH GARNISHED WITH CROÛTONS.]
Mode.—Pick the spinach carefully, and see that no stalks or weeds are left amongst it; wash it in several waters, and, to prevent it being gritty, act in the following manner:—Have ready two large pans or tubs filled with water; put the spinach into one of these, and thoroughly wash it; then, with the hands, take out the spinach, and put it into the other tub of water (by this means all the grit will be left at the bottom of the tub); wash it again, and, should it not be perfectly free from dirt, repeat the process. Put it into a very large saucepan, with about 1/2 pint of water, just sufficient to keep the spinach from burning, and the above proportion of salt. Press it down frequently with a wooden spoon, that it may be done equally; and when it has boiled for rather more than 10 minutes, or until it is perfectly tender, drain it in a colander, squeeze it quite dry, and chop it finely. Put the spinach into a clean stewpan, with the butter and a seasoning of pepper; stir the whole over the fire until quite hot; then put it on a hot dish, and garnish with sippets of toasted bread.
Time.—10 to 15 minutes to boil the spinach, 5 minutes to warm with the butter.
Average cost for the above quantity, 8d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable.—Spring spinach from March to July; winter spinach from November to March.
Note.—Grated nutmeg, pounded mace, or lemon-juice may also be added to enrich the flavour; and poached eggs are also frequently served with spinach: they should be placed on the top of it, and it should be garnished with sippets of toasted bread.—See coloured plate U.
VARIETIES OF SPINACH.—These comprise the Strawberry spinach, which, under that name, was wont to be grown in our flower-gardens; the Good King Harry, the Garden Oracle, the Prickly, and the Round, are the varieties commonly used. The Oracle is a hardy sort, much esteemed in France, and is a native of Tartary, introduced in 1548. The common spinach has its leaves round, and is softer and more succulent than any of the Brassica tribe.
SPINACH DRESSED WITH CREAM, a la Francaise.
1156. INGREDIENTS.—2 pailfuls of spinach, 2 tablespoonfuls of salt, 2 oz. of butter, 8 tablespoonfuls of cream, 1 small teaspoonful of pounded sugar, a very little grated nutmeg.
Mode.—Boil and drain the spinach as in recipe No. 1155; chop it finely, and put it into a stewpan with the butter; stir over a gentle fire, and, when the butter has dried away, add the remaining ingredients, and simmer for about 5 minutes. Previously to adding the cream, boil it first, in case it should curdle. Serve on a hot dish, and garnish either with sippets of toasted bread or leaves of puff-paste.
Time.—10 to 15 minutes to boil the spinach; 10 minutes to stew with the cream.
Average cost for the above quantity, 8d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable.—Spring spinach from March to July; winter spinach from November to March.
[Illustration: SPINACH.]
SPINACH.—This is a Persian plant. It has been cultivated in our gardens about two hundred years, and is the most wholesome of vegetables. It is not very nutritious, but is very easily digested. It is very light and laxative. Wonderful properties have been ascribed to spinach. It is an excellent vegetable, and very beneficial to health. Plainly dressed, it is a resource for the poor; prepared luxuriantly, it is a choice dish for the rich.
SPINACH.—This vegetable belongs to a sub-order of the Salsolaceae, or saltworts, and is classified under the head of Spirolobeae, with leaves shaped like worms, and of a succulent kind. In its geographical distribution it is commonly found in extratropical and temperate regions, where they grow as weeds in waste places, and among rubbish, and in marshes by the seashore. In the tropics the order is rarely found. Many of them are used as potherbs, and some of them are emetic and vermifuge in their medicinal properties.
FRENCH MODE OF DRESSING SPINACH.
1157. INGREDIENTS.—2 pailfuls of spinach, 2 tablespoonfuls of salt, 2 oz. of butter, 1 teaspoonful of flour, 8 tablespoonfuls of good gravy; when liked, a very little grated nutmeg.
Mode.—Pick, wash, and boil the spinach, as in recipe No. 1155, and when quite tender, drain and squeeze it perfectly dry from the water that hangs about it. Chop it very fine, put the butter into a stewpan, and lay the spinach over that; stir it over a gentle fire, and dredge in the flour. Add the gravy, and let it boil quickly for a few minutes, that it may not discolour. When the flavour of nutmeg is liked, grate some to the spinach, and when thoroughly hot, and the gravy has dried away a little, serve. Garnish the dish with sippets of toasted bread.
Time.—10 to 15 minutes to boil the spinach; 10 minutes to simmer in the gravy.
Average cost for the above quantity, 8d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable.—Spring spinach from March to July; winter spinach from October to February.
Note.—For an entremets or second-course dish, spinach, dressed by the above recipe may be pressed into a hot mould; it should then be turned out quickly, and served very hot.