Prepare a plain croustade according to the size of your dish, and three inches in height, then have four cucumbers, which cut into pieces two inches and a half long, peel them, split each piece into three, take out the seeds and trim them neatly, put them in a stewpan with an ounce of butter, a teaspoonful of sugar, and cover with white stock, let them stew till tender, drain them upon the back of a sieve; in another stewpan have a pint of good bechamel sauce (No. 7), which reduce till rather thick, then add the cucumber and a little powdered sugar, place on the fire, and when boiling finish with a liaison of one yolk of egg mixed with two tablespoonfuls of cream: place the croustade upon your dish, pour the ragout into it, and serve.
No. 1067. Vegetable Marrows.
Are excellent when young and about the size of turkeys’ eggs; peel fifteen and boil them in half a gallon of water, into which you have put two ounces of butter and two ounces of salt, boil twenty minutes, or till quite tender, drain them upon a cloth, and dress upon a border of mashed potatoes, in the form of an oval dome; sauce over with a pint of good melted butter (No. 71), with which you have introduced a liaison of two yolks of eggs mixed with half a gill of cream. All sauces for vegetables require to be rather thick, as it is impossible to drain the vegetables quite dry to serve them hot. Vegetable marrows dressed as above may also be served with a white sauce à l’Italienne (No. 31).
No. 1068. Jerusalem Artichokes.
Are very useful vegetables when judiciously employed, as my readers will perceive by many of the foregoing recipes; they are good five months in the year, from October till March, and some seasons much longer; when they become too rough they have lost their succulence, and are only fit to flavour stocks: take about thirty of the best shaped ones and as near as possible of the same size; turn them into the shape of pears, boil in salt and water, with which you have put a quarter of a pound of butter; when tender take them out, drain them upon a cloth, and dress in the form of a dome; sauce over with melted butter (No. 71), sauce Hollandaise (No. 66), sauce bechamel (No. 7), sauce ravigote (No. 44), or sauce tomate (No. 37).
No. 1069. Cauliflowers and Brocoli.
Both vegetables are very excellent and universally employed; they require great particularity in cleaning; the best way is to throw plenty of salt over them and put them in cold water till ready to cook, boil them in salt and water till tender, but not too much done or they will not hold together; the heads should not be too large, and the best are close and firm; when done dress some nice green Brussels sprouts upon a border of mashed potatoes with the cauliflowers in the centre, mix nearly half a pint of good white sauce (No. 7), with the same quantity of melted butter (No. 71), and when hot add a liaison of one yolk of egg mixed with two spoonfuls of cream; sauce over and serve; they may also be served with a sauce à la maître d’hôtel (No. 43).
No. 1070. Chouxfleurs au Parmesan.
Boil three cauliflowers as before, and when done drain them upon a cloth, then put a pint of good white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, with half a pint of milk, season with a little pepper, salt, and cayenne, reduce it over a sharp fire till getting thick, add half a pound of grated Parmesan cheese and a quarter of a pound of grated Gruyer, mix well and stir in two yolks of eggs, then put a little at the bottom of your dish, dress some of the cauliflower in pieces upon it, which again cover with sauce, proceeding thus till you have formed a dome, finishing with the sauce all over, egg and bread-crumb lightly, put it in a warm oven a quarter of an hour, salamander of a light brown colour, and serve.