Having washed the carrots, and scraped off the outer skin with a sharp knife, or taken off a very thin paring, split them a few inches down, leaving a long cleft in the upper half only, and put them on to cook in plenty of boiling water, with a little salt in it. There is no table vegetable that needs more boiling than a carrot. Small young carrots require at least half an hour. If large, they must boil from one to two hours, according to their size. When you find them tender throughout, dish them, with melted butter poured round them. They are eaten plain, only with boiled beef or boiled mutton. They are often added to soups and stews, when they must be put in long before the other vegetables. For soups and stews the nicest way is to grate them (before boiling,) on a coarse grater. This way they improve both the taste and color.
Carrots are very nice, sliced thin after boiling, put into a sauce-pan, with bits of butter dredged with flour, seasoned with pepper, and stewed soft without any water.
PARSNIPS.—
Scrape the parsnips, and split them half way down. Put them into boiling water with a little salt. Parsnips require less boiling than carrots; and, according to their size, will take from half an hour to an hour. Skim the water while they are boiling. When quite tender take them up, drain them, dish them, and pour melted butter over them. They are especially eaten with corned pork, or salted cod; but are good with various things. They are excellent stewed with fresh beef, or fresh pork, for a plain dinner.
Fried Parsnips make a nice breakfast dish. They must first be parboiled; then split, and cut into long pieces, and fried brown in fresh butter, or in nice dripping of veal or beef.
Baked Parsnips.—Split and parboil them. Then place them in a large dish. Lay among them some bits of fresh butter, and bake them brown. Eat them with any sort of roast meat.
Parsnip Fritters.—Boil and peel half a dozen large parsnips, and then split and cut them in pieces. Make a nice batter, allowing four beaten eggs to a pint of milk, and four table-spoonfuls of flour. Have ready over the fire, a frying-pan with boiling lard. Put in a large spoonful of batter; upon that a piece of parsnip, and cover it with another spoonful of batter. Proceed thus till you have used up the parsnips. When done, drain them from the lard, and serve them hot at breakfast or dinner.