Peel and slice two cucumbers very fine, and put salt and pepper, and taragon vinegar over them. Then slice an onion and lay it on the cucumbers, leaving them to pickle for fifteen minutes. Remove the onion and some of the liquid before serving.
Cucumbers ‘alla Crema.’
Peel six cucumbers, cut them into quarters, remove the seeds, and put them into cold water for half an hour. Place them in a covered sauce-pan of salted boiling water and cook them for half an hour, then lay them on a hot dish. Melt some butter in a sauce-pan and mix in one tablespoonful of flour, then add half a pint of milk and stir till it boils; add a little salt and pepper, take the sauce-pan off the fire, add a little more butter, and pour the sauce over the cucumbers. Garnish with croûtons (fried bread), and serve hot.
Cucumbers ‘Farciti.’
Choose cucumbers of about the same size and cut them in two lengthwise. Remove the seeds carefully with a spoon, and fill with a stuffing made of equal parts of minced chicken (or other white meat) and soft bread-crumbs, salt and pepper to taste, one egg, and a little stock. Sprinkle the top with bread-crumbs, and lay them into half an inch of stock in a baking-dish. Bake in a moderate oven until the cucumbers are soft, filling up the stock when necessary. Put them carefully in a hot dish and pour the gravy out of the baking-dish, thickened with a very little flour, round them.
Cucumbers ‘in Istufato.’
Peel two or three cucumbers, cut them into quarters, and take out the seeds. Put two ounces of fresh butter and a sliced onion into a frying-pan, fry until the onion is browned, add the cucumbers and stir them well until browned. Then take them out of the frying-pan. Put some more butter into the pan, stir it well with the rest, add a little broth, and mix till it boils, and add a little salt and pepper. Then put the cucumbers in, cover them, and leave them to cook slowly for twenty minutes. Put them on slices of buttered toast and serve up hot.
Cucumbers ‘alla Panna.’
Peel four or five cucumbers, cut them into halves, and remove all the seeds. Then cut them into small pieces and boil in water until soft. Strain, and dry them well on a napkin. Mix two ounces of butter with a spoonful of flour over the fire, add salt and pepper, stir well, and add a tumbler of cream. Put in the cucumbers and heat them without letting them boil.