Boil five or six tomatoes until they are soft with one teaspoonful of salt, one of sugar, half a teaspoonful of thyme, a saltspoonful of pepper, one slice of onion, one bay leaf, and three cloves. Then add enough calves’ feet jelly (or isinglass) to set the tomato juice, strain, and pour into a mould on ice. If the jelly is in the shape of a ring fill the centre with curled celery, mix with sauce Mayonnaise (see Sauces, p. [123]), and garnish with lettuce cut into shreds; if solid put the celery and sauce Mayonnaise round the jelly.
Tomatoes and Celery (Salad of).
Scald and peel twelve small round tomatoes, cut off the stem end, take out the seeds, and put them on ice. Meanwhile chop up fine the inside of a head of celery, mix with some sauce ‘Francese’ (see Sauces, p. [123]), and fill the tomatoes with it. Place each tomato on a fresh lettuce leaf, and pour a seasoning of oil, vinegar, salt and pepper over all.
Watercress Salad.
Wash three or four bunches of watercress and drain them, slice four or five cold boiled potatoes very thin and mix with the following sauce: four tablespoonfuls of oil, half a tablespoonful of vinegar, salt and black pepper to taste, one shalot minced up fine, half a pinch of cayenne, and half a tablespoonful of sugar.
SAUCES
Roux for Sauces.
Roux is necessary to thicken and give body to sauces. Put one tablespoonful of flour and one of butter into a sauce-pan and cook till the flour has lost any raw taste. Then put the sauce-pan on the hob and add the stock, or milk slowly (one cupful for every tablespoonful of butter or flour), and stir till smooth. For white sauces take care the flour does not colour; for dark sauces let it brown, but take care it does not burn.