Six medium-sized potatoes, some quenelle forcemeat (see [page 79]), 1 truffle (coarsely minced), 3 olives (also minced), 1 oz. butter, small quantity cream (or milk), seasoning.
Method.—Wash the potatoes thoroughly and bake them, without removing the skins, until they are well cooked. Cut a small piece from the top of each, remove the inside, taking care not to break the skin, and pass it through a potato presser into a basin; add the butter, a little cream or milk, and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and beat the potato with a wooden spoon until it is very light and quite white. Then carefully replace some of it in the skins, pressing it back against the sides with the handle of a small spoon, thus leaving the middle hollow; prepare a forcemeat according to the recipe given for Quenelles à la Reine, and after passing it through the sieve add the truffle and olives and use it for filling the centre of the potatoes. Add sufficient carmine to the potato left over to colour it a pretty clear red, fill a forcer (with a small rose pipe) with it and make a rose on the top of each potato sufficiently large to cover the hole; put the potatoes into a hot oven for fifteen minutes, and serve them garnished with watercress and accompanied by a watercress, tomato, and celery salad.
STUFFED VEGETABLE MARROW
A small marrow, 3 ozs. freshly-sieved breadcrumbs, 3 tablespoonfuls cream, 1 tablespoonful minced parsley, ¹⁄₄ teaspoonful mixed herbs (if the flavour is not disliked), 1 saltspoonful grated lemon-peel, 1 oz. onion (scalded and minced), 1¹⁄₂ ozs. butter, 3 ozs. finely ground pine kernels (Cashu, or Brazil nuts) (blanched), 1 tablespoonful grated Parmesan cheese, 1 egg, ¹⁄₂ pint thick tomato or white sauce, seasoning.
Method.—Peel the marrow and cook it until tender in boiling salted water (it must not be over done), then cut a piece from one end, carefully remove all the seeds and stringy inside portion, and drain it well on a cloth. Fry the onion and nuts in the butter until the onion begins to change colour, but do not let it brown; mix the bread to a paste in a basin with the cream, which should be boiling, and season with salt, pepper, and a little mixed spice; add the egg (not beaten), the onion, nuts and cheese, beat the mixture well, and then stuff the marrow with it. Place it on a china gratin dish which has been well buttered, sprinkle the marrow with freshly-ground white pepper (which gives a subtle flavour), pour a quarter of a pint of tomato sauce (or white sauce may be substituted) over it, and cover it with dried breadcrumbs; put a few pieces of butter on the top and bake in a quick oven for about twenty minutes. Heat the remainder of the sauce and pour it round the marrow.
TOMATO OMELET WITH VEGETABLE SALAD
Four eggs, 2 ozs. butter, 2 tablespoonfuls tomato purée (or tomato conserve), seasoning.
Method.—Break the eggs into a basin and beat them well, season them with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and add rather less than half an ounce of butter broken into small pieces. Melt the remainder of the butter in an omelet pan over a very clear, quick fire, and when it is quite hot (care must be taken that it does not burn) pour in the eggs. Raise the mixture all over the surface by thrusting a fork into it, which will allow the soft portion on the top to run through to the hot pan, then loosen the omelet round the edge as it sets, and keep shaking the pan to prevent it from “catching,” and just before it is sufficiently set, spread the tomato pulp (which should be heated with a little butter) over half, then fold the other half over, and deftly turn the omelet on to a hot dish; serve at once with a salad prepared in the following manner: Slice equal quantities of new potatoes (which have been cooked and allowed to get cold), tomatoes (peeled), and cucumber (also peeled), and arrange neatly in a salad bowl, then cover with chopped celery (which has been kept in water to preserve the crispness) and fill the middle of the bowl with young green peas (cooked) or a carefully drained cauliflower which has been divided into small pieces; cover the centre vegetable with a thick mayonnaise sauce and sprinkle some chopped parsley over it.
TOMATO PATTIES
Four tomatoes, 2 ozs. minced mushrooms, ¹⁄₂ oz. onion (scalded and minced), 2 ozs. breadcrumbs, 1³⁄₄ ozs. butter, ¹⁄₂ gill cream (or milk), 1 teaspoonful chopped parsley, seasoning, 8 pattie-cases.