VEGETABLE CREAM WITH AIGRETTES
Half a peck young peas (cooked and sieved), 1 teaspoonful very finely minced onion (previously scalded), 1 oz. butter, 1 oz. flour, ¹⁄₄ pint milk, 1 teaspoonful tomato catsup, 1 tablespoonful grated Parmesan cheese, seasoning, chopped mint, ³⁄₄ pint aspic jelly, 1 gill stiffly whipped cream.
Method.—Cook the onion in the butter with a little finely chopped mint (the quantity should depend on whether the flavour is liked) for a few moments, then stir in the flour, and when it is smoothly mixed add the milk and continue to stir until a very thick sauce is formed; season it with a little salt and pepper, rub it through a gravy-strainer into the basin containing the sieved peas, and mix well. Then add the tomato catsup and Parmesan cheese and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg; whisk one and a half gills of cool aspic jelly until it is quite white, add the whipped cream to it, and then the prepared peas, by degrees, and as soon as the ingredients are thoroughly mixed, pour the cream into a mould which has been lined with aspic jelly and leave until the following day, when it should be turned out and served with aigrettes, made according to the directions given below. If the peas are carefully cooked in an uncovered pan they should produce a bright green purée, but should the colour not be good a few drops of vegetable greening must be added. The cream may be iced with advantage.
For the Aigrettes.—Put one ounce of butter into a small saucepan with half a pint of cold water; when it boils, draw the pan to the side of the stove and stir in, gradually, four ounces of flour, and continue to stir until a smooth and very thick paste is formed, which leaves the sides of the pan and collects round the spoon in the middle; then take the pan from the stove and, when the mixture has cooled a little, beat two whole eggs and an additional yolk into it, adding each separately, and when these are mixed stir in three ounces of dry, grated cheese (preferably Parmesan and Gruyère mixed) and season with salt, white pepper, and a little curry powder. As soon as the paste is cool, dip a teaspoon into a stewpan containing plenty (it must be deep) of clear fat, which has been heated to just under boiling point; fill it with some of the paste and drop the latter into the fat. Avoid putting many aigrettes into the pan at the same time, and be careful to remove them as soon as they are a deep golden colour. Let the aigrettes cool on a wire tray, and serve them cold with the vegetable cream; they should not be made too long before they are required. The above makes a good dish for a cold supper.
VEGETABLE PIE
Four large, close potatoes (parboiled), ¹⁄₂ pint haricot beans (cooked until just tender and skinned), 6 large mushrooms (cleansed and peeled), 4 tomatoes, 1 stick celery (parboiled), butter, 2 hard-boiled eggs, forcemeat balls, 1 dessertspoonful onion (scalded and minced), seasoning, brown vegetable stock (slightly thickened), ¹⁄₂ lb. short paste.
Method.—Butter a pie-dish and put in a layer of sliced potatoes, then a few slices of tomato, three mushrooms (cut in half), some of the beans, some pieces of celery (about an inch in length), one hard-boiled egg divided into quarters, and four or five little forcemeat balls; season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and scatter half the quantity of onion over the surface, then use the remaining ingredients in the same way. Moisten the pie with the stock and cover it with the paste, brush over with beaten egg (if practicable), and bake in a well-heated oven for an hour. For the forcemeat balls proceed thus: Mix together four ounces Hovis breadcrumbs, one dessertspoonful of minced parsley, a little lemon-thyme (if the flavour is not disliked), a teaspoonful of onion (scalded and minced), a very little grated lemon-peel, and season with salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and cayenne; then add two ounces of warm butter and sufficient beaten egg to form a fairly stiff paste. Divide the latter into little balls, roll them on a floured board, and they will be ready for use.
VEGETABLE STEAKS
Half a pound of red haricot beans, 2 ozs. butter, 3 ozs. minced onion, 2 large tomatoes (sliced), 1 small stick of celery, seasoning, ¹⁄₂ pint brown vegetable stock, 1¹⁄₂ eggs.
Method.—Soak the beans over-night, boil them until tender, then remove their skins and put them into an earthenware casserole with the butter, onion, tomatoes, and celery, and fry for six minutes, stirring well; season with salt, pepper, and a dust of mixed spice, and pour in the stock. Cover the beans closely with greased paper before putting on the lid of the casserole, and let them cook in a moderate oven for about two hours, or until they are reduced to a soft mass and the stock is all absorbed. Pass the beans and vegetables through a wire sieve; add the yolk of egg to the purée, mixing it thoroughly; put it aside to get cold, and then form on a floured board into six little steaks; brush them over with beaten egg, dredge a little flour over them, and fry until nicely browned in boiling fat; serve with celery fritters in the middle and ribbon potatoes round the dish.