Ingredients.—4 eggs, 1 pint of milk, 1½ oz. of loaf sugar, 3 tablespoonfuls of flour. Mode.—Make the batter with the above ingredients, put it into a well-buttered basin, tie it down with a cloth, and boil for 1 hour. As soon as it is turned out of the basin, put a small jar of orange marmalade all over the top, and send the pudding very quickly to table. It is advisable to warm the marmalade to make it liquid. Time.—1 hour. Average cost, with the marmalade, 1s. 3d. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable at any time; but more suitable for a winter pudding.
BEANS, Boiled Broad or Windsor.
BROAD BEANS.
Ingredients.—To each ½ gallon of water, allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt; beans. Mode.—This is a favourite vegetable with many persons, but, to be nice, should be young and freshly gathered. After shelling the beans, put them into boiling water, salted in the above proportion, and let them boil rapidly until tender. Drain them well in a colander; dish, and serve with them separately a tureen of parsley and butter. Boiled bacon should always accompany this vegetable, but the beans should be cooked separately. It is usually served with the beans laid round, and the parsley and butter in a tureen. Beans also make an excellent garnish to a ham, and when used for this purpose, if very old, should have their skins removed. Time.—Very young beans, 15 minutes; when a moderate size, 20 to 25 minutes, or longer. Average cost, unshelled, 6d. per peck. Sufficient.—Allow one peck for 6 or 7 persons. Seasonable in July and August.
BEANS, Broad, à la Poulette.
Ingredients.—2 pints of broad beans, ½ pint of stock or broth, a small bunch of savoury herbs, including parsley, a small lump of sugar, the yolk of 1 egg, ¼ pint of cream, pepper and salt to taste. Mode.—Procure some young and freshly-gathered beans, and shell sufficient to make 2 pints; boil them, as in the preceding recipe, until nearly done; then drain them and put them into a stewpan with the stock, finely-minced herbs, and sugar. Stew the beans until perfectly tender, and the liquor has dried away a little; then beat up the yolk of an egg with the cream, add this to the beans, let the whole get thoroughly hot, and when on the point of simmering, serve. Should the beans be very large, the skin should be removed previously to boiling them. Time.—10 minutes to boil the beans, 15 minutes to stew them in the stock. Average cost, unshelled, 6d. per peck. Seasonable in July and August.
BEANS, Boiled French.
Ingredients.—To each ½ gallon of water allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt, a very small piece of soda. Mode.—This vegetable should always be eaten young, as when allowed to grow too long it tastes stringy and tough when cooked. Cut off the heads and tails, and a thin strip on each side of the beans to remove the strings; then divide each bean into 4 or 6 pieces, according to size, cutting them lengthways in a slanting direction, and as they are cut put them into cold water, with a small quantity of salt dissolved in it. Have ready a saucepan of boiling water, with salt and soda in the above proportion; put in the beans, keep them boiling quickly, with the lid uncovered, and be careful that they do not get smoked. When tender, which may be ascertained by their sinking to the bottom of the saucepan, take them up, pour them into a colander, and when drained, dish and serve with plain melted butter. When very young, beans are sometimes served whole: thus dressed, their colour and flavour are much better preserved, but the more general way of sending them to table is to cut them into thin strips. Time.—Very young beans, 10 to 12 minutes; moderate size, 15 to 20 minutes, after the water boils. Average cost, in full season, 1s. 4d. per peck, but when forced very expensive. Sufficient.—Allow ½ peck for 6 or 7 persons. Seasonable from the middle of July to the end of September, but may be had forced from February to the beginning of June.