Egg-Plant Fruit.—Boil the fruit until tender, halve them lengthwise, and scoop out the inside, leaving a shell about ½ in. thick. Take a small quantity of any kind of meat or poultry previously cooked and well freed from fat, skin, and gristle; mince it finely, and then pound it quite smooth with the pulp of the vegetable (not the seeds), and with some sweet herbs, chopped mushrooms, or any flavouring preferred; season the whole with pepper and salt, toss it for a few minutes in a saucepan with a piece of butter, and a little stock to moisten it (if necessary), fill the cavities with this mixture, add a layer of fried breadcrumbs, pour over them some liquefied butter, put them into the oven for a few minutes, and serve very hot.
French Beans.—The nice flavour of this wholesome vegetable depends not only on its freshness, but also on the mode of cooking. When very young and very small, it is better not to cut them, but simply take off the tops and tails, and a thin stringy strip at each side of the bean, then wash, but do not leave them in water. Throw them into a saucepan of fast-boiling water, with 1 tablespoonful salt to each ½ gal. water. Boil quickly, with lid off, till tender, and at once drain in a colander, taking care to shake or press gently with a wooden spoon, every drop of water from them; serve very hot, with pieces of fresh butter between each layer of beans. When the beans are not so young or so small, they should be cut into thin, slanting strips, and dressed in the same way.
Haricot Beans.—(a) Soak them for 12 hours, put them in a saucepan of cold water, let it come gradually to the boil, then simmer till quite tender; drain and put them at once into a stewpan, with some fresh butter, chopped parsley, salt, pepper, and a little lemon juice, toss them well, and serve very hot.
(b) The usual way in America for cooking white haricot beans is in the old-fashioned New England dish, “pork and beans.” Parboil a piece of the middling of salt pork, and score the skin. Allow 1 lb. to 1 qt. of the dried beans which must be soaked overnight in lukewarm water. In the morning put them on to boil in cold water; when they are soft drain off the water, put the beans in a deep dish, half bury the pork in the middle, adding a very little warm water. Bake a nice brown. Some like a dessertspoonful of sugar mixed in with the beans before placing them in the dish.
Jerusalem Artichokes.—Wash them well, peel and shape them to a uniform size; throw them into boiling salted water, and let them boil 15-20 minutes; drain them at once thoroughly; put them on a dish and serve with the following sauce poured over them: Mix over the fire 1½ oz. butter, with 1 tablespoonful flour; add ½ pint boiling water, white pepper, and salt to taste; stir till the sauce thickens, then take the saucepan off the fire, and stir in the yolks of 2 eggs, beaten up with ½ gill cream.
Laver or Sloke.—Only good during the winter months. After being gathered and washed and picked clean, put it with water into an iron pot, and boil it until it is a pulp. If too thick, add a little more water, taking care it does not burn. It cannot be boiled too much, and the darker the colour the better laver it is. It will keep fresh for a week, and when wanted for table it must be heated, with a lump of butter put in, and served in a silver saucepan, which is kept hot by the fire. Laver is eaten with roast meat, with pepper and vinegar. Lemon juice is preferable to vinegar.
Lentils.—(a) Soak in cold water for 24 hours. Boil in plain water for 2½ hours, drain off the water, put with the lentils in the saucepan a small lump of butter, a little pepper and salt; stir well together and serve hot. Another way is to soak as above, and stew in good beef tea, gravy, or thin soup for 2½ hours. The German lentils are the best.
(b) Fry 3 or 4 onions sliced, in 1 oz. butter. Put into a saucepan with ½ pint red lentils, and 1 pint water; simmer 1 hour, then add 1 dessertspoonful curry powder and 1 teaspoonful lemon juice. Serve with boiled rice.
Mushrooms.—(a) Chop up half a small punnet of mushrooms, having first taken off the skins and stalks; also a handful of washed parsley and 3 small shallots. Scrape ¼ lb. ham, of which the proportions of fat and lean should be about equal; if the ham be too lean, some fat of bacon can be used with it. Also chop a little thyme. Mix all well together, seasoning with pepper and salt, and fry them over the fire for a few minutes, and until done; then mix in the yolks of 3 eggs, and set it aside while the mushrooms are preparing (these must be large ones); take off the skins and stalks, and, having trimmed the edges neatly, fill each one with some of the above preparation. Spread a sautépan thickly with butter, place the mushrooms in it side by side, shake some raspings of bread plentifully over them, and set them in the oven for about ¼ hour; they should be nicely browned. Arrange them on a dish in the form of a pyramid, and pour round them a little of the following sauce, which must have been previously prepared and be waiting hot and ready for use: Chop 2 shallots, wash them in several waters to take away the strong taste, wring them dry in the corner of a napkin, and put them into a stewpan with about 1 doz. small white mushrooms finely minced; add a little thyme, a small bay leaf, and a dessertspoonful of salad oil; shake these together over the fire for 5 minutes; add 1 small wineglassful white French wine, and then set it on to reduce to half its quantity; moisten this with a little good white sauce; let it boil up, free it from the oil, take out thyme and bay leaf. Let it be of the consistency of ordinary sauces, which can be regulated by adding a little white stock if too thick, or boiling up to reduce if too thin. When ready, set it aside in a small stewpan to keep hot till wanted.
(b) Pick and peel ½ pint mushrooms, wash them well, put them into a lined saucepan with ½ pint plain white sauce, made with rice, new milk, and well seasoned with mace, salt and paper, white or cayenne as preferred. Let the mushrooms stew until quite tender, then add 1 spoonful butter rolled in arrowroot sufficient to thicken it; simmer a few minutes longer and serve.