Recipes
Chapter XXV Boiled Artichokes
1080. INGREDIENTS.—To each 1/2 gallon of water, allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt, a piece of soda the size of a shilling; artichokes.
Mode.—Wash the artichokes well in several waters; see that no insects remain about them, and trim away the leaves at the bottom. Cut off the stems and put them into boiling water, to which have been added salt and soda in the above proportion. Keep the saucepan uncovered, and let them boil quickly until tender; ascertain when they are done by thrusting a fork in them, or by trying if the leaves can be easily removed. Take them out, let them drain for a minute or two, and serve in a napkin, or with a little white sauce poured over. A tureen of melted butter should accompany them. This vegetable, unlike any other, is considered better for being gathered two or three days; but they must be well soaked and washed previous to dressing.
Time.—20 to 25 minutes, after the water boils.
Sufficient,—a dish of 5 or 6 for 4 persons.
Seasonable from July to the beginning of September.
THE COMPOSITAE, OR COMPOSITE FLOWERS.—This family is so extensive, as to contain nearly a twelfth part of the whole of the vegetable kingdom. It embraces about 9,000 species, distributed over almost every country; and new discoveries are constantly being made and added to the number. Towards the poles their numbers diminish, and slightly, also, towards the equator; but they abound in the tropical and sub-tropical islands, and in the tracts of continent not far from the sea-shore. Among esculent vegetables, the Lettuce, Salsify, Scorzonera, Cardoon, and Artichoke belong to the family.
Fried Artichokes
(Entremets, or Small Dish, to be served with the Second Course.)
1081. INGREDIENTS.—5 or 6 artichokes, salt and water: for the batter,—1/4 lb. of flour, a little salt, the yolk of 1 egg, milk.
Mode.—Trim and boil the artichokes by recipe No. 1080, and rub them over with lemon-juice, to keep them white. When they are quite tender, take them up, remove the chokes, and divide the bottoms; dip each piece into batter, fry them in hot lard or dripping, and garnish the dish with crisped parsley. Serve with plain melted butter.
Time.—20 minutes to boil the artichokes, 5 to 7 minutes to fry them.
Sufficient,—5 or 6 for 4 or 5 persons.
Seasonable from July to the beginning of September.
A French Mode of Cooking Artichokes
1082. INGREDIENTS.—5 or 6 artichokes; to each 1/2 gallon of water allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt, 1/2 teaspoonful of pepper, 1 bunch of savoury herbs, 2 oz. of butter.
Mode.—Cut the ends of the leaves, as also the stems; put the artichokes into boiling water, with the above proportion of salt, pepper, herbs, and butter; let them boil quickly until tender, keeping the lid of the saucepan off, and when the leaves come out easily, they are cooked enough. To keep them a beautiful green, put a large piece of cinder into a muslin bag, and let it boil with them. Serve with plain melted butter.
Time.—20 to 25 minutes.
Sufficient,—5 or 6 sufficient for 4 or 5 persons.
Seasonable from July to the beginning of September.
Artichokes à l’Italienne
1083. INGREDIENTS.—4 or 6 artichokes, salt and butter, about 1/2 pint of good gravy.
Mode.—Trim and cut the artichokes into quarters, and boil them until tender in water mixed with a little salt and butter. When done, drain them well, and lay them all round the dish, with the leaves outside. Have ready some good gravy, highly flavoured with mushrooms; reduce it until quite thick, and pour it round the artichokes, and serve.
Time.—20 to 25 minutes to boil the artichokes.
Sufficient for one side-dish.
Seasonable from July to the beginning of September.
CONSTITUENT PROPERTIES OF THE ARTICHOKE.—According to the analysis of Braconnet, the constituent elements of an artichoke are,—starch 30, albumen 10, uncrystallizable sugar 148, gum 12, fixed oil 1, woody fibre 12, inorganic matter 27, and water 770.
Boiled Jerusalem Artichokes
1084. INGREDIENTS.—To each 1 gallon of water allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt; artichokes.
Mode.—Wash, peel, and shape the artichokes in a round or oval form, and put them into a saucepan with sufficient cold water to cover them, salted in the above proportion. Let them boil gently until tender; take them up, drain them, and serve them in a napkin, or plain, whichever mode is preferred; send to table with them a tureen of melted butter or cream sauce, a little of which may be poured over the artichokes when they are not served in a napkin.
Time.—About 20 minutes after the water boils.
Average cost, 2d. per lb.
Sufficient,—10 for a dish for 6 persons.
Seasonable from September to June.
USES OF THE JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE.—This being a tuberous-rooted plant, with leafy stems from four to six feet high, it is alleged that its tops will afford as much fodder per acre as a crop of oats, or more, and its roots half as many tubers as an ordinary crop of potatoes. The tubers, being abundant in the market-gardens, are to be had at little more than the price of potatoes. The fibres of the stems may be separated by maceration, and manufactured into cordage or cloth; and this is said to be done in some parts of the north and west of France, as about Hagenau, where this plant, on the poor sandy soils, is an object of field culture.
Mashed Jerusalem Artichokes
1085. INGREDIENTS.—To each 1 gallon of water allow 1 oz. of salt; 15 or 16 artichokes, 1 oz. butter, pepper and salt to taste.
Mode.—Boil the artichokes as in the preceding recipe until tender; drain and press the water from them, and beat them up with a fork. When thoroughly mashed and free from lumps, put them into a saucepan with the butter and a seasoning of white pepper and salt; keep stirring over the fire until the artichokes are quite hot, and serve.
Time.—About 20 minutes. Average cost, 2d. per lb.
Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons.
Seasonable from September to June.
Jerusalem Artichokes With White Sauce
(Entremets, or to be served with the Second Course as a Side-dish.)
1086. INGREDIENTS.—12 to 15 artichokes, 12 to 15 Brussels sprouts, 1/2 pint of white sauce, No. 538.
Mode.—Peel and cut the artichokes in the shape of a pear; cut a piece off the bottom of each, that they may stand upright in the dish, and boil them in salt and water until tender. Have ready 1/2 pint of white sauce, made by recipe No. 538; dish the artichokes, pour over them the sauce, and place between each a fine Brussels sprout: these should be boiled separately, and not with the artichokes.
Time.—About 20 minutes. Average cost, 2d. per lb.
Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons.
Seasonable from September to June.
THE JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE.—This plant is well known, being, for its tubers, cultivated not only as a garden vegetable, but also as an agricultural crop. By many it is much esteemed as an esculent, when cooked in various ways; and the domesticated animals eat both the fresh foliage, and the tubers with great relish. By some, they are not only considered nourishing, but even fattening.
Boiled Asparagus
1087. INGREDIENTS.—To each 1/2 gallon of water allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt; asparagus.
Mode.—Asparagus should be dressed as soon as possible after it is cut, although it may be kept for a day or two by putting the stalks into cold water; yet, to be good, like every other vegetable, it cannot be cooked too fresh. Scrape the white part of the stems, beginning from the head, and throw them into cold water; then tie them into bundles of about 20 each, keeping the heads all one way, and cut the stalks evenly, that they may all be the same length; put them into boiling water, with salt in the above proportion; keep them boiling quickly until tender, with the saucepan uncovered. When the asparagus is done, dish it upon toast, which should be dipped in the water it was cooked in, and leave the white ends outwards each war, with the points meeting in the middle. Serve with a tureen of melted butter.
Time.—15 to 18 minutes after the water boils.
Average cost, in full season, 2s. 6d. the 100 heads.
Sufficient.—Allow about 50 heads for 4 or 5 persons.
Seasonable.—May be had, forced, from January but cheapest in May, June, and July.
ASPARAGUS.—This plant belongs to the variously-featured family of the order Liliaceae, which, in the temperate regions of both hemispheres, are most abundant, and, between the tropics, gigantic in size and arborescent in form. Asparagus is a native of Great Britain, and is found on various parts of the seacoast, and in the fens of Lincolnshire. At Kynarve Cove, in Cornwall, there is an island called “Asparagus Island,” from the abundance in which it is there found. The uses to which the young shoots are applied, and the manure in which they are cultivated in order to bring them to the highest state of excellence, have been a study with many kitchen-gardeners.
Asparagus Peas
(Entremets, or to be served as a Side-dish with the Second Course.)
1088. INGREDIENTS.—100 heads of asparagus, 2 oz. of butter, a small bunch of parsley, 2 or 3 green onions, flour, 1 lump of sugar, the yolks of 2 eggs, 4 tablespoonfuls of cream, salt.
Mode.—Carefully scrape the asparagus, cut it into pieces of an equal size, avoiding that which is in the least hard or tough, and throw them into cold water. Then boil the asparagus in salt and water until three-parts done; take it out, drain, and place it on a cloth to dry the moisture away from it. Put it into a stewpan with the butter, parsley, and onions, and shake over a brisk fire for 10 minutes. Dredge in a little flour, add the sugar, and moisten with boiling water. When boiled a short time and reduced, take out the parsley and onions, thicken with the yolks of 2 eggs beaten with the cream; add a seasoning of salt, and, when the whole is on the point of simmering, serve. Make the sauce sufficiently thick to adhere to the vegetable.
Time.—Altogether, 1/2 hour. Average cost, 1s. 6d. a pint.
Seasonable in May, June, and July.
MEDICINAL USES OF ASPARAGUS.—This plant not only acts as a wholesome and nutritious vegetable, but also as a diuretic, aperient, and deobstruent. The chemical analysis of its juice discovers its composition to be a peculiar crystallizable principle, called asparagin, albumen, mannite, malic acid, and some salts. Thours says, the cellular tissue contains a substance similar to sage. The berries are capable of undergoing vinous fermentation, and affording alcohol by distillation. In their unripe state they possess the same properties as the roots, and probably in a much higher degree.
Asparagus Pudding
(A delicious Dish, to be served with the Second Course.)
1089. INGREDIENTS.—1/2 pint of asparagus peas, 4 eggs, 2 tablespoonfuls of flour, 1 tablespoonful of very finely minced ham, 1 oz. of butter, pepper and salt to taste, milk.
Mode.—Cut up the nice green tender parts of asparagus, about the size of peas; put them into a basin with the eggs, which should be well beaten, and the flour, ham, butter, pepper, and salt. Mix all these ingredients well together, and moisten with sufficient milk to make the pudding of the consistency of thick batter; put it into a pint buttered mould, tie it down tightly with a floured cloth, place it in boiling water, and let it boil for 2 hours; turn it out of the mould on to a hot dish, and pour plain melted butter round, but not over, the pudding. Green peas pudding may be made in exactly the same manner, substituting peas for the asparagus.
Time.—2 hours. Average cost, 1s. 6d. per pint.
Seasonable in May, June, and July.
Boiled French Beans
1090. INGREDIENTS.—To each 1/2 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, throw them into a colander; and when drained, dish and serve with plain melted butter. When very young, beans are sometimes served whole: when they are thus dressed, their colour and flavour are much better preserved; but the more general way of dressing them 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. a peck; but, when forced, very expensive.
Sufficient.—Allow 1/2 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.
French Mode of Cooking French Beans
1091. INGREDIENTS.—A quart of French beans, 3 oz. of fresh butter, pepper and salt to taste, the juice of 1/2 lemon.
Mode.—Cut and boil the beans by the preceding recipe, and when tender, put them into a stewpan, and shake over the fire, to dry away the moisture from the beans. When quite dry and hot, add the butter, pepper, salt, and lemon-juice; keep moving the stewpan, without using a spoon, as that would break the beans; and when the butter is melted, and all is thoroughly hot, serve. If the butter should not mix well, add a tablespoonful of gravy, and serve very quickly.
Time.—About 1/4 hour to boil the beans; 10 minutes to shake them over the fire.
Average cost, in full season, about 1s. 4d. a peck.
Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons.
Seasonable from the middle of July to the end of September.