The Book of Household Management Part 128

(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 b.u.t.ter.

_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 b.u.t.ter.

_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 b.u.t.ter; 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 b.u.t.ter.

_Time_.--20 to 25 minutes.

_Sufficient_,--5 or 6 sufficient for 4 or 5 persons.

_Seasonable_ from July to the beginning of September.

ARTICHOKES A L'ITALIENNE.

1083. INGREDIENTS.--4 or 6 artichokes, salt and b.u.t.ter, 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 b.u.t.ter. 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.

CONSt.i.tUENT PROPERTIES OF THE ARTICHOKE.--According to the a.n.a.lysis of Braconnet, the const.i.tuent elements of an artichoke are,--starch 30, alb.u.men 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 b.u.t.ter or cream sauce, a little of which may be poured over the artichokes when they are _not_ served in a napkin.

[Ill.u.s.tration: JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES.]

_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. b.u.t.ter, 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 b.u.t.ter 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 nouris.h.i.+ng, but even fattening.

BOILED ASPARAGUS.

1087. INGREDIENTS.--To each 1/2 gallon of water allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt; asparagus.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ASPARAGUS ON TOAST. ASPARAGUS TONGS.]

_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. Sc.r.a.pe 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 b.u.t.ter.

_Time_.--15 to 18 minutes after the water boils.

_Average cost_, in full season, 2s. 6d. the 100 heads.