The Belgian Cookbook Part 25

Slice an onion and fry it in b.u.t.ter till it is brown; add pieces of pork and of mutton freed from fat and skin; cover them with water and throw into it any kinds of vegetables that you may have; but particularly sliced carrots and turnips and green cabbages; put it in the oven to cook. In another saucepan boil some white haricot beans, salt, and pepper, until they are tender, when they must be added to the stew with a small quant.i.ty of the liquor that they have been boiled in.

PIGEON AND CABBAGE ROLLS

Take two pigeons, two cabbages, four slices of fried bacon, an ounce of b.u.t.ter, a large winegla.s.sful of sherry, and some gravy. Truss your pigeons and cook them in b.u.t.ter for ten minutes in a fireproof dish.

Then take them out, cut them into neat pieces. Meanwhile have the cabbages boiled in salted water. Drain them. Cut them in small pieces and roll some up in each slice of bacon; lay the pigeons on top, pouring over them the liquor they were cooked in and half the wine. Put all in the oven for ten minutes--pour in the rest of the wine and leave for another ten minutes before serving. If you have stock to add to this it is an improvement, or put half a teaspoonful of meat extract to half a pint of water.

[_Une refugiee_.]

REMAINS OF SAUSAGE

If you have a few inches of a big sausage cut it into as thick slices as you can--fry them and lay them in a circle on a dish with a poached egg on each. Little dinner breads are good when soaked in milk, stuffed with sausage meat, and fried. It can be used to stuff cuc.u.mber, or eggplants, but you should then crumble up the meat and bind it with the yolk of a raw egg.

[_Mme. Georgette._]

SHOULDER OF LAMB A LA BEIGE

Braise your shoulder of lamb; that is, put it in a closely covered stewpan, in a good brown sauce or gravy with the vegetables, to be served with it. It is the lid being closed that makes the meat take some flavor from the vegetables. To do it in the Belgian way, take some good white turnips, wash them and sc.r.a.pe them, put small ones in whole, large ones cut in half. Take some small cabbages, trim off without leaves, cut them in half, remove the stalk, make a hollow in the center and fill it with forcemeat of any kind; but sausage meat is good. Place the stuffed cabbages round the meat to cook gently at the same time.

[_Madame Vers.h.a.gen._]

FILLET OF BEEF a LA BRABANCONNE

Take a whole fillet of beef, trim it neatly and set it in a braising pan to cook very slowly in some good brown sauce to which you have added a pint of stock. Put in neatly shaped carrots and turnips and some b.a.l.l.s made of mashed potato already fried. Keep hot in two sauceboats a puree of Brussels sprouts and a puree of onions. These are prepared by cooking the vegetables in water, then chopping fine, and rubbing through a sieve with cream, or with a little good milk, pepper, and salt. To serve the fillet, lay it on a dish with the carrots and turnip, potato cakes round; pour over it the rest of the brown sauce from the pan; then add in heaps the onion puree and the sprouts puree.

[_Madame Vers.h.a.gen._]

STEWED BEEF

An inferior part of beef may be made to taste excellent if it is braised; that is, simmered with the cover on slowly, in company with onions (already fried) and well washed pieces of carrots and whole turnips. Put on also some small cabbages cut in halves, and if you can give it, a gla.s.s of good red wine.

[_Une refugiee._]

BEEF AND APRICOTS

Stew your beef, say three pounds of steak, in some gravy, adding to a pint of liquor a level teaspoonful of white sugar. Throw in a handful of the dried apricots, but be sure you wash them well first. This dish is generally accompanied by leeks, first blanched for a few moments, and then put in the stew. Flavor with salt, pepper, and the rind of half a lemon which remove before you serve the stew. For English taste the sugar could be omitted.

[_Seulette._]

FOR AN INVALID

This must be begun at least three hours before it will be required.

Take two ounces of pearl barley, wash it well, and put it in cold water enough to cover it, for an hour. Take a pound of good steak, shred it in small pieces, and put it in an enameled saucepan with a quart of cold water and a sprinkle of salt. Strain the water from the barley and add this last to the meat, and let it simmer for two hours. Then strain off the liquor and pound the meat and barley in a mortar, rub it through a sieve; when it is a smooth puree put it back into the pan with its liquor and a gill of cream. Let it simmer again for a moment and serve it in a cup with a lid to it.

[_Madame A. F._]

INVALIDS' EGGS

Cut out some rounds of bread a good deal larger than a poached egg would be. While these are frying, make a puree of Brussels sprouts. Boil them till tender, squeeze in a cloth. Rub them through a sieve and make into a very thick puree with cream, pepper and salt. Poach a fresh egg for each crouton, and slip it on, very quickly, put some of the green puree round, and serve under a hot cover.

A SWEET FOR THE CHILDREN

If you have some little breads over, cut each one in four, soak the pieces in milk sweetened and flavored with vanilla, for three hours.

When they are well soaked roll them for a moment in grated and dried breadcrumbs, and dip them for a moment in boiling fat, just as you would do croquettes. Sift some white sugar over them and serve very hot.

[_Madame M._]

QUINCE CUSTARD

When you have quince preserves by you this is a quickly prepared dish.

Make a good custard with a pint of rich milk, four eggs and a little essence of almonds and two ounces of powdered sugar. Put your quince preserve at the bottom of a fireproof circular dish and fill up with custard. Put it to bake for half or hour or till set. When set add some more quince (heated) on the top with some chopped almonds and serve hot.

The same dish can be done with apples, which should be stewed, flavored with the rind of a half lemon, and pa.s.sed through a sieve. Apple puree is put on the top in the same way, and it is decorated with some thin lemon peel cut into stars.

[_Chef reconnaissant._]

YELLOW PLUMS AND RICE