Dr. Allinson's cookery book Part 8

It you have any cold boiled lentils, for instance, some sandwich mixture you wish to use up, proceed as follows: To 1 teacupful of boiled lentils take 3 well-beaten eggs, and pepper and salt to taste.

Add 1 dessertspoonful of water to each egg, and mix the lentils and eggs smooth. Fry the mixture as an omelet in boiling b.u.t.ter.

OMELET MACARONI.

3 oz. of boiled cold macaroni, 3 eggs, 1 dessertspoonful of finely chopped parsley, 1-1/2 oz. of grated cheese, 1/2 a saltspoonful of nutmeg, pepper and salt to taste, 1-1/2 oz. of b.u.t.ter. Cut the macaroni into little pieces; beat the eggs well, and mix them with the macaroni. Add the seasoning, parsley, cheese, and nutmeg; mix all well, and fry the omelet with the b.u.t.ter in a large frying-pan.

OMELET ONION.

4 medium-sized English onions, 1-1/2 oz. of b.u.t.ter, 2 oz. of Allinson breadcrumbs, 4 eggs, 4 tablespoonfuls of milk, pepper and salt to taste. Peel and slice the onions, bake them in a pie-dish with the b.u.t.ter and seasoning, until quite soft. Whip the eggs up, mix them with the milk, breadcrumbs, and the baked onions. Put the mixture into a greased pie-dish, and bake in a moderately hot oven. Serve with tomato sauce.

OMELET SAVOURY.

Soak Allinson wholemeal bread in cold milk and water until soft, then rub smooth, grate 1 onion, beat up 1 egg, and add a few flavouring herbs, and pepper and salt to taste. Mix the whole together, put in a pie-dish, place a few small pieces of b.u.t.ter on the top, and bake about 1/2 hour, or until done. Eat with vegetables and potatoes.

OMELET SOUFFLe.

4 eggs, 3 oz. of sifted castor sugar, the grated rind of 1/2 a lemon, 1 oz. of b.u.t.ter. Beat the yolks of the eggs for 10 minutes with the sugar and lemon rind. Whip the whites of the eggs to a very stiff froth, mix it with the other ingredients, pour the mixture into a well-b.u.t.tered pie-dish or cake tin, and bake the souffle in a moderately hot oven from 10 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

OMELET SOUFFLe (SWEET).

6 eggs, 3 oz. of powdered sugar, 1 oz. of b.u.t.ter, 1 dessertspoonful of potato flour, and 1 dessertspoonful of orangeflower water. Put the yolks of the eggs into a large basin, add the sugar, potato flour, and orange water, and beat all well with a wooden spoon for 10 minutes; beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, and mix them lightly with the other ingredients. Meanwhile beat the b.u.t.ter in the omelet pan; when boiling pour the mixture into it, and fry the omelet over a gentle fire. When it begins to set round the sides shake it very gently from side to side, and turn the omelet neatly out on a b.u.t.tered dish. Set it in the oven for about 10 minutes, and serve immediately with a little castor sugar sifted over it.

OMELET TOMATO (1).

This is made in almost the same way as the savoury omelet, but without the addition of flavouring herbs. 2 average-sized tomatoes are cut up fine, and mixed with the ingredients given above. When tinned tomatoes are used the juice may be made hot and the bread soaked in it instead of in milk and water.

OMELET TOMATO (2).

1 lb. of tomatoes, 1/2 lb. of breadcrumbs, 1 large Spanish onion, 3 eggs, 2 oz. of b.u.t.ter, pepper and salt to taste. Stew the finely chopped onions in the b.u.t.ter for 20 minutes in a covered-up saucepan, add pepper and salt, cut the tomatoes up, add these to the other ingredients. Let all simmer for 20 minutes; pour the mixture over the breadcrumbs, add the eggs well beaten, mix all up thoroughly, and turn the mixture into one or more well-b.u.t.tered shallow tins. Bake the omelet in a quick oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

OMELET TRAPPIST.

4 oz. of fine breadcrumbs, 2 eggs, 1-1/2 oz. of b.u.t.ter, 1/2 teaspoonful of powdered herbs, pepper and salt to taste, 1/2 gill of boiling milk. Moisten the breadcrumbs with the milk, add the eggs well beaten, the herbs and seasoning. Mix all well and smoothly. Melt the b.u.t.ter in the frying-pan, spread the mixture in it, and fry the omelet a golden brown both sides.

SWEET OMELET (1).

3 eggs, 2 oz. of b.u.t.ter, sugar to taste, 1 lemon, and 1/2 a teacupful of new milk. Whip the yolks of the eggs well, adding the grated rind of the lemon, half the b.u.t.ter melted, the milk, and sugar. Just before frying the omelet, add the lemon juice and the whites of the eggs whipped to a stiff froth. Make the rest of the b.u.t.ter boiling hot in an oval omelet pan, the size of the dish on which it is to be served, and fry till lightly browned. Sift sugar over it, and serve immediately.

SWEET OMELET (2).

1/2 pint of new milk, 4 eggs, cinnamon and sugar to taste, 1 oz. of b.u.t.ter, and 1 teaspoonful of Allinson fine wheatmeal. Smooth the wheatmeal with the milk, and mix with the other ingredients. Make the b.u.t.ter boiling hot in a frying-pan, and fry the omelet till lightly browned. Serve immediately with sugar sifted over it.

SWEET OMELET (3).

5 eggs, 1 tablespoonful of castor sugar, 2 tablespoonfuls of water, 2 oz. of b.u.t.ter, some raspberry and currant jam. Melt the b.u.t.ter in an omelet pan, beat the eggs well, stir in the sugar, and pour the mixture into the hot b.u.t.ter. Fry a pale golden colour, and turn it on to a hot dish. Spread some jam on the omelet, double it, and serve at once. The inside of the omelet should remain creamy.

VEGETABLES

GREEN VEGETABLES (General Remarks).

I have not given recipes for the cooking of plain greens, as they are prepared very much alike everywhere in England. There are a number of recipes in this book giving savoury ways of preparing them, and I will now make a few remarks on the cooking of plain vegetables. The English way of boiling them is not at all a good one, as most of the soluble vegetable salts, which are so important to our system, are lost through it. Green vegetables are generally boiled in a great deal of salt water; this is drained off when they are tender, and the vegetables then served. A much better way for all vegetables is to cook them in a very small quant.i.ty of water, and adding a small piece of b.u.t.ter (1 oz. to 2 lb. of greens) and a little salt. When the greens are tender, any water which is not absorbed should be thickened with a little Allinson fine wheatmeal and eaten with the vegetables. A great number of them, such as _Cabbages, Savoys, Brussel sprouts, Scotch kail, turnip-tops, &c., &c._, can be prepared this way.

In the case of vegetables like _asparagus, cauliflower, sea kale, parsnips, artichokes, carrots_ or _celery_, which cannot always be stewed in a little water, this should be saved as stock for soups or sauces. Most of these vegetables are very nice with a white sauce; carrots are particularly pleasant with parsley sauce.

_Spinach_ is a vegetable which English cooks rarely prepare nicely; the Continental way of preparing it is as follows: The spinach is cooked without water, with a little salt; when quite tender it is strained, turned on to a board, and chopped very finely; then it is returned to the saucepan with a piece of b.u.t.ter, a little nutmeg, or a few very finely chopped eschalots and some of the juice previously strained. When the spinach is cooking a little Allinson fine wheatmeal, smoothed in 1 or 2 tablespoonfuls of milk, is added to bind the spinach with the juice; cook it a few minutes longer, and serve it with slices of hard-boiled egg on the top. _Potatoes_ also require a good deal of care. When peeled, potatoes are plainly boiled, they should be placed over the fire after the water has been strained; the potatoes should be lightly shaken to allow the moisture to steam out.

This makes them mealy and more palatable. Potatoes which have been baked in their skins should be p.r.i.c.ked when tender, or the skins be cracked in some way, otherwise they very soon become sodden. A very palatable way of serving potatoes, is to peel them and bake them in a tin with a little oil or b.u.t.ter, or vege-b.u.t.ter; they should be turned occasionally, in order that they should brown evenly. This is not a very hygienic way of preparing potatoes. From a health point of view they are best baked in their skins, or steamed with or without the skins. A good many vegetables may be steamed with advantage; for instance, _cabbage, sprouts, turnips, parsnips, swedes, Scotch kail, &c._ Any way of preparing greens is better than boiling them in a large saucepanful of water and throwing this away. I may just mention that Scotch kail, after being boiled in a little water, should be treated exactly as spinach, and is most delicious in that way; an onion cooked with it greatly improves the flavour.

ARTICHOKES a LA SAUCE BLANCHE.

2 lbs. of artichokes, 1 oz. of Allinson fine wheatmeal, 3/4 pint of milk, 1 egg, juice of 1/2 a lemon, pepper and salt to taste. Peel the artichokes, and boil them in water until tender; cut them into slices 1/2 an inch thick and place them on a dish. Make a sauce of the milk and meal with seasoning; when the sauce has thickened, remove it from the fire, beat up the egg with the lemon juice and add both to the sauce, pour it over the artichokes, and serve.

ARTICHOKES a LA PARMESAN.

2 lbs. of artichokes, 3/4 pint of milk, 1 tablespoonful of Allinson fine wheatmeal, 1 egg, juice of 1/2 a lemon, 2 oz. of grated Parmesan or any other cooking cheese. Proceed as in the recipe for "Celery a la Parmesan," add the cheese to the sauce, and serve the same with sauce as above.

ASPARAGUS (BOILED).

Sc.r.a.pe the white parts of the stalks quite clean, and put them into cold water as they are done. Tie them up into bundles, and cut them all the same length. Now put them into a saucepan, cover with boiling water, add a little salt, and boil gently and steadily for 20 to 30 minutes. Take them out of the water as soon as they are tender, and dish on to rounds of toast with the points to the middle. Serve with them rich melted b.u.t.ter in a tureen.

CABBAGE.

Remove the outer coa.r.s.e leaves, cut the cabbage in four pieces lengthways, and well wash the pieces in salt water. The salt is added because it kills any insects which may be present. Wash the cabbage as often as is necessary in pure water after this to clean it and remove the salt, and then shred it up fine. Set it over the fire with 1/2 pint of water, 1 oz. of b.u.t.ter, a dash of pepper, and a very little salt. Let it cook very gently for 2 hours; when it is quite tender, the liquid can be thickened with a little fine wheatmeal; smooth this with a little milk, or water if milk is not handy; boil it up, and serve.

CARROTS WITH PARSLEY SAUCE.

Scrub and wash as many carrots as are required. Cook them in a little water or steam them until quite tender, then slice them and place them in a saucepan. Make a white sauce as directed in the recipe for "Onions and white sauce," and stir into it a handful of finely-chopped parsley. Pour the sauce over the carrots, and let them simmer for ten minutes. Serve very hot with baked potatoes.