New Vegetarian Dishes.
by Mrs. Bowdich.
PREFACE.
There are already a good many vegetarian cookery books, ranging in price from one penny to half-a-crown, but yet, when I am asked, as not unfrequently happens, to recommend such a book, I know of only one which at all fulfils the requirements, and even that one is, I find, rather severely criticised by ladies who know anything about the matter.
To have to live by some of them would almost make a vegetarian turn meat-eater. Most are compilations from other books with the meat dishes left out, and a little porridge and a few beans and peas thrown in. All of them, I believe, contain a lot of puddings and sweets, which certainly are vegetarian, but which can be found in any ordinary cookery book.
What is required is a book that will enable us to provide something to take the place of meat, which, while nourishing, shall at the same time be palatable. This the present book aims at doing. Of the 221 recipes given, upwards of 200 are absolutely original, having been carefully thought out and tested by the author herself, and not hitherto published anywhere. Many of them are as nourishing, weight for weight, as ordinary dishes made with meat, those containing beans, peas, eggs, and the various sorts of grain, being the most nourishing. If they are not all found to be palatable, the fault must be in the individual cook, who cannot have put in the important ingredient of _feeling_, without which no work can be wholly good.
The thorough-going vegetarian, to whom abstinence from meat is part of his ethical code and his religion,--who would as soon think of taking his neighbour"s purse as helping himself to a slice of beef,--is by nature a man of frugal habits and simple tastes. He _prefers_ a plain diet, and knows that the purest enjoyment is to be found in fruits of all kinds as nature supplies them. He needs but little cookery, and that of the simplest. To him this book will be of little use, except when he wishes to entertain his friends.
But there are others who, while not feeling that any moral principle is immediately involved in the matter of diet, yet would like to be relieved from the necessity of eating flesh, possibly on aesthetic grounds, or it may be from hygienic reasons, or in some cases, I hope, because they would willingly diminish the sufferings involved in the transport and slaughter of animals, inevitable as long as they are used for food. To these it is hoped that this little book may act as an encouragement and help.
Nor need our carnivorous friends be afraid of it. A good deal of nonsense is talked (by meat-eaters I mean, of course) about the properties of food, and they would have us believe that they eat a beef-steak mainly because it contains 21.5 per cent. of nitrogen. But we know better. They have eaten steaks for many years, but it was only last week, in working up for a debate, that they found out about the nitrogen. It is not the chemical ingredients which determine the diet, but the _flavour_; and it is quite remarkable, when some tasty vegetarian dishes are on the table, how soon the percentages of nitrogen are forgotten, and how far a small piece of meat will go. If this little book shall succeed in thus weaning away a few from a custom which is bad--bad for the suffering creatures that are butchered--bad for the cla.s.s set apart to be the slaughterers--bad for the consumers physically, in that it produces disease, and morally, in that it tends to feed the lower and more ferocious qualities of mind, and also for ever prevents our treating the animal creation with that _courtesy_ (as Sir Arthur Helps put it) which is their due--then I know that it will not have wholly failed in carrying out the author"s benevolent intention.
ERNEST BELL.
NEW VEGETARIAN DISHES.
GENERAL HINTS.
Haricot Beans.
Among the pulses there is none more nourishing, more generally liked, nor more useful to the vegetarian cook than the haricot bean. Whether on account of its refined flavour, its delicate colour, its size, or last, but not least, its cheapness, I do not hesitate to place it first. Like the potato, however, its very simplicity lays it open to careless treatment, and many who would be the first to appreciate its good qualities if it were placed before them well cooked and served, now recoil from the idea of habitually feeding off what they know only under the guise of a stodgy, insipid, or watery ma.s.s. A few hints, therefore, respecting the best manner of preparing this vegetable may be useful.
Firstly, the beans should invariably be washed and placed in a basin of cold water the night before they are required for use, and should remain in soak about ten or twelve hours. If left longer than this during hot weather they are apt to turn sour.
They should not be cooked in the same water that they have been soaked in.
Soft water must be used to cook them. If this be not obtainable, Maignen"s Ante-Calcaire will be found to render the water soft.
Salt should not be added until they are at least half cooked, as its tendency is to harden them. This applies also to peas, lentils, etc.
They take about two hours to cook, or three if required very soft.
They must not be allowed to boil very fast, for, like potatoes, they are then liable to break before becoming tender.
About two pints of water, one ounce of b.u.t.ter, and one teaspoon of salt to half-pint of soaked beans, may be taken as a fair average.
During soaking they swell to nearly double their original size, and in boiling they double again.
Never throw away the liquor in which they are boiled but reserve it as "stock."
When they are to be plainly served as a vegetable, it is best to remove the lid of the saucepan a few minutes before dishing up, and so reduce the liquor to the desired strength.
When required for frying they should be strained as soon as tender, and spread over a plate to dry. They may then be fried in b.u.t.ter or oil.
Always make a point of tasting them before sending to table, for if not sufficiently salted they are very insipid.
All spices, herbs, etc., boiled with the beans for flavouring purposes, should be tied in a small piece of muslin, which may at any moment be easily removed.
Haricot bean pulp, which will be found frequently mentioned in the following recipes, is made by boiling the beans until tender and rather dry, and then rubbing them through a wire sieve with a wooden spoon.
Lentils.
Next in usefulness to the haricot bean comes the German lentil. This must not be confounded with the Egyptian lentil, which closely resembles the split pea; for not only is the former double the price of the latter, but I may add double its worth also, at least from a culinary point of view.
In vegetarian cookery the lentil takes the place of the dark meats of the flesh-eaters" dietary, such as beef and mutton, the haricot bean supplying a subst.i.tute for the white, such as veal, chicken, etc.
The liquor in which lentils have been boiled forms a rich foundation for dark sauces, also a delicious and nourishing beverage, in flavour resembling beef-tea, can be obtained from them (see Recipe No. 12).
Besides being darker in colour, the flavour of lentils is much more p.r.o.nounced than that of haricots.
Throughout the following recipes the word "lentil" means German lentil, without exception.
Split Peas, etc.
Most of the advice given above respecting haricots and lentils applies to the treatment of split peas, dried green peas, and Egyptian lentils.
Thickenings for Soups and Sauce.
Pearl barley is invaluable for thickening soups, sauces, etc.
It should be strained away when the required consistency is obtained, for if left in too long the flavour is apt to be found a little too strong for some tastes.
Sago, tapioca, rice, and semolina are all useful for thickening, and it is generally advisable to strain the sauces in which they are used, before sending to table.
If paste of flour and b.u.t.ter be used for thickening, there will be no necessity to use a strainer, unless the sauce becomes lumpy. This can generally be remedied, however, by prolonged stirring over the fire.
The paste is made by placing equal quant.i.ties of flour and b.u.t.ter on a plate, and working them together with a knife until the flour is thoroughly incorporated.
Use about one ounce each of flour and b.u.t.ter to one pint of sauce, or to two pints of soup.
For thickening dark sauces, stews, etc., flour which has been baked in the oven until it has turned a very light brown will be found better than white flour. If allowed to become too brown it will acquire a disagreeable flavour.
Frying in Oil.