FRENCH ARTICHOKES WITH TOMATO SAUCE
Pick off from the solid green globes the outer tough petals. Scoop out with a sharp-pointed knife the fuzzy centres, leaving the soft base, which is the luscious morsel. Cut each artichoke in halves, wash, drain and fry brown on each side in olive oil Make tomato sauce and cook thirty minutes in that mixture. Then serve.
BEET GREENS
Beets are usually thickly sowed, and as the young plants begin to grow they must be thinned out. These plants make delicious greens, and even the tops of the ordinary market beets are good if properly prepared.
Examine the leaves carefully to be sure that there are no insects on them; wash thoroughly in several waters, and put over the fire in a large kettle of boiling water. Add one teaspoon of salt for every two quarts of greens; boil rapidly about thirty minutes or until tender; drain off the water; chop well and season with b.u.t.ter and salt.
BOILED BEETS
Carefully wash any earth off the beets, but every care is needed to avoid breaking the skin, roots or crown; if this is done much of their color will be lost, and they will be a dull pink. Lay them in plenty of boiling water, with a little vinegar; boil them steadily, keeping them well covered with water for about one and one-half to two hours for small beets and two to three and one-half hours for large ones. If they are to be served hot, cut off the roots and crown and rub off the skin directly, but if to be served cold, leave them until they have become cold and then cut into thin slices and sprinkle with salt and pepper and pour some vinegar over them. If to be eaten hot, cut them into thin slices, arrange them on a hot vegetable dish and pour over white sauce or melted b.u.t.ter, or hand these separately.
BAKED BEETS
Boil large beetroot about two hours, being careful not to pierce it.
When cold mash very smooth, add a little drippings, pepper, salt and stock. Place in a greased pan and bake one hour.
SOUR b.u.t.tERED BEETS
Wash as many beets as required and cook in bailing water until tender.
Drain and turn into cold water for peeling. Remove the skins, slice and sprinkle with as much salt as desired. Melt one-half cup of b.u.t.ter in a large frying-pan and add two tablespoons of strained lemon juice. Stir the b.u.t.ter and lemon juice until blended, keeping the fire low. Now turn the beets into this sauce, cover the pan and shake and toss until the sauce has been well distributed. Serve hot at once.
CELERIAC
This vegetable is also known as "knot celery" and "turnip-rooted celery." The roots, which are about the size of a white turnip, and not the stalks are eaten. They are more often used as a vegetable than as a salad.
Pare the celeriac, cut in thin, narrow slices, and put into cold water.
Drain from this water and drop into boiling water and boil thirty minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. The celeriac is now ready to be prepared and served the same as celery.
PUReE OF CELERIAC
Boil as directed above and press through a sieve. To one quart take two tablespoons of b.u.t.ter blended with two tablespoons flour and cooked until smooth and frothy, add the strained celeriac and cook five minutes, stirring frequently. Add one teaspoon of salt and a half cup of cream, cook five minutes longer and serve hot on toast or fried bread.
CAULIFLOWER
Trim off the outside leaves and cut the stalk even with the flower. Let it stand upside down in cold salted water for twenty minutes. Put it into a generous quant.i.ty of rapidly boiling salted water and cook it uncovered about twenty minutes or until tender, but not so soft as to fall to pieces. Remove any sc.u.m from the water before lifting out the cauliflower. If not perfectly white, rub a little white sauce over it.
Serve with it a white, a Bechamel, or a Hollandaise sauce; or it may be served as a garnish to chicken, sweetbreads, etc., the little bunches being broken off and mixed with the sauce.
SPANISH CAULIFLOWER
Finely chop one medium-size onion and a small bunch of parsley. Melt one tablespoon b.u.t.ter in a pan and fry the onion until it is brown. Season with celery salt. Blend in one tablespoon flour, add one cup boiling water and let simmer for half an hour. Carefully clean the cauliflower and boil for one-half hour. Drain the onion sauce, add three tablespoons tomato catsup, drain the cauliflower, turn into a baking-pan, pour over the sauce, place in a moderate oven for five minutes and serve hot.
CAULIFLOWER WITH BROWN CRUMBS
Drain and place the hot cauliflower in serving dish, and pour over it two tablespoons fine bread crumbs browned in one tablespoon of hot b.u.t.ter or fat. Serve hot. Asparagus may be served in this style.
CAULIFLOWER OR ASPARAGUS (HUNGARIAN)
Cook in salt water until tender. Spread with bread crumbs and b.u.t.ter.
Pour some sour cream over the vegetable and bake until the crumbs are a golden brown.
SCALLOPED CAULIFLOWER
Boil and drain off the water, grease a baking-dish, line with a layer of cauliflower, add a layer of toasted bread crumbs, another of cauliflower and so on alternately, letting the top layer be of bread crumbs. Over all pour one cup of boiling milk, dot the top with b.u.t.ter and bake in a moderate oven for twenty minutes.
CAULIFLOWER (ROUMANIAN)
Brown a minced onion, add cauliflower cut in pieces with a small quant.i.ty of water; stew, add salt, white pepper, a little sour salt and red tomatoes; when half done add one-fourth cup of rice. Cook until rice is done. The onion may be browned either in b.u.t.ter, fat or olive oil, as desired.
CREAMED CELERY
Remove the leaves from the stalks of celery; sc.r.a.pe off all rusted or dark spots; cut into small pieces and drop in cold water. Having boiling water ready; put the celery into it, adding one-half teaspoon of salt for every quart of water. Boil until tender, leaving the cover partly off; drain and rinse in cold water. Make a cream sauce; drop the celery into it; heat thoroughly and serve.
LETTUCE
If lettuce has grown until rather too old for salad, it may be cooked, and makes a fairly palatable dish.
BOILED LETTUCE
Wash four or five heads of lettuce, carefully removing thick, bitter stalks and retaining all sound leaves. Cook in plenty of boiling salted water for ten or fifteen minutes, then blanch in cold water for a minute or two. Drain, chop lightly, and heat in stew-pan with some b.u.t.ter, and salt and pepper to taste. If preferred, the chopped lettuce may be heated with a pint of white sauce seasoned with salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg. After simmering for a few minutes in the sauce, draw to a cooler part of the range and stir in the well-beaten yolks of two eggs.
GREEN LIMA BEANS
Cover the sh.e.l.led beans with boiling water; bring to a boil quickly; then let them simmer slowly till tender. Drain and add salt, pepper and b.u.t.ter or hot cream or cream sauce.
CARROTS
Sc.r.a.pe the carrots lightly; cut them into large dice or slices and drop them into salted boiling water, allowing one teaspoon of salt to one quart of water. Boil until tender; drain and serve with b.u.t.ter and pepper or with cream sauce.
LEMON CARROTS