Janet Ross

“ Young ones take one hour to boil, old ones four. In winter the beet must be put into cold water overnight to make it tender, those that remain hard are unfit to eat. It must be cooked in boiling water, then put into cold water for five or six minutes, when it can be rubbed with a cloth to take off the peel. Cut into slices, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and pour melted fresh butter over it; or it can be put into the oven to bake. Boiled beetroot when wanted for salad ought to be put into wine vinegar to soak. ”

“ Cut into thin round slices and put it into a frying-pan with two onions cut up small, two ounces of butter; stir continually and do not let it brown. Add one spoonful of flour, and milk enough to make a thickish sauce; add three saltspoonfuls of salt, four of sugar, one of pepper, and one tablespoonful of white wine vinegar, and boil for a few minutes. Then put the slices in the pan to simmer for twenty minutes, and have some mashed potatoes ready to make a border round the dish in which to put the beetroot and the sauce, adding a little cream. ”

“ Boil the heads of broccoli in salted water with a little flour. When cooked take them out and drain well. Then put them in a dish and pour the following sauce over them: Melt some butter, salt, pepper, and a tablespoonful of flour in a sauce-pan, add a glass of boiling water, pouring it in a little at a time, and stirring continually. When cooked, take it off the fire and mix the yolk of an egg beaten up with a piece of butter. ”

“ Vegetables should be well washed in cold water to remove insects and dust; if not fresh gathered, leave them some time in cold water, and remember that they take longer to cook than fresh ones. Green vegetables must be put into salted water (one tablespoonful of salt to every two quarts of water) and rapidly cooked over a brisk fire in an open sauce-pan until they are tender. All green vegetables should be removed from the water as soon as cooked, and be well drained before adding the seasoning. ”

“ Put an earthen pot on the fire, and just before the water boils throw in one pint of lentils. As it boils skim off the lentils which float to the surface, and continue to do this until all are taken out; the few which remain at the bottom of the pot must be strained through a sieve. Chop up two anchovies, place them in a sauce-pan with some pure oil and butter, and a little minced shallot, brown them well, put in the lentils, and then add some good stock or soup. When cooked serve up hot. ”

“ A Bain-Marie is a large copper pan placed on the fire, and containing boiling water in which are put smaller pans with anything to be kept hot, or cooked without boiling. Milk is better cooked in Bain-Marie, than in a sauce-pan on the fire. ”

“ Cut up two boiled carrots, one small turnip, half a bunch of asparagus (the green part) one small beetroot, and some cold chicken or partridge, into dice, take some cold boiled young French beans, and green peas, one tablespoonful of capers, some stoned olives, slices of anchovies, and some prawns. Make a sauce of pure olive oil (a good deal) , a little vinegar, pepper, half a pinch cayenne, some mustard, a spoonful of caviare, and one finely chopped shalot. ”

“ Boil a cauliflower in salted water for one hour, drain, and break it into bits. Put a layer of cauliflower into a pie-dish, cover with Béchamel or ‘Alla Panna’ sauce (see Sauces, pp. 119, 125) , and sprinkle with some grated cheese. Fill the dish with alternate layers of cauliflowers and sauce, then cover the top with bread-crumbs, grated cheese, and bits of butter. Bake in a moderate oven for half an hour. Serve hot. ”

“ Cut one carrot and one turnip into slices and cook them in boiling soup. When cold mix them with two large cold, boiled potatoes, and one beetroot cut into strips. Add a very little chopped leeks, or onion, pour some sauce ‘Lombarda’ (see Sauces, p. 123) over the salad, and garnish with water-cress. ”

“ To make croûtons, cut bread into whatever shape you want. Take off the crust, dip the pieces into melted butter, and toast in the oven, turn often in order to colour evenly, or fry them in boiling oil or fat. ”

“ Laschi says, ‘the epoch of Charles V. is the greatest of modern times, for the culture of the spirit induced the culture of the body.’ But he does not mention vegetables or herbs at all. For them we must go back to the ancients. Bitterly did the Israelites, when wandering in the desert, regret ‘the cucumbers and the melons we did eat in Egypt’ ”