THE COOKING- OF VEGETABLES. 



373 



make up a sauce out of some sauce stock, by blending with it some cream 

 and the beaten yolk of an egg, some grated cheese, nutmeg, pepper, and 

 salt ; mix the Artichokes with it and turn the whole into a well- battered 

 pudding-dish, sprinkle over the surface a mixture of grated cheese and 

 bread-crumbs, and bake in a hot oven till browned. Serve as a second 

 course. 



Pumpkin or Gourd au gratin.— The matured fruit of the Vegetable 

 Marrow makes a capital substitute for Pumpkin. Take a portion of this, 

 or of any other Pumpkin ; cut off the hard skin and remove the seeds ; 

 cut it into cubes of one inch or so, and steam them till tender. Then 

 arrange them in layers in a buttered dish, sprinkling grated cheese, 

 melted butter, some brown sauce, pepper, salt, and nutmeg between the 

 layers. Repeat the ingredients on the top, but be more liberal with the 

 cheese. Brown in a hot oven, and serve as a second course. 



Young Vegetable Marrows, the size of a medium-sized apple, steamed 

 and cut up, and treated in this way, are excellent. A variation can be 

 made by pouring on the top a puree of Tomatos, finishing with grated 

 cheese, and baking as before. 



A number of vegetables can be cooked in this way. For instance, 

 small Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower, Cabbage, nicely blanched Lettuce, 

 Knol Kohl, Turnips, Parsnips, Carrots, Celery, Peas, tender French 

 Beans. The Cauliflower, after having been steamed, should be divided 

 into separate branches. The Cabbage, Lettuce, and Celery, after having 

 been steamed, should be roughly cut into smaller portions ; the Knol 

 Kohl, Turnips, Parsnips, and Carrots should be young, and, after steaming, 

 should be cut up into slices. Of course, the Peas do not require cutting 

 up. A little chopped Onion fried in butter would give a nice flavour to 

 the Peas, in addition to the other ingredients, not forgetting a sprinkling 

 of sugar. 



The seeds of overgrown French Beans, Scarlet Runners, &c, which 

 the French call ' Flageolets,' can be turned to account as follows : — After 

 shelling them, steam them till tender, and drain them. In a saucepan 

 put some butter, some white sauce, a little good stock, chopped Parsley, 

 pepper and salt ; thicken them on the fire, add the Beans, and let the 

 whole simmer for half an hour or so, then add a squeeze of lemon, and 

 serve hot. They can also be cooked in a stone jam-jar with a screw top 

 thus : Put a good bit of butter into the jar, add the shelled Beans, pepper 

 and salt, half a teaspoonful of sugar and a tablespoonful of good sauce 

 stock. Screw down the lid, and apply some paste over it, made of flour 

 and water, well kneaded, to keep in the steam. Then plunge the jar in a 

 saucepan with boiling water, and let it boil for two hours or so. Remove 

 the lid, wrap a napkin round the jar, and hand it round on a plate, with a 

 spoon for serving. 



Peas cooked in the same way, with the addition of a good bit of fresh 

 Mint, are excellent. It is a far better way than simply boiling them. 

 All their fine flavour is retained, and the butter, sugar, and Mint make an 

 exquisite addition. Once tried it will be probably often repeated in the 

 Pea season. 



Some other vegetables, such as small Brussels Sprouts, tender French 

 Beans, Carrots and Turnips cut small, cooked in a jar as just described, 



