Paper-bag Cookery Part 7

Take nice ripe tomatoes. Plunge into boiling water for a few seconds, then put into cold water for the same length of time. Take them out and pull off the skins, which will now come away readily. Cut them up roughly in a basin; add salt and pepper, the grated rind of half a lemon, a bouquet of herbs, thyme, parsley, and bay leaf, and half a teacupful of water, and a piece of b.u.t.ter. Mix together, and turn into a well b.u.t.tered bag. Cook for twenty minutes. Empty into a hot dish, pick out the bouquet of herbs, and serve immediately.

TOMATO PIE.

Prepare the tomatoes as in the foregoing recipe, and put into a basin roughly cut up. Mix in a tablespoonful of chopped onion, salt, and pepper, a teaspoonful of grated lemon rind, half a cupful of weak stock or water, a tablespoonful of fine bread-crumbs, a small piece of b.u.t.ter.

Have ready macaroni boiled and cut in inch-long pieces. Mix with the tomato. Thickly b.u.t.ter a "Papakuk" bag, put in the pie, and cook for twenty minutes.

STUFFED TOMATOES.

This is a very nice supper or breakfast dish. Choose ripe but firm tomatoes. Cut off the tops, and put them aside. Scoop out the seeds from the tomatoes, and fill with a little minced cooked meat, nicely seasoned; or cut a sheep's kidney in four and use it as stuffing; or a pork sausage skinned and made to fit the hollow. Put a tiny piece of b.u.t.ter on each, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a little minced parsley; fit on the lids, brush over with oiled b.u.t.ter, put into a greased "Papakuk" bag, and cook for twenty minutes.

VEGETABLE MARROWS.

These are particularly good cooked in "Papakuk" fashion. Plainly boiled and served with white sauce, it is an insipid vegetable, and even mashed with b.u.t.ter it is not very savoury. Prepared, however, in the following method, it is both tasty and satisfying. It is best pared before being cooked, although many vegetarians maintain that by doing so a great deal of the flavour and juice is lost, an a.s.sertion made also of the cuc.u.mber. This is very true when either vegetable is cooked in the ordinary way, but not so in paper-bag cookery. Having peeled the marrow, it must be cut in two, lengthways, and all the seeds and fibres removed.

The cavity must be filled with a tasty stuffing of minced onion, cooked meat, finely minced, and half as much bread-crumbs seasoned with salt and pepper, and also some minced parsley, chopped beef suet, and a well-beaten egg. Tie the two halves together with thin string, brush over with oiled b.u.t.ter, put carefully into a thickly greased bag, and cook forty-five minutes.

SLICED VEGETABLE MARROW.

Peel a rather small marrow, and slice it into rings, cutting out all seeds and fibres. Sprinkle each ring with salt and pepper. Have ready a very thick batter, dip each ring in this, and put it, with as much batter as it will take up, into a very thickly b.u.t.tered bag, and cook thirty minutes.

SAVOURY VEGETABLE MARROW.

This is a very tasty vegetable dish. Peel, cut open right through the middle, not lengthways; take four or five ripe tomatoes, plunge first into boiling, then into cold water, to remove the skins, then cut up roughly in a basin, add two onions, finely minced, a teaspoonful of lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, a slice of b.u.t.ter or some grated suet, any remnants of cold ham or bacon there may be in the house, finely minced, a teaspoonful of minced parsley, half a cupful of fine bread-crumbs. Bind the mixture with the yolk of an egg, well beaten, and fill in the two halves of the marrow. Carefully put each half in a separate well b.u.t.tered bag, the mixture side uppermost, and cook for forty-five minutes.

CUc.u.mBER.

Simply peel one or more cuc.u.mbers, brush over with oiled b.u.t.ter, season with salt, pepper, sprinkle over with a little flour, put into a well b.u.t.tered "Papakuk" bag, and cook twenty minutes.

CUc.u.mBER FRITTERS.

Peel a young cuc.u.mber, cut in slices of a medium thickness, season with salt, pepper, the juice of a lemon, and leave them to soak for an hour.

Have ready a thick batter, dip in the slices, sprinkle with minced parsley and a little minced onion, put into a thickly greased bag and cook fifteen minutes.

CUc.u.mBER STUFFED.

Peel a large thick cuc.u.mber, cut off the top, scoop out the seeds, fill with a mixture of minced cold meat, a few bread-crumbs, seasoning, and a little stock to moisten. A very nice stuffing is made with some sausage-meat or some kidneys cut small, flavoured with minced onion and parsley. Fix on the top with white of egg, brush over with oiled b.u.t.ter, sprinkle with bread-crumbs, and cook twenty minutes in a thickly greased bag.

Cereals do not seem very adaptable for paper-bag cookery, but with a little care and attention they lend themselves very fairly to this method of cooking, and gain considerably in flavour thereby.

b.u.t.tER BEANS

are extremely nice cooked in paper-bag fashion. They want a great deal of soaking to be really mellow. Wash the beans well, and put to soak early in the morning in abundance of water. Leave all day. By night the beans will have absorbed most of the water. Pour off any that may remain, leaving them quite dry. Cover the basin and leave till morning.

This gives the beans a much nicer flavour than if they were cooked at once. Next day skin them. They are much superior when the outer skin is removed, and the trouble is really trifling. Put them into a b.u.t.tered bag with a cupful of water, a sprinkle of minced parsley, a tablespoonful of minced onion, two rashers of fat bacon, cut into dice, but no salt, which would render them hard. They will be ready in an hour and a half. If the skins are left on, they will take another half-hour.

Have ready a little b.u.t.ter, just melted over the fire, season with salt and pepper, and pour over the dish of beans before sending to table. If the bacon is omitted, subst.i.tute a good slice of b.u.t.ter in the bag.

LENTILS.

Either Egyptian or German lentils are excellent in a paper bag. Wash them well, soak all night in abundance of fresh, cold water. Next day put them in a well greased "Papakuk" bag, with the water in which they have been soaking, a carrot, a turnip, a parsnip, and an onion, chopped up roughly. Add neither salt nor pepper. Cook two hours, and they will then be tender enough to press through a colander. Season the resulting _puree_ with salt and pepper, re-heat, and serve as a vegetable. Or add enough boiling stock to make a thick cream, stir in carefully a well beaten egg, and serve as soup.

LENTIL CUTLETS.

Cook the lentils as in the recipe already given. When they have been pressed through a colander, add enough bread-crumbs and mashed potato to make a stiff paste, season rather highly with salt, pepper, a little lemon juice, and a tablespoonful of onion juice. Mix thoroughly, form into neat cutlets, place in a thickly b.u.t.tered bag, and cook fifteen minutes.

RICE.

Well wash a cup of rice, and put to soak overnight. Next day put it with the water in which it has soaked and at least another cupful into a very thoroughly greased bag. If it is not sufficiently greased, the rice will stick to it. Cook thirty-five minutes.

SAVOURY RICE.

Soak a cup of well washed rice overnight. Next day put it into a well greased bag with a sliced onion, two skinned and cut-up tomatoes, pepper, salt, a piece of thinly cut lemon rind, a couple of rashers of streaky bacon cut in dice. Add a cupful of stock or water and cook thirty-five minutes.

VEGETABLE ROLL.

Mash a quarter of a pound each of cooked carrot, turnip, vegetable marrow, haricot beans, and potatoes. Season with pepper, salt, grated nutmeg, mixed herbs; mix all well, bind with a beaten egg, form into a shapely roll, put into a greased bag, and cook fifteen minutes.

SAVOURY MACARONI.

Cut cold boiled macaroni into convenient lengths, and put into a basin.

Skin and cut up roughly two or three ripe tomatoes; tinned may be used when fresh ones are expensive. Add these to the macaroni; add also a tablespoonful of strong gravy or some made from "Lemco" or any good meat extract; pepper, salt, a chopped onion, half a cup of fine bread-crumbs, and the zest of a lemon. Put all into a well b.u.t.tered bag and cook fifteen minutes.

GROUND RICE FRITTERS.

Rub ground rice smooth in a little milk, and add enough to boiling milk to make a thick paste. Add to this a tablespoonful of onion juice, a piece of b.u.t.ter the size of a walnut, pepper and salt to taste, and a tablespoonful of grated cheese. Mix well and let it get cold. Form b.a.l.l.s out of the paste, put into a well b.u.t.tered bag, and cook fifteen minutes.

MUSHROOM PUDDING.

Roll out a nice short crust, cut it in two. On one half lay small b.u.t.ton mushrooms, properly cleansed; sprinkle with a little salt and pepper; put bits of b.u.t.ter over them, cover with the other half of pastry; put into a b.u.t.tered bag and cook fifteen minutes.

TURNIP CUPS.

Take nicely shaped round turnips, cut off the tops and scoop out some of the centres; fill with green peas, put little bits of b.u.t.ter on the tops; put the cups carefully into a well greased bag, so as not to upset them. Add cautiously about two tablespoonfuls of water and cook twenty minutes.