The Book of Household Management Part 139

SALSIFY.--This esculent is, for the sake of its roots, cultivated in gardens. It belongs to the Composite cla.s.s of flowers, which is the most extensive family in the vegetable kingdom. This family is not only one of the most natural and most uniform in structure, but there is also a great similarity existing in the properties of the plants of which it is composed. Generally speaking, all composite flowers are tonic or stimulant in their medical virtues.

BOILED SEA-KALE.

1150. INGREDIENTS.--To each 1/2 gallon of water allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BOILED SEA-KALE.]

_Mode_.--Well wash the kale, cut away any wormeaten pieces, and tie it into small bunches; put it into _boiling_ water, salted in the above proportion, and let it boil quickly until tender. Take it out, drain, untie the bunches, and serve with plain melted b.u.t.ter or white sauce, a little of which may be poured over the kale. Sea-kale may also be parboiled and stewed in good brown gravy: it will then take about 1/2 hour altogether.

_Time_.--15 minutes; when liked very thoroughly done, allow an extra 5 minutes.

_Average cost_, in full season, 9d. per basket.

_Sufficient_.--Allow 12 heads for 4 or 5 persons.

_Seasonable_ from February to June.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SEA-KALE.]

SEA-KALE.--This plant belongs to the Asparagus tribe, and grows on seash.o.r.es, especially in the West of England, and in the neighbourhood of Dublin. Although it is now in very general use, it did not come into repute till 1794. It is easily cultivated, and is esteemed as one of the most valuable esculents indigenous to Britain. As a vegetable, it is stimulating to the appet.i.te, easily digestible, and nutritious. It is so light that the most delicate organizations may readily eat it. The flowers form a favourite resort for bees, as their petals contain a great amount of saccharine matter.

BOILED SALAD.

1151. INGREDIENTS.--2 heads of celery, 1 pint of French beans, lettuce, and endive.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FRENCH BEANS.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: CHERVIL.]

_Mode_.--Boil the celery and beans separately until tender, and cut the celery into pieces about 2 inches long. Put these into a salad-bowl or dish; pour over either of the sauces No. 506, 507, or 508, and garnish the dish with a little lettuce finely chopped, blanched endive, or a few tufts of boiled cauliflower. This composition, if less agreeable than vegetables in their raw state, is more wholesome; for salads, however they may be compounded, when eaten uncooked, prove to some people indigestible. Tarragon, chervil, burnet, and boiled onion, may be added to the above salad with advantage, as also slices of cold meat, poultry, or fish.

_Seasonable_ from July to October.

ACETARIOUS VEGETABLES.--By the term Acetarious vegetables, is expressed a numerous cla.s.s of plants, of various culture and habit, which are princ.i.p.ally used as salads, pickles, and condiments. They are to be considered rather as articles of comparative luxury than as ordinary food, and are more desirable for their coolness, or their agreeable flavour, than for their nutritive powers.

CAULIFLOWER.--The cauliflower is less indigestible than the cabbage; it possesses a most agreeable flavour, and is sufficiently delicate to be served at the tables of the wealthy.

It is a wholesome vegetable, but should be eaten moderately, as it induces flatulence. Persons of weak const.i.tutions and delicate stomachs should abstain from cauliflower as much as possible. They may be prepared in a variety of ways; and, in selecting them, the whitest should be chosen; those tinged with green or yellow being of indifferent quality.

SUMMER SALAD.

1152. INGREDIENTS.--3 lettuces, 2 handfuls of mustard-and-cress, 10 young radishes, a few slices of cuc.u.mber.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SALAD IN BOWL.]

_Mode_.--Let the herbs be as fresh as possible for a salad, and, if at all stale or dead-looking, let them lie in water for an hour or two, which will very much refresh them. Wash and carefully pick them over, remove any decayed or wormeaten leaves, and drain them thoroughly by swinging them gently in a clean cloth. With a silver knife, cut the lettuces into small pieces, and the radishes and cuc.u.mbers into thin slices; arrange all these ingredients lightly on a dish, with the mustard-and-cress, and pour under, but not over the salad, either of the sauces No. 506, 507, or 508, and do not stir it up until it is to be eaten. It may be garnished with hard-boiled eggs, cut in slices, sliced cuc.u.mbers, nasturtiums, cut vegetable-flowers, and many other things that taste will always suggest to make a pretty and elegant dish. In making a good salad, care must be taken to have the herbs freshly gathered, and _thoroughly drained_ before the sauce is added to them, or it will be watery and thin. Young spring onions, cut small, are by many persons considered an improvement to salads; but, before these are added, the cook should always consult the taste of her employer. Slices of cold meat or poultry added to a salad make a convenient and quickly-made summer luncheon-dish; or cold fish, flaked, will also be found exceedingly nice, mixed with it.

_Average cost_, 9d. for a salad for 5 or 6 persons; but more expensive when the herbs are forced.

_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.

_Seasonable_ from May to September.

CUc.u.mBERS.--The cuc.u.mber is refreshing, but neither nutritious nor digestible, and should be excluded from the regimen of the delicate. There are various modes of preparing cuc.u.mbers. When gathered young, they are called gherkins: these, pickled, are much used in seasonings.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CUc.u.mBER-SLICE.]

RADISHES.--This is the common name given to the root of the _Rapha.n.u.s satious_, one of the varieties of the cultivated horseradish. There are red and white radishes; and the French have also what they call violet and black ones, of which the black are the larger. Radishes are composed of nearly the same const.i.tuents as turnips, that is to say, mostly fibre and nitrogen; and, being generally eaten raw, it is on the last of these that their flavour depends. They do not agree with people, except those who are in good health, and have active digestive powers; for they are difficult of digestion, and cause flatulency and wind, and are the cause of headaches when eaten to excess. Besides being eaten raw, they are sometimes, but rarely, boiled; and they also serve as a pretty garnish for salads. In China, the radish may be found growing naturally, without cultivation; and may be occasionally met with in England as a weed, in similar places to where the wild turnip grows; it, however, thrives best in the garden, and the ground it likes best is a deep open loam, or a well-manured sandy soil.

[Ill.u.s.tration: TURNIP RADISHES.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: LONG RADISHES.]

WINTER SALAD.

1153. INGREDIENTS.--Endive, mustard-and-cress, boiled beetroot, 3 or 4 hard-boiled eggs, celery.

_Mode_.--The above ingredients form the princ.i.p.al const.i.tuents of a winter salad, and may be converted into a very pretty dish, by nicely contrasting the various colours, and by tastefully garnishing it. Shred the celery into thin pieces, after having carefully washed and cut away all wormeaten pieces; cleanse the endive and mustard-and-cress free from grit, and arrange these high in the centre of a salad-bowl or dish; garnish with the hard-boiled eggs and beetroot, both of which should be cut in slices; and pour into the dish, but not over the salad, either of the sauces No. 506, 507, or 508. Never dress a salad long before it is required for table, as, by standing, it loses its freshness and pretty crisp and light appearance; the sauce, however, may always be prepared a few hours beforehand, and when required for use, the herbs laid lightly over it.

_Average cost_, 9d. for a salad for 5 or 6 persons.

_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.

_Seasonable_ from the end of September to March.

SALADS.--Salads are raw vegetables, of which, among us, the lettuce is the most generally used; several others, however, such as cresses, celery, onions, beetroot, &c., are occasionally employed. As vegetables eaten in a raw state are apt to ferment on the stomach, and as they have very little stimulative power upon that organ, they are usually dressed with some condiments, such as pepper, vinegar, salt, mustard, and oil. Respecting the use of these, medical men disagree, especially in reference to oil, which is condemned by some and recommended by others.

POTATO SALAD.

1154. INGREDIENTS.--10 or 12 cold boiled potatoes, 4 tablespoonfuls of tarragon or plain vinegar, 6 tablespoonfuls of salad-oil, pepper and salt to taste, 1 teaspoonful of minced parsley.

_Mode_.--Cut the potatoes into slices about 1/2 inch in thickness; put these into a salad-bowl with oil and vinegar in the above proportion; season with pepper, salt, and a teaspoonful of minced parsley; stir the salad well, that all the ingredients may be thoroughly incorporated, and it is ready to serve. This should be made two or three hours before it is wanted for table. Anchovies, olives, or pickles may be added to this salad, as also slices of cold beef, fowl, or turkey.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

CHICKEN SALAD.--(See No. 931.)

GROUSE SALAD.--(See No. 1020.)

LOBSTER SALAD.--(See No. 272.)

TO BOIL SPINACH (English Mode).

1155. INGREDIENTS.--2 pailfuls of spinach, 2 heaped tablespoonfuls of salt, 1 oz. of b.u.t.ter, pepper to taste.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SPINACH GARNISHED WITH CROTONS.]

_Mode_.--Pick the spinach carefully, and see that no stalks or weeds are left amongst it; wash it in several waters, and, to prevent it being gritty, act in the following manner:--Have ready two large pans or tubs filled with water; put the spinach into one of these, and thoroughly wash it; then, _with the hands_, take out the spinach, and put it into the _other tub_ of water (by this means all the grit will be left at the bottom of the tub); wash it again, and, should it not be perfectly free from dirt, repeat the process. Put it into a very large saucepan, with about 1/2 pint of water, just sufficient to keep the spinach from burning, and the above proportion of salt. Press it down frequently with a wooden spoon, that it may be done equally; and when it has boiled for rather more than 10 minutes, or until it is perfectly tender, drain it in a colander, squeeze it quite dry, and chop it finely. Put the spinach into a clean stewpan, with the b.u.t.ter and a seasoning of pepper; stir the whole over the fire until quite hot; then put it on a hot dish, and garnish with sippets of toasted bread.