Part 20 (1/2)

_Mode_.--Put all the ingredients, except the force-meat b.a.l.l.s and lemon-juice, in an earthen jar, and stew for 6 hours. Do not open it till cold. When wanted for use, skim off all the fat, and strain carefully; place it on the fire, cut up the meat into inch-and-a-half squares, put it, with the force-meat b.a.l.l.s and lemon-juice, into the soup, and serve. It can be flavoured with a tablespoonful of anchovy, or Harvey's sauce.

_Time_.--6 hours. _Average cost_,1s. 4d. per quart.

_Seasonable_ in winter.

_Sufficient_ for 10 persons.

THE CALF--The flesh of this animal is called veal, and when young, that is, under two months old, yields a large quant.i.ty of soluble extract, and is, therefore, much employed for soups and broths. The Ess.e.x farmers have obtained a celebrity for fattening calves better than any others in England, where they are plentifully supplied with milk, a thing impossible to be done in the immediate neighbourhood of London.

MARJORAM.--There are several species of this plant; but that which is preferred for cookery is a native of Portugal, and is called sweet or knotted marjoram. When its leaves are dried, they have an agreeable aromatic flavour; and hence are used for soups, stuffings, &c.

BASIL.--This is a native of the East Indies, and is highly aromatic, having a perfume greatly resembling that of cloves. It is not much employed in English cookery, but is a favourite with French cooks, by whom its leaves are used in soups and salads.

MULLAGATAWNY SOUP.

174. INGREDIENTS.--2 tablespoonfuls of curry powder, 6 onions, 1 clove of garlic, 1 oz. of pounded almonds, a little lemon-pickle, or mango-juice, to taste; 1 fowl or rabbit, 4 slices of lean bacon; 2 quarts of medium stock, or, if wanted very good, best stock.

_Mode_.-=Slice and fry the onions of a nice colour; line the stewpan with the bacon; cut up the rabbit or fowl into small joints, and slightly brown them; put in the fried onions, the garlic, and stock, and simmer gently till the meat is tender; skim very carefully, and when the meat is done, rub the curry powder to a smooth batter; add it to the soup with the almonds, which must be first pounded with a little of the stock. Put in seasoning and lemon-pickle or mango-juice to taste, and serve boiled rice with it.

_Time_.--2 hours. _Average cost_, 1s. 6d. per quart, with stock No. 105.

_Seasonable_ in winter.

_Sufficient_ for 8 persons.

_Note_.--This soup can also be made with breast of veal, or calf's head.

Vegetable Mullagatawny is made with veal stock, by boiling and pulping chopped vegetable marrow, cuc.u.mbers, onions, and tomatoes, and seasoning with curry powder and cayenne. Nice pieces of meat, good curry powder, and strong stock, are necessary to make this soup good.

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

CORIANDER.--This plant, which largely enters into the composition of curry powder with turmeric, originally comes from the East; but it has long been cultivated in England, especially in Ess.e.x, where it is reared for the use of confectioners and druggists. In private gardens, it is cultivated for the sake of its tender leaves, which are highly aromatic, and are employed in soups and salads. Its seeds are used in large quant.i.ties for the purposes of distillation.

A GOOD MUTTON SOUP.

175. INGREDIENTS.--A neck of mutton about 5 or 6 lbs., 3 carrots, 3 turnips, 2 onions, a large bunch of sweet herbs, including parsley; salt and pepper to taste; a little sherry, if liked; 3 quarts of water.

_Mode_.--Lay the ingredients in a covered pan before the fire, and let them remain there the whole day, stirring occasionally. The next day put the whole into a stewpan, and place it on a brisk fire. When it commences to boil, take the pan off the fire, and put it on one side to simmer until the meat is done. When ready for use, take out the meat, dish it up with carrots and turnips, and send it to table; strain the soup, let it cool, skim off all the fat, season and thicken it with a tablespoonful, or rather more, of arrowroot; flavour with a little sherry, simmer for 5 minutes, and serve.

_Time_.--15 hours. _Average cost_, including the meat, 1s. 3d. per quart.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

_Sufficient_ for 8 persons.

THE SHEEP.--This animal formed the princ.i.p.al riches of the patriarchs, in the days of old, and, no doubt, multiplied, until its species were spread over the greater part of Western Asia; but at what period it was introduced to Britain is not known. It is now found in almost every part of the globe, although, as a domestic animal, it depends almost entirely upon man for its support. Its value, however, amply repays him for whatever care and kindness he may bestow upon it; for, like the ox, there is scarcely a part of it that he cannot convert to some useful purpose. The fleece, which serves it for a covering, is appropriated by man, to serve the same end to himself, whilst its skin is also applied to various purposes in civilized life.

Its entrails are used as strings for musical instruments, and its bones are calcined, and employed as tests in the trade of the refiner. Its milk, being thicker than that of the cow, yields a greater quant.i.ty of b.u.t.ter and cheese, and its flesh is among the most wholesome and nutritive that can be eaten.

Thomson has beautifully described the appearance of the sheep, when bound to undergo the operation of being shorn of its wool.

”Behold, where bound, and of its robe bereft By needy man, that all-depending lord, How meek, how patient, the mild creature lies!