Part 61 (1/2)

_Sufficient_ for a small salad.

This recipe can be confidently recommended by the editress, to whom it was given by an intimate friend noted for her salads.

SCARCITY OF SALADS IN ENGLAND.--Three centuries ago, very few vegetables were cultivated in England, and an author writing of the period of Henry VIII.'s reign, tells us that neither salad, nor carrots, nor cabbages, nor radishes, nor any other comestibles of a like nature, were grown in any part of the kingdom: they came from Holland and Flanders. We further learn, that Queen Catharine herself, with all her royalty, could not procure a salad of English growth for her dinner. The king was obliged to mend this sad state of affairs, and send to Holland for a gardener in order to cultivate those pot-herbs, in the growth of which England is now, perhaps, not behind any other country in Europe.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE OLIVE.]

THE OLIVE AND OLIVE OIL.--This tree a.s.sumes a high degree of interest from the historical circ.u.mstances with which it is connected. A leaf of it was brought into the ark by the dove, when that vessel was still floating on the waters of the great deep, and gave the first token that the deluge was subsiding.

Among the Greeks, the prize of the victor in the Olympic games was a wreath of wild olive; and the ”Mount of Olives” is rendered familiar to our ears by its being mentioned in the Scriptures as near to Jerusalem. The tree is indigenous in the north of Africa, Syria, and Greece; and the Romans introduced it to Italy. In Spain and the south of France it is now cultivated; and although it grows in England, its fruit does not ripen in the open air. Both in Greece and Portugal the fruit is eaten in its ripe state; but its taste is not agreeable to many palates.

To the Italian shepherd, bread and olives, with a little wine, form a nouris.h.i.+ng diet; but in England, olives are usually only introduced by way of dessert, to destroy the taste of the viands which have been previously eaten, that the flavour of the wine may be the better enjoyed. There are three kinds of olives imported to London,--the French, Spanish, and Italian: the first are from Provence, and are generally accounted excellent; the second are larger, but more bitter; and the last are from Lucca, and are esteemed the best. The oil extracted from olives, called olive oil, or salad oil, is, with the continentals, in continual request, more dishes being prepared with than without it, we should imagine. With us, it is princ.i.p.ally used in mixing a salad, and when thus employed, it tends to prevent fermentation, and is an antidote against flatulency.

II.

507. INGREDIENTS.--4 eggs, 1 teaspoonful of mixed mustard, 1/4 teaspoonful of white pepper, half that quant.i.ty of cayenne, salt to taste, 4 tablespoonfuls of cream, vinegar.

_Mode_.--Boil the eggs until hard, which will be in about 1/4 hour or 20 minutes; put them into cold water, take off the sh.e.l.ls, and pound the yolks in a mortar to a smooth paste. Then add all the other ingredients, except the vinegar, and stir them well until the whole are thoroughly incorporated one with the other. Pour in sufficient vinegar to make it of the consistency of cream, taking care to add but little at a time.

The mixture will then be ready for use.

_Average cost_, for this quant.i.ty, 7d.

_Sufficient_ for a moderate-sized salad.

_Note_.--The whites of the eggs, cut into rings, will serve very well as a garnis.h.i.+ng to the salad.

III.

508. INGREDIENTS.--1 egg, 1 teaspoonful of salad oil, 1 teaspoonful of mixed mustard, 1/4 teaspoonful of salt, 1/2 teaspoonful of pounded sugar, 2 tablespoonfuls of vinegar, 6 tablespoonfuls of cream.

_Mode_.--Prepare and mix the ingredients by the preceding recipe, and be very particular that the whole is well stirred.

_Note_.--In making salads, the vegetables, &c., should never be added to the sauce very long before they are wanted for table; the dressing, however, may always be prepared some hours before required. Where salads are much in request, it is a good plan to bottle off sufficient dressing for a few days' consumption, as, thereby, much time and trouble are saved. If kept in a cool place, it will remain good for 4 or 5 days.

POETIC RECIPE FOR SALAD.--The Rev. Sydney Smith, the witty canon of St. Paul's, who thought that an enjoyment of the good things of this earth was compatible with aspirations for things higher, wrote the following excellent recipe for salad, which we should advise our readers not to pa.s.s by without a trial, when the hot weather invites to a dish of cold lamb. May they find the flavour equal to the rhyme.--

”Two large potatoes, pa.s.s'd through kitchen sieve, Smoothness and softness to the salad give: Of mordent mustard add a single spoon, Distrust the condiment that bites too soon; But deem it not, thou man of herbs, a fault.

To add a double quant.i.ty of salt: Four times the spoon with oil of Lucca crown, And twice with vinegar procured from 'town; True flavour needs it, and your poet begs, The pounded yellow of two well-boil'd eggs.

Let onion's atoms lurk within the bowl, And, scarce suspected, animate the whole; And, lastly, in the flavour'd compound toss A magic spoonful of anchovy sauce.

Oh! great and glorious, and herbaceous treat, 'Twould tempt the dying anchorite to eat.

Back to the world he'd turn his weary soul, And plunge his fingers in the salad-bowl.”

SAUCE ALLEMANDE, or GERMAN SAUCE.

509. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 pint of sauce tournee (No. 517), the yolks of 2 eggs.

_Mode_.--Put the sauce into a stewpan, heat it, and stir to it the beaten yolks of 2 eggs, which have been previously strained. Let it just simmer, but not boil, or the eggs will curdle; and after they are added to the sauce, it must be stirred without ceasing. This sauce is a general favourite, and is used for many made dishes.