Part 138 (1/2)

1143. INGREDIENTS.--8 to 10 middling-sized potatoes, 3 oz. of b.u.t.ter, 2 tablespoonfuls of flour, 1/2 pint of broth, 2 tablespoonfuls of vinegar.

_Mode_.--Put the b.u.t.ter and flour into a stewpan; stir over the fire until the b.u.t.ter is of a nice brown colour, and add the broth and vinegar; peel and cut the potatoes into long thin slices, lay them in the gravy, and let them simmer gently until tender, which will be in from 10 to 15 minutes, and serve very hot. A laurel-leaf simmered with the potatoes is an improvement.

_Time_.--10 to 15 minutes.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

PRESERVING POTATOES.--In general, potatoes are stored or preserved in pits, cellars, pies, or camps; but, whatever mode is adopted, it is essential that the tubers be perfectly dry; otherwise, they will surely rot; and a few rotten potatoes will contaminate a whole ma.s.s. The pie, as it is called, consists of a trench, lined and covered with straw; the potatoes in it being piled in the shape of a house roof, to the height of about three feet. The camps are shallow pits, filled and ridged up in a similar manner, covered up with the excavated mould of the pit.

In Russia and Canada, the potato is preserved in boxes, in houses or cellars, heated, when necessary, to a temperature one or two degrees above the freezing-point, by stoves. To keep potatoes for a considerable time, the best way is to place them in thin layers on a platform suspended in an ice-cellar: there, the temperature being always below that of active vegetation, they will not sprout; while, not being above one or two degrees below the freezing-point, the tubers will not be frostbitten.

Another mode is to scoop out the eyes with a very small scoop, and keep the roots buried in earth; a third mode is to destroy the vital principle, by kiln-drying, steaming, or scalding; a fourth is to bury them so deep in dry soil, that no change of temperature will reach them; and thus, being without air, they will remain upwards of a year without vegetating.

POTATOES A LA MAITRE D'HOTEL.

1144. INGREDIENTS.--Potatoes, salt and water; to every 6 potatoes allow 1 tablespoonful of minced parsley, 2 oz. of b.u.t.ter, pepper and salt to taste, 4 tablespoonfuls of gravy, 2 tablespoonfuls of lemon-juice.

_Mode_.--Wash the potatoes clean, and boil them in salt and water by recipe No. 1138; when they are done, drain them, let them cool; then peel and cut the potatoes into thick slices: if these are too thin, they would break in the sauce. Put the b.u.t.ter into a stewpan with the pepper, salt, gravy, and parsley; mix these ingredients well together, put in the potatoes, shake them two or three times, that they may be well covered with the sauce, and, when quite hot through, squeeze in the lemon-juice, and serve.

_Time_.--1/2 to 3/4 hour to boil the potatoes; 10 minutes for them to heat in the sauce.

_Average cost_, 4s. per bushel.

_Sufficient_ for 3 persons. _Seasonable_ all the year.

MASHED POTATOES.

1145. INGREDIENTS.--Potatoes; to every lb. of mashed potatoes allow 1 oz. of b.u.t.ter, 2 tablespoonfuls of milk, salt to taste.

_Mode_.--Boil the potatoes in their skins; when done, drain them, and let them get thoroughly dry by the side of the fire; then peel them, and, as they are peeled, put them into a clean saucepan, and with a large fork beat them to a light paste; add b.u.t.ter, milk, and salt in the above proportion, and stir all the ingredients well over the fire. When thoroughly hot, dish them lightly, and draw the fork backwards over the potatoes to make the surface rough, and serve. When dressed in this manner, they may be browned at the top with a salamander, or before the fire. Some cooks press the potatoes into moulds, then turn them out, and brown them in the oven: this is a pretty mode of serving, but it makes them heavy. In whatever way they are sent to table, care must be taken to have them quite free from lumps.

_Time_.--From 1/2 to 3/4 hour to boil the potatoes.

_Average cost_, 4s. per bushel.

_Sufficient_,--1 lb. of mashed potatoes for 3 persons.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

PUREE DE POMMES DE TERRE, or, Very Thin-mashed Potatoes.

1146. INGREDIENTS.--To every lb. of mashed potatoes allow 1/4 pint of good broth or stock, 2 oz. of b.u.t.ter.

_Mode_.--Boil the potatoes, well drain them, and pound them smoothly in a mortar, or beat them up with a fork; add the stock or broth, and rub the potatoes through a sieve. Put the puree into a very clean saucepan with the b.u.t.ter; stir it well over the fire until thoroughly hot, and it will then be ready to serve. A puree should be rather thinner than mashed potatoes, and is a delicious accompaniment to delicately broiled mutton cutlets. Cream or milk may be subst.i.tuted for the broth when the latter is not at hand. A ca.s.serole of potatoes, which is often used for ragots instead of rice, is made by mas.h.i.+ng potatoes rather thickly, placing them on a dish, and making an opening in the centre. After having browned the potatoes in the oven, the dish should be wiped clean, and the ragout or frica.s.see poured in.

_Time_.--About 1/2 hour to boil the potatoes; 6 or 7 minutes to warm the puree.

_Average cost_, 4s. per bushel.

_Sufficient_.--Allow 1 lb. of cooked potatoes for 3 persons.