Part 139 (1/2)

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.