GREEN PEA-SOUP MAIGRE.-E. R.

72.-Take 5 or 6 cucumbers, pared and sliced, the white part of as many cos-lettuces, a sprig or two of mint, 2 or 3 onions, some pepper and salt, a full pint of young peas, a little parsley, and lb. of butter. Put them all together in a saucepan to stew in their own liquor for an hour and a half, or until they are quite tender; then boil as many old peas, pulp them through a colander, and mix in a quart of the liquor or more, according to the thickness which may be desirable: when the herbs are stewed put them in, and serve up. This soup will be found excellent.

Or:-As used in Italy.-Boil a quart of full-grown peas ingallon of water until tender enough to pulp through a coarse sieve; then put the pulp, a cos-lettuce, 2 good-sized cucumbers sliced, and a pint of young peas, into the liquor. Stew gently, until the vegetables become extremely tender; then add pepper and salt to your taste, chopped mint, and 2 oz. of butter rubbed in a spoonful of flour, and boil 10 minutes.

A more elaborate method.-Slice a French roll, and boil it in 6 quarts of water until it is perfectly dissolved; take all the old peas found in a peck and a half, keeping the young ones separate; boil the old peas with the bread and water, and when tender strain them; reserve the water, and pulp the peas through a sieve, putting them by for the present; boil the young peas, with a sprig of mint, a little mace and pepper, in the strained soup, and while they are simmering put lb. of butter into a frying-pan, and when it boils cut in 2 lettuces, 2 handfuls of young spinach, a little parsley chopped, a dozen of small silver onions, and 2 cucumbers cut in slices. After stewing for some time, add a large tablespoonful of flour, the pulped peas, and then that which has the young peas in it, simmering the whole together for 10 minutes.

POTATO SOUP MAIGRE.

73.-Take some large mealy potatoes; peel and cut them into small slices, with an onion; boil them in 3 pints of water till tender, and then pulp them through a colander; add a small piece of butter, a little cayenne pepper and salt, and, just before the soup is served, 2 spoonfuls of good cream. The soup must not be allowed to boil after the cream has been put into it.

N.B.-This will be found a most excellent soup, and, being easily and quickly made, is useful upon an emergency, when such an addition is suddenly required to the dinner.

ONION SOUP MAIGRE.

74. Slice a dozen large onions-Spanish, if they can be got-with a couple of turnips and 2 heads of celery. Fry them in lb. of butter until quite brown, but not allowing them to burn. When of a nice colour, put them into a gallon of boiling water, with either a soft-roed red herring, or 2 or 3 anchovies, or a tablespoonful of anchovy sauce, seasoned with a few blades of pounded mace and some grains of allspice, pepper, and salt, and let the whole stew until it is tender enough to pulp. When ready, have the crumb of a couple of French rolls boiled in milk, and pass them along with the vegetables through the colander. Put it again on the fire to stew for a few minutes till quite hot; and if not sufficiently thick, add the yolks of raw eggs, to be beaten up into the soup when just going to be put on the table.

CABBAGE, SPINACH, AND LETTUCE SOUPES-MAIGRES. 75.-Put from lb. to a lb. of salt butter in a stewpan, according to the quantity wanted: throw in 3 or 4 sliced onions to brown; when nicely coloured, add the vegetables cut fine, along with a small handful of peppercorns, a handful of chervil and sorrel, a few cloves, and the necessary quantity of salt, and let all simmer together until tender, though not so soft as to become a pulp. That done, beat up the yolks of a few eggs with the pith of a French roll or two wetted in some ginger-wine until they become thoroughly soaked; beat them up with a fork, and mix them gradually with the soup to thicken it. It should then be served immediately. A squeeze of lemon may be added.

CHAPTER VIII.

BEEF.

BEEF is dressed in various ways all the year round; but, for roasting, the best season is from November to the end of March. For joints, the only really good roasting pieces are the sirloin and the long ribs; the short ribs, which are cut near the neck, never roast well, and should not be used for this purpose; the middle ribs are the best. The under part, or fillet, of the sirloin, if cut out, may be made into a delicious stew; or, if cut crosswise into steaks, they will be found more tender than those of the rump.

Some persons divide the round, and roast the half called the upper side, which in young beef is tender and full of gravy. The silver side should be salted, being one of the best boiling pieces in the ox. The aitch-bone, although almost invariably salted and boiled, yet, if roasted when fresh, makes perhaps the richest gravy of any part of the ox; but, when cold, is not so good as if salted.

Beef requires to be hung a long time, in order to ensure its being tender. When, however, the weather is not favourable for keeping, it will be much improved by being laid for a few hours previous to roasting in a marinade of this kind-three parts water to one of vinegar, some salt, with a few peppercorns. Each joint must be carefully examined before it is spitted, and any portions that may have been injured cut away.

In Scotland, meat of every sort is preserved by covering it completely with oatmeal, taking it out every day, wiping it, and then replacing it in the meal; and should it appear at all tainted, it is soaked for some hours in oatmeal and water before being dressed or strewing over it some coarsely-powdered charcoal will materially assist in its preservation.

RIBS OF BEEF ROASTED.

76.-Cut out the chine-bones from the thick end of the ribs,

and also the strong sinew or leather; fasten the “bark,” or outside fat, with a few skewers; spit it through the thick part and the point of the ribs. When one or two ribs are purchased by a small family, it is a good plan to have the bones taken out, and the meat rolled round in the shape of a fillet; a considerable saving is effected by this plan, as, when not so prepared, the thin part at the extremity of the bone is frequently wasted. The bone cut out when the meat is raw will assist in making soup, and is much preferable to a cold beef-bone. They are sometimes cut off short, and salted or stewed, but rolling is the better plan; and in this manner a single rib can be skewered into a handsome fillet; the fat and lean being marbled, and the appearance of the whole improved.

TO COLLAR RIBS OF BEEF.

77.—Take 2 or 3 ribs of beef; cut it from the bones; rub it well with salt, brown sugar, and saltpetre; let it remain a fortnight, turning it every day; then season it with pepper, mace, cloves, allspice, and a clove of garlic chopped very fine; cover it well with parsley, thyme, and sweet marjoram; roll it up very tight, and bind it round with tape; put it into a pot with some water, cover it close up, and send it to the oven to be baked very slowly 3 or 4 hours; then take it out, and press it between 2 boards with weights. This is an excellent dish for luncheon or breakfast.

A Marinade to baste Roast Meats.-Chop up some fat bacon with a clove of garlic and a sprig of parsley; add salt, pepper, a spoonful of vinegar, and 4 spoonfuls of oil; beat it up well, and baste the meat with it.

SIRLOIN OF BEEF ROASTED.

78.-Break the upper part of the chine-bones, cut them out, and cut through the strong gristle on the top about an inch apart, and skewer it in its place, which will prevent its drawing up or looking unsightly. Run the spit just under the bark at the thin end, and bring it out between the joints. By spitting it thus you avoid showing where the spit has gone through. Cover the fat with a sheet of buttered paper, and roast gently for 3 or 4 hours, according to the size of the joint. The under part is sometimes stuffed with forcemeat, in the following manner:—

I

Carefully lift up the fat from the inside of the sirloin with a sharp knife; take out all the meat close to the bone, and mince it small; take

Sirloin.

place, and cover it

with the skin and

fat; skewer it down neatly with small wooden skewers, and cover it with paper. The meat should be spitted before you take out the inside; and when done do not take off the paper until the joint is put into the dish: then serve it up garnished with scraped horseradish.

The method of taking the meat from the bone, and rolling it so as to have the forcemeat in the middle, is easier, but adds its flavour to the whole joint; while this way keeps the upper and the under part separate.

To dress the inside of a Sirloin, cut it out in one piece, if not used at table; stew it with good broth or gravy, a little spice, and a tablespoonful of walnut-ketchup. Serve with chopped pickles.

:

To dress the inside of a cold Sirloin, cut out all the meat, and a little fat into pieces as thick as your finger, and 4 inches long; dredge them with flour, and fry in butter of a nice brown drain the butter from the meat, and toss it up in a rich gravy, seasoned with pepper, salt, anchovy, and shalot. Do not let it boil on any account. Before you serve, add 2 spoonfuls of vinegar and a glass of port wine. Garnish with crimped parsley.

Or: Cut the meat in slices about 4 inches long, and an inch thick, the fat with the lean; season them with pepper and salt, and fry them in good fresh butter; have ready some good brown gravy, and stew them gently for an hour; add