Cookery for every household

Use either tinned or fresh artichoke bottoms and prepare them as above. Dry them carefully in a soft cloth and season them with pepper, salt, and a few drops of lemon juice. Coat them lightly with fine flour, then egg and bread-crumb them, pressing the crumbs well on. Fry in boiling fat to a golden brown colour, drain on kitchen paper and serve piled up on a hot dish, garnishing with parsley. If preferred the artichokes may be dipped in frying batter (see Recipe 1861) instead of being egged and bread-crumbed. 394. Artichoke Bottoms a la Florentine (Fonds d’Artichauts a la Florentine) 7 or 8 artichoke bottoms. 1 cupful cooked spinach. 1 yolk of egg. 1 table-sp.- cream. Seasoning. 2 table-sps. grated Parmesan. \ pt. cheese sauce. Prepare the artichoke bottoms as above and make them very hot. Take a cupful of well-cooked and sieved spinach (it must be as dry as possible), put it into a small saucepan with the cream, yolk of egg, and seasoning to taste, and make all very hot over the fire. Pile a little of the prepared spinach on the top of each artichoke bottom or fill them by means of a forcing bag and pipe. Mask them with hot cheese sauce (Recipe 682), sprinkle the grated cheese over and brown quickly in the oven or under the grill of a gas stove. Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons. 395. Puree of Artichokes (Puree d’Artichauts) 1 or 2 artichokes. I 1 or 2 table-sps. bechamel A little cream. | sauce. Seasoning. Trim the leaves off the artichokes and cook the bottoms in boiling water in which a little flour and lemon juice have been mixed. When tender, drain, remove the choke and rub the bottoms through a hair sieve. Put the puree thus obtained into a saucepan, add to it the white sauce and cream, regulating the quantity according to the purpose for which the pur6e is to be used. Season with white pepper and sauce, and use either as a garnish or served by itself as a vegetable. 396. Jerusalem Artichokes with Parsley Sauce (Topinambours a la Maitre d ’Hotel) If lb. artichokes. \ pt. parsley sauce. To Prepare, the Artichokes. — First wash and brush the artichokes and throw them into clean cold water. Then peel them carefully with a small knife, making them as much one size as possible. As each one is done, throw it into a basin of clean cold water Jerusalem Artichokes to which a few drops of vinegar or lemon juice have been added to preserve the colour. Do not allow the water in which the artichokes are being peeled to become too dirty ; change it if necessary. To Boil or Steam the Artichokes. — Have ready on the fire a saucepan of boiling water, just sufficient to cover the artichokes, and add salt to it in the proportion of 1 dessert-spoonful to 1 quart of water. Drain the artichokes, throw them into this, and boil gently with the lid on the saucepan, until they can be pierced easily with a fork or skewer. They must not be overcooked or they will become heavy. If the artichokes are old, it will be better to put them on in tepid water instead of boiling. They may be boiled in milk, or milk and water instead of plain water, and this can afterwards be used fo making the sauce. Avoid using an iron saucepan, as it will discolour the artichokes. Instead of boiling as above, the artichokes may be steamed either in a steamer or double cooker. They will require a longer time to cook.