Middle class cookery book

2 oz. Butter or Dripping 1 Small Teaspoonful of Salt i n .. Pepper Prepare the haricot beans as directed above ; put them into a saucepan with the cold water and butter or dripping ; let them simmer till soft. Strain the water from the beans into a basin ; rub the beans through a sieve, placed over the basin; add the pepper and salt; 64 MIDDLE CLASS COOKERY BOOK PAET II put all back into the saucepan with the milk, and let it boil up, stirring well. Carrot, turnip, onion, celery, and other vegetable soups may be made in this way. The liquor in which meat has been boiled, or the contents of the stockpot (see “ Stockpot,”.p. 45), may be used instead of water. Care must be taken to remove all fat from either liquor or stock before it is used. Hotch-Potch 2 lbs. Neck of Mutton J Lettuce 1 Pint Green Peas £ ,, Broad Beans 2 Teaspoonfuls Sugar Pint Chopped Carrots, Turnips and Cauliflower 2 Onions 2 Quarts Water 1 Teaspoonful Salt \ Teaspoonful Pepper Put the meat and the salt on with cold water. When it comes to the boil, skim it carefully. Let the cauli- flower and lettuce lie in salt and water for half an hour ; break the cauliflower up into little sprigs, and chop the lettuce ; shell the peas ; shell and skin the beans ; pare the turnips, scrape the carrots ; chop them small with the onions; put all the vegetables, except one- half pint of peas, into the boiling liquor; boil slowly three or four hours, according to the age of the vegetables. Young vegetables require less boiling than old ones. When the soup is half made, add the rest of the peas and the sugar. When ready, remove the mutton and serve. Serve the mutton separately. Hotch-potch should be quite thick. If wished, neatly trimmed chops may be added to the soup when it is half cooked, and served in it. 3 lbs. of Beef 4 oz. Carrots 4 „ Turnips 4 „ Onions I Bay Leaf Pot-au-Feu £ Head Celery 1 Parsnip 2 Cloves 8 Peppercorns 4 Quarts Water. Salt OBAP. II SOUPS 55 The secret of preparing this dish, which is an indispensable one in every French household of the middle class, consists in keeping the meat and vegetables at one regular heat, never allowing them to do more than simmer very gently, nor, on the other hand, allow- ing them to cease from simmering. Put the meat into a saucepan ; cover it with the water ; add the salt, cloves, and peppercorns. Put the lid on the pan, and let the contents come very slowly to the boil. Carefully remove the scum as it rises, with an iron spoon. Let the pan simmer without interruption for two hours. Prepare the vegetables (see “To Cleanse Vegetables,” p. 33), add them with the bay leaf, gradually, when the meat has simmered for two hours, so as not to check the cooking. Let all simmer for one hour and a half longer. Take the meat from the pan, put it on a dish with the vegetables round it, and a cupful of the broth. Strain the remainder of the broth into a tureen, in which toasted bread, or rusks in nice pieces, should be laid before the broth is poured in. A half teaspoonful of browning should be added to the broth, just before the meat is taken out. Soup Maigre 4 Potatoes 1 Onion 3 Dessertspoon fuls fine Sago 2 Quarts Water 1 Pint Milk Pepper and Salt.