How to cook vegetables

Cut the tender part of the stalks into small pieces, wash them thoroughly in salted water, boil till partly cooked in salted water, and drain. Melt the butter in a stew-pan, add the flour, cook a little, add stock and milk, let it boil up, skim well, add the asparagus. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and a good pinch of sugar. Cook till tender, and rub through a fine sieve. Return to stew-pan, add the cream and a little more milk if necessary. Put the cooked peas, beans, and asparagus tips in the soup tureen, then pour over the puree and serve. Asparagus a Medienne. Cook the asparagus in the usual way, and serve it with a well-made mild curry sauce. Dress the asparagus on a hot dish, pour over the sauce, and serve. Asparagus Cream Soup. Green asparagus are preferable for this soup. After having cut off and thrown away the hard part of the stalk, wash the asparagus well and keep the points to be cooked in salted water. Put the asparagus in a saucepan with some white stock (veal or chicken), two onions and a bouquet garni, and boil for about half an hour. Strain off the liquid, take up the bouquet garni, put the asparagus stalks in a sieve, and rub through to get a puree, return to the liquid in the pan. Let the soup come to the boil, thicken with a roux or arrowroot, let it simmer slowly, and skim well. Just before serving, add a small piece of butter, a gill of cream, also the asparagus points, and a little spinach green. Bread croutons fried in butter should be served with this soup. Asparagus Broth. Clean a small bundle of green asparagus, cut off the soft, i.e., green portion, and cook this in chicken stock, containing a blanched onion and a small ASPARAGUS. bunch of freshly picked parsley. When the asparagus is tender strain the broth through a fine sieve and press the asparagus gently. Reheat the broth, skim, season to taste, with salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar. Serve hot or cold in cups ; if served hot a liaison of arrowroot should be added and a fourniture of tarragon, mint, and chervil should be added last of all. Asparagus Points for Soups or Garniture. Asparagus points served with soups are simply boiled in salted water, after having been prepared and cut as stated in the previous recipe. When cooked do not forget to put them in cold water to preserve the colour. They can be served as a garnish with quenelles for Princesse soup or garniture, or else mixed with a macedoine of vegetables for Printaniere soup or garniture. Asparagus with Peas. Take a bundle of small green asparagus, bud, scrape, and wash well. With the right hand hold the thick end of the stalk and bend quickly in making it slip between the thumb and the first finger of the left hand until it breaks. Then place the stalks in a fine on the table and cut in small pieces, cook in salted water, drain in a colander, plunge into cold water, to keep them a nice green colour. Cook the asparagus points separately because they require less cooking. Put an ounce of butter in a saute-pan, and when melted put in the stalks and the points, season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar. Finally, mix the asparagus with a gill of cooked green peas and a tablespoonful of white sauce and serve in a vegetable dish. Garnish round with fried bread croutons or fleurons of puff-paste.