How to cook vegetables

A vegetable which, in Germany, is made into a variety of dishes, both sweet and savoury. It has the disadvantage of being somewhat indigestible, but it is, for all that, very nourishing. It is a hard, coarse, rough biennial, a native of the northern part of the world, but also found on the mountains of the tropics. The garden carrot, which has a white flower, was introduced into England in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and was at first so highly esteemed that ladies wore leaves of it in their head-dress. The carrot can be used instead of malt for beer, and in distillation yields a large quantity of spirit. Its value is proportionate according as it has more or less of the red than the yellow part. A large red variety is used amongst other purposes by farmers for colouring butter, while the orange carrot is that usually cultivated as a garden vegetable. The carrot is, amongst vegetables, one of the most healthy and nourishing. Besides, it can be prepared in many ways for the table ; it is precious as a flavouring, because of the sugar it contains and a particular flavour which distinguishes it. Carrot or Crecy Soup. About 3 pints stock or water, 6 large carrots, 2 onions, 6 oz. bacon, 2 oz. rice, bay-leaf, 1 gill milk, pepper and salt. Wash the carrots, scrape them and shred finely ; wash the rice, parboil it, and put it into a stew-pan Carrots. with stock or water, carrots, bay-leaf, and the onions peeled and finely sliced. Cut the bacon into small pieces, fry it a little, and add to the above. Boil till tender ; remove bay-leaf, and rub all through a fine sieve. Return the soup to the stew-pan, season with pepper and salt to taste, add the milk, stir over the fire until it boils, and serve. Note. — A small piece of butter added to this soup will improve it. For a high-class carrot soup the red part of the carrot only is used. The carrots used must be of a deep red, otherwise the soup will not be of good colour. New Carrots a la Poulette. Carrots, above all, when young, must not be peeled, because it is known that the outside part possesses much more nourishing and juicy qualities than the interior. Simply scrape them with a knife to take off only the outer skin. Take a bunch of new carrots, scrape them, cut off the point, and the top part which is usually a little green. Cut each in two if small, in four if large. Wash well, place in a saucepan with a bouquet- garni, 2 peeled onions, season with salt, pepper, and pinch of sugar, add a small piece of butter and about 1 pint of stock. Let it simmer until the carrots are quite cooked. Take out the onions, then mix a little Bechamel sauce and a liaison of 2 yolks of eggs. Finally blanch and chop some parsley, and mix with the sauce. Dish up and serve hot. Carrots a la Favorite. Trim, wash, and scrape a bunch of young carrots, and cook them in salted water until tender, then drain and toss them in 2 oz. of fresh butter. Put half a pint of cooked flageolet beans into a buttered fireproof dish ; sauce over with Bechamel or other rich white sauce. Upon this range the cooked carrots, neatly glaze them with dissolved meat glaze, besprinkle with chopped parsley, garnish with fleurons of puff pastry, and serve hot. Carrots a la Flamande. •