How to cook vegetables

Divide a cooked cauliflower into small pieces (sprigs or flowerets) of uniform size, trimming each a little ; season them with salt and pepper, and dip them into a well-made Bechamel or other good white sauce, which must be well reduced. Have ready a light frying batter made with 4 oz. of flour, one tablespoonful of sweet oil, a little tepid water, and the white of an egg, which must not be added until the batter has been well beaten and has stood for about an hour. Coat each piece of cauliflower with batter, and drop into smoking hot clarified fat. Fry to a nice brown, drain on a cloth or paper, dish up, and serve hot. Fried Cauliflower Buds. Trim, wash, and drain a cauliflower, and cook it in salted water till tender. Drain again and let cool. Divide it into small sections or buds. Beat up an egg with a little milk, dip the cauliflower in this, then roll in a mixture of breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan cheese, and fry in clarified butter or nut oil to a golden colour. Drain carefully on a cloth or paper, sprinkle over a pinch of curry powder, dish up, and serve hot. Cauliflower Fricassee. Cut off the stalk, remove the outer leaves, and trim a good-sized, firm cauliflower, divide it into several pieces, and wash them in cold water ; put them into an earthenware pot of salted boiling water, and cook quickly for 20 or 30 minutes, until they are quite tender. Take them out without breaking, and place them on pieces of buttered toast ; then put some butter in a frying-pan, add a little flour mixed with cold milk or stock, stir well till it boils ; then add 6 finely chopped mushrooms, and cook a little longer ; take it off the fire and stir in 3 yolks of eggs, season with salt, pepper, grated nutmeg, and the juice of a half a lemon. Pour this sauce over and round the cauliflower, and serve. The sauce must not be boiled after adding the eggs. Cauliflower au Gratin. Prepare the cauliflower as stated in the last recipe. When cooked, drain, season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle over a little grated Parmesan. Arrange it neatly in a bowl until it is full ; then turn the cauliflower out on to a gratin dish. Have ready some thick cream sauce mixed with grated Gruyere and CAULIFLOWER. Parmesan cheese. Coat the cauliflower with this sauce, then sprinkle over the top a few fresh breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan cheese. Pour over a little oiled butter and brown in the oven. Then send to table. Broccoli can be cooked in the same way as the cauliflower. Baked Cauliflower. i large or 2 small cooked cauliflowers, white sauce, grated cheese, breadcrumbs, ^ oz. butter, salt and pepper. Press the cauliflower, head downwards, into a pudding basin, and turn out on to a well-buttered fireproof dish upon a layer of white sauce. Season with salt and pepper, and coat the whole well with reduced white sauce ; besprinkle freely with grated cheese and fine breadcrumbs, place a few small bits of butter here and there on the surface, and bake in a fairly hot oven from 20 to 25 minutes. Cauliflower Salad. The cauliflowers for salads must not be over-cooked, otherwise they will turn into a puree when seasoning them. Divide them into small sprigs or pieces, place in a salad bowl, season with salt, pepper, chopped chervil and Tarragon, and mix with salad dressing. Cauliflower Salad a la Marquise.