How to cook vegetables

Choose the best green cucumbers, and as far as possible the same size. Peel and cut them into pieces about i in. in length, then with a cylindrical cutter take out the core and pips of each. Blanch in salted water for a few minutes. Drain on a sieve, and when cold arrange the pieces of cucumber upright in a saute-pan previously lined with thin slices of bacon. Prepare a stuffing of finely- chopped veal or chicken, season well, mix with chopped mushrooms, parsley, and shallots tossed in butter, then by the means of a forcing-bag fill the cucumbers with this stuffing. Moisten with a gill of white stock, add i oz. of butter, a bouquet-garni, and 2 peeled and sliced onions. Season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of castor sugar. Braise for about 20 minutes, then drain, dish up, sauce over with Madere or Italienne sauce and serve hot. Stuffed Cucumber Soup. After having prepared, stuffed, and braised the cucumbers as directed in the previous recipe, drain them and let get cold. Then divide each piece crossways into three parts, and place them in a little consomme. When serving, reheat carefully the cucumbers, and put them into a hot soup tureen. Pour over some clear soup, to which add a handful of cooked peas, and also, if liked, some cooked asparagus points. Cucumbers a la Maitre d’ Hotel. Peel thinly 2 cucumbers ; cut them into rounds about £ in. thick ; put them in a basin, with 2 tablespoonsful of vinegar and a small quantity of salt. Let them remain for a few hours ; then take them up, put the pieces in a stew-pan, with an ounce of butter, season with pepper, grated nutmeg, and a pinch of sugar. Cook over a steady fire until they are tender ; pour off a little of the butter, add 2 tablespoonsful of white sauce ; simmer again for a few minutes. Dish up the cucumbers ; bind the sauce with 2 yolks of eggs, stir in a little cream, the juice of half a small lemon, and a dessertspoonful of chopped parsley. Pour the sauce over the dish, garnish with croutons of bread or fleurons, and serve. Stuffed Cucumbers a la Demi-Glace. Remove the rind of 2 large cucumbers, cut them into pieces 3 in. in length ; stamp out carefully the centre of each by means of a round cutter. Fill them with a stuffing made of cooked beef or veal and ham, finely minced, breadcrumbs, and an egg ; season with salt, pepper, chopped parsley, basil, and thyme. Wrap each in a thin slice of bacon, tie with string, and cook gently in a stew-pan, with a little stock, until quite tender. Take up, drain on a cloth, and trim the ends. Prepare a border of mashed potatoes on a round dish ; arrange the pieces en couronne on a border, or else in the centre, in the form of a pyramid. Sauce over with a reduced demi-glace or other brown sauce, into which a little chopped and blanched parsley and chervil has been incorporated. CUCUMBER. Fried Cucumber.