How to cook vegetables

shape of olives or large balls, or with a small knife in crescent shape. Put them in a stew-pan with i oz. of butter, season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of castor sugar, and moisten with a little stock. Bring to the boil and simmer gently until cooked. They must have absorbed all their stock and be slightly coloured. Turnips prepared in this way are served as vegetable or a garnish for entrees or removes of roast and braised meats. Turnip Puree a la Creme. Peel, slice, and mince a dozen small turnips, blanch and drain them. Place in a saucepan with about 2 oz. of butter ; fry for a few minutes without colouring ; then add enough white stock to cover and a bouquet of parsley. Cook till quite tender, then drain, and take out the parsley. Pass the turnips through a sieve, reheat the puree in the saucepan with a piece of butter, a pinch of castor sugar ; season with salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg. If the puree is too liquid, reduce it. Finally add 2 or 3 tablespoonsful of cream. Turnip Soup. Proceed to cook the turnips as stated in the previous recipe, but add rather more stock to the puree to give it the consistency of a soup. Pass it all through a sieve, and reheat the soup ; let it simmer slowly for abo ut half an hour. Skim, and add £ gill of milk or cream, and a piece of fresh butter. Serve the soup with croutons of fried bread. Turnips au Gratin. Peel lightly 8 or 9 medium-sized young turnips, cut them into slices, and wash them and drain thoroughly. Melt 2 oz. butter in a stew-pan, when hot put in the turnips, and stir over a brisk fire, season with pepper and salt, moisten with a little stock, and cook till VEGETABLE MARROW. tender. Rub through a sieve or drain them. Arrange the slices or the puree in a well-buttered gratin or pie-dish, sauce over with a well-reduced Bechamel sauce, sprinkle the surface with fine breadcrumbs, and add a few tiny bits of butter here and there. Bake in a sharp oven for about 10 minutes, long enough to nicely brown the top. Turnip-Tops. The young leaves of the turnip, used as greens ; they are rather pungent and bitter when boiled, but they are helpful to cleanse the blood, and throw out its impurities. The Scotch turnip produces very good leaves, though they are little eaten in that country, but the best are those taken from the Swede. Turnip-tops are in season during the spring months. VEGETABLE MARROW (Courge). Although a late summer or early autumn vegetable, vegetable marrow can now be had in May. The use of this vegetable has of late largely increased in this country. When very young it is excellent fried in butter, and may also be pickled. When fully grown, it can be cooked in a variety of ways. The marrow grows best in warm or tropical regions, and is largely cultivated in Persia, whence it was introduced into England. In this country it thrives well in the open air, but requires a warm, rich, and free soil. The true vegetable marrow bears fruit of an elliptical shape, about 9 in. long, pale greenish when young, and pale yellow when matured. There is a variety called the custard marrow, which is justly celebrated as surpassing all other kinds in delicacy of flavour ; it is round in shape, not unlike a very large apple, and when cooked, it is said to resemble custard in consistence, hence its name. Boiled Vegetable Marrow.