The book of plain cooking

The old-fashioned recipe for peas and beans soup includes a list of ingredients containing items many of which are not really essentials, but if the following instructions are carried out, the result will prove equally satisfactory to modern cooks. Take an ordinary red bread pan and cover, which will stand comfortably in your oven, and put in a calf’s foot, two pounds of boned brisket of beef, one pound of worsht (Kosher sausage), one pint of whole white peas, one pint of giant haricot beans (the peas and beans must be soaked in cold water for twelve hours before cooking), one large onion sliced, pepper, salt, two pieces of white ginger, and a penny packet of dried saffron, and well cover the contents of the pan with water. Put the pan (with the cover on) in a hot oven about 6 p.m. on the evening before the soup is required for use, and let it boil slowly, leaving it ii 7 in the oven throughout the night, having built up the fire before going to bed. It should boil for a further six hours on the following day before use. Remove the foot, worsht, and beef, and superfluous fat before turning the soup into a tureen. The foot and worsht should be served on a separate dish, and ordinary mustard pickles will be found a capital adjunct to be eaten therewith. Care should be taken to add more water as required during the process of cooking, but it must be remembered that peas and beans is eaten as a thick and not a thin soup. 236. Calves’ Feet Stew Take three calves’ feet, which should have been split down the centre by the butcher, and cut each into three pieces. Put them in a stewpan with a quart of water, and bring quickly to a boil. Then skim the liquor carefully. Add one pound steak, two pounds knuckle of veal, the rind of a lemon pared very thinly, the juice of the lemon, pepper, salt, two pieces of white ginger, a penny packet of dried saffron, one dessertspoonful of finely-chopped parsley, and a tablespoonful of carefully picked marjoram. Boil slowly for two hours, then add n8 some forcemeat balls, and boil for another hour. The forcemeat balls should be made as follows : — Chop half a pound of rump steak, the lean of one large veal chop, half a small onion, the rind of half a lemon, and a little parsley, as though for sausage meat; add some salt, pepper, a little grated ginger, a well-beaten egg, and mix thoroughly. Divide into small balls, and let them stand for an hour on a clean dish before putting them into the stew. Remove the steak and veal before serving. 237. Stewed Beef with Beans Sweet and Sour Take three to four pounds of the best top ribs of beef, and put in a stewpan with one quart of water, pepper, salt, two pieces of whole ginger, and three sliced onions, and boil slowly for one hour and three quarters, then add two pounds of fresh beans sliced evenly. Put in a basin two tablespoonsful of vinegar, one tablespoonful of brown sugar, and one tablespoonful of flour, add a little of the liquor, and stir until thoroughly smooth. Add the mixture to the stew, which will be ready to serve when the beans are quite tender. 238. To Fry Fish in Jewish Fashion Cut the fish in conveniently sized pieces, wash