The "Queen" cookery books: Vegetables

Aubergines, stuffed. — Halve four aubergines lengthways, scoop out some of the flesh, and mince this with half its bulk of crumbs soaked in strong stock, and the same amount of minced mushrooms, seasoning it all with salt, pepper, minced parsley, and three or four minced shallots ; stir in 2oz. of fat ham or bacon minced, with a teaspoonful of olive oil, and fry it all till par-cooked in l^oz. of butter. Xow stuff the aubergines with this mixture, smooth over with a hot, wet knife, dust with breadcrumbs, and bake for twenty-five to thirty minutes. — d la Languedocienne. — Halve the vegetables lengthways, remove the seeds, and with the point of a sharp knife score the inside across and across in squares or lozenges, being careful not to pierce the skin, sprinkle well with fine salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a grate of nutmeg, and grill over a clear, gentle fire, moistening it now and again with salad oil. fried. — Peel and slice down the aubergines lengthways, scoring the inside as described in the previous recipe, dust them with fine salt, and leave them on a drainer ; when wanted press them well in a clean cloth to extract the bitter juice that flows from them, then fry as they are in hot oil ; or, they may be dipped in egg and breadcrumbs and fried in hot fat, or if preferred, dip them into frying batter and fry a golden brown. Drain well, dust with coralline pepper, and serve. scalloped. — Three parts cook some nice aubergines, slice, and with a plain cutter, stamp the slices in rounds the size of an oyster, then marinade them for five minutes in lemon juice or vinegar. Beat up two egg yolks with a tablespoonful each of cream and new milk, seasoning this well with salt, freshly ground black pepper, a tiny grate of nutmeg, and a few drops of essence of anchovy. Now drain the slices from the acid, lay them in a well-buttered piedish, or china or scallop shells, previously dusted with finely grated breadcrumbs and minced parsley or chives, pour the egg, milk, &c., over them, strew the top with seasoned breadcrumbs, and bake just enough to heat it all thoroughly, and to colour the crumbs. Aubergines d La Turque. — Cut the ends from the egg plant, and remove the centre of the fruit with, a teaspoon, replacing this with a mixture of equal parts of cold cooked rice and minced cooked meat, seasoning with blanched and finely minced onion, freshly ground black pepper, and salt ; now fry the fruit with a bouquet (thyme, parsley, bay leaf, &c.) in oil, butter, or clarified dripping, for two or three minutes, then drain it, lay in a stew pan with sufficient thin' tomato sauce to cover it and the bunch of herbs, and stew gently till tender ; then remove the herbs and dish the vegetable on a hot dish with the tomato sauce over and round it. As a general principle the aubergine may be cooked by any process adopted for tomatoes, with which, indeed, foreign cooks treat it as interchangeable. Balm {Baume). — This herb was formerly more used than it is in the present day, when its chief use is as a flavouring for claret-cup, and such like drinks. Bananas {Bananes) have of late years become almost as common as oranges, and are fast becoming a standing dish in our menus. Their flesh is wonderfully nourishing, and wlien reduced to flour is largely used in the preparation of various cakes, puddings, &c.