The "Queen" cookery books: Vegetables

cabbage, sprouts, or greens of any kinds, and potatoes, rub them all through a sieve, mixing them well as you do so, work in 1 or 2 oz. of butter (or clarified dripping), pepper and salt, and one whole egg. Press this mixture tightly into a well-buttered small pudding basin, and bake from thirty to forty minutes in a hot oven. Serve very hot, alone, or as a garnish for fried boiled salt beef. Corn, Indian (Maïs). — This vegetable, though very popular — both fresh and dried — abroad, in the United States especially, has only of late years come into favour in this country ; though for several years preparations of it have been used under other names freely. Moreover, few people in this country appear to know that the polenta they enjoy served in various ways in Italy, is nothing more nor less than porridge made from Indian cornmeal. This is exceedingly good, and when vegetables are scarce makes a very appetising accompaniment to roast meat. For this purpose prepare a porridge exactly as if using oatmeal, sifting the meal into the boiling salted water, with one hand as you stir it with the other, keeping up the stirring till the polenta is cooked. You will find a small handful of meal to the pint of water ample. If prepared thus it makes by no means despicable porridge if eaten with salt and milk, or sugar or golden syrup. But for other purposes, add to it whilst cooking a good pat of butter, and sprinkle in grated cheese alternately with the meal, till the mixture is thick. Now turn it out, and leave it till cold, then slice it, and cut the slices into diamonds or squares, fry in boiling fat or oil till lightly coloured, and serve with mushroom or tomato puree. This polenta makes a very savoury dish if prepared as above, left till cold, then lifted in spoonfuls, these being arranged neatly in a well-buttered piedish, liberally sprinkled with bits of butter, grated cheese, and coralline pepper, and baked till of a pretty golden brown. This is known as Gnocchi alia Napolitana. If preferred, tomato puree or any good sauce or gravy may be used instead of the cheese, &c. If, however, the green corn in the ear be available, the following are some of the ways in which it may be utilised : Corn, Indian, to boil. — Choose short, thick ears, and strip off all but the inner layer of husk, turning this back to remove the “ silk ” from the corn and any bad grains ; then fold it back, tie it up at the top, put it in a large pan half full of boiling water, and boil steadily for fifteen to twenty minutes, according to the size of the ear ; now remove the strings, and serve very hot, with a boat of melted butter, Hollandaise sauce, or oiled butter, as you please. Or, remove the husks and silk from six young corn cobs, lay them in a pan with sufficient water to cover them, add a gill of milk, ½ oz. of butter, and a small handful of salt, and cook for twenty minutes. Serve very hot in a napkin. N.B. — This last is the best way of cooking canned corn. grated. — Boil some corn by the first recipe, then grate off all the grains and heat over the fire with a little salt, white pepper, butter, and a spoonful or so of cream, and serve very hot. fritters. — Remove the grains from some cold boiled corn, mix these with good frying batter.