The "Queen" cookery books: Vegetables

shelled and have to wait, they should be put into a dry basin, and lightly covered with a damp cloth. Peas, jugged. — Shell a pint of green peas, and put them into a jar with a tight closing lid, laying in with them a tablespoonful of butter, a saltspoonful of salt, a teaspoonful of powdered sugar, a spray of mint, and a dust of freshly ground black pepper ; cover the jar down very tightly, and put it in a stewpan or bain-marie half full of boiling water, cover down the pan, and let the water boil sharply, examining them from time to time to see if they are done ; young peas will take from thirty to thirty-five minutes in this way, older ones of course needing longer cooking. This method is a particularly good one for tinned peas. The peas should be turned into a colander or strainer, and held under running water till any “ tinny ” taste is entirely removed, finishing them as before ; twelve to fifteen minutes will be ample in this case. Peas cooked in this way, or eA^en if freshly boiled, can be diversified in many ways. For instance, ham, or bacon, cut into small dice, fried crisp, and stirred into the peas as you dish them, give the well known petits pois au lard, or au jambon ; or, when you pour them into the dish, mix in a few spoonfuls of béchamel or velouté sauce^. or cream, or butter, as you please. These are excellent as a garnish, and take their name from the sauce, &c., added at the last. Stewed.—This is the best method of cooking old peas, though abroad it is often used for young ones. Melt a couple of ounces of butter with a small sliced onion, a bunch of parsley, and either some sprays of mint, or half a head of lettuce tied up together ; add white pepper and salt to taste ; let this cook till the onion is very faintly coloured, when you add the peas, a small teaspoonful of sugar, and as much water, or stock, as will float them ; half a pint is sufficient for one and a half pints of peas. Now let them stew very gently till the peas are perfectly tender (young peas take half an hour thus), then remove the lettuce, onions, and parsley, thicken the liquid with a little white roux (or ½oz. each of butter and flour simmered together till perfectly smooth and well blended), shake the saucepan well to mix all this thoroughly, add, if necessary, a tiny dust of caster sugar, and serve. French cooks often stir in at the last the yolk of an egg beaten up with a little milk, instead of the Hour and butter thickening. They also put in the onion whole, for the convenience of lifting it out. Peas cooked in this way are known as Petits pois à la Française, or à la Bourgeoise. Peas en purée. — This is the best form of cooking old peas. Boil them as described above, preferably in the pea pod water, till tender enough to sieve, then add a tablespoonful of cream, ½-oz. or so of butter, a little freshly ground black pepper, salt, and a dust of sugar, and use either as a mould or forced out with a pipe and bag. Salad. — Cold boiled peas may be utilised as an extremely pleasant salad, either by themselves, or in conjunction with young carrots, &c., and either a French dressing, or a good mayonnaise sauce. Thus treated they are an effective addition to a dish of lamb cutlets en Bellevue or en Chaudfroid. 10‘>