The "Queen" cookery books: Vegetables

Let it just reboil, then draw it to the side, and let it simmer slowly but steadily for half an hour ; now drain well, and serve with melted butter, drawn butter, or any nice white sauce to taste. The pot lid should be kept a little off whilst the salsify is cooking. Cooked thus the salsify may be drained, floured, and fried; or dipped in batter, fried in hot fat, then well drained and served hot, dusted with grated Parmesan cheese and coralline pepper. Or it may be served with marrow, and a rich brown sauce, after the style of cardes a la, moelle, or, indeed, by any recipe given for celery, cardoons, &c. Delicious vegetarian patties may be made thus : Prepare a rather thin puree of salsify (by boiling it till tender enough to sieve, rubbing it through, moistening it as you do so with some of the water in which it was cooked, and seasoning it to taste with white and coralline pepper, salt, a few drops of lemon, and the same of essence of anchovy) ; stir into this small, rather thick slices of previously cooked salsify, let it all reheat, without actually boiling, stir in an egg yolk beaten up with a spoonful or two of cream, or use two or three spoonfuls of thick cream, and pour this into some small puff pastry patties, dust with a little finely-minced parsley and coralline pepper, and serve at once. If made with salsify this is a delicious dish, but if scorzanera is used, and the flavouring is carefully done, the oyster taste is unmistakeable. For this reason the Americans call scorzanera the “ oyster plant.” Cold cooked salsify, sprinkled with oil and vinegar, and a fourniture of minced herbs, is very nice with either a French salad dressing or mayonnaise, but perhaps even more delicate if sprinkled with minced chives, parsley, coralline pepper, and lemon juice, and served with plain cream stood on ice till perfectly cold without being actually frozen. A dainty garnish for cutlets and fillets of all kinds is made thus : Cleanse and peel the salsify {not scorzanera), throwing each piece as trimmed into slightly salted and acidulated water to preserve the colour. When prepared, put the salsify into a panful of salted and acidulated water, with ^oz. or so of butter, and cook it for an hour, then drain, shred it very finely, and use. Samphire {Bacile or Perce-pierre). — This plant grows wild all along the sea coast, and has been held in honour as a pickle for generations — to such a point that other plants somewhat like it have been substituted for it when the supply of samphire ran short ; but as these substitutes are not as aromatic as the real plant, this adulteration for some time brought the original into disrepute. But once the real samphire has been seen and tasted (the raw fleshy leaves have a salty, spicy taste), it is easy to distinguish. It should be gathered in May, or, at all events, before the flower begins to show, for after that it becomes hard and stringy. Choose the greenest samphire, and lay it in a pan with three or four tablespoonfuls of salt over it, then pour in sufficient cold water to cover it, and let it steep for twenty-four hours. Now drain off the water, and lay the samphire in a large copper pan with a good tablespoonful of salt, cover the pan down closely, and let it cook over a very slow fire till it is quite crisp and green ; then