water. The saucepan must be deep, and the Asparagus ought to be boiled according to Sir Henry Thompson’s method, viz. : “ Nearly two inches of the heads should be out of the water, “ the steam sufficing to cook them, as they form the tenderest “ part of the plant ; while the hard, stalky part is rendered “ soft and succulent by the longer boiling which this plan “ permits. Instead of the orthodox twenty minutes allotted to “ average Asparagus lying horizontally, in the English manner, “ which half cooks the stalk and over cooks the head, diminish - “ ing its flavour and consistence, a period of thirty or forty “ minutes on the plan recommended will render fully a third “ more of the stalk delicious, while the head will be properly “ cooked by the steam alone.” Asparagus must be boiled with the lid of the pan off, and should boil steadily. It must be most carefully drained after boiling, and if tapes have been used they must, of course, be removed. Asparagus must be served dry in a hot dish. Melted butter should be handed, made very hot, and with a few drops of Tarragon vinegar stirred into it at the last moment. The best sauce for Asparagus is the real Beurre Fondu as eaten in Hol- land — that is, butter melted in a saucepan, flavoured with a pinch of salt and of pepper, and the squeeze of a lemon✪ Asparagus. Let it settle over the fire, and pour it, free from sediment, into a thoroughly heated metal sauce-boat. Asparagus is excellent served cold with cold mayonnaise sauce, or Argenteuil sauce. Sprue is the name given to Asparagus when the stalks have grown very long and thin. It makes a very good dish when cooked with eggs. Sprue and Eg’g’S. — Cut the Sprue into inch lengths, boil it till tender but do not let it be too soft. Drain it thoroughly. Beat separately the yolks and the whites of three eggs, add a little cream✪ Sprue and Eggs. Mix this into the Sprue just warmed in a saucepan. Spread the mixture thickly on cushions of biead fried in butter to a golden brown. In Lombardy Asparagus is eaten with Parmesan cheese. Asparagus alia Lombarda.— Boil the bundle of Aspara- gus, and place it in a fire-proof dish with the heads in the ASPARAGUS ALLA LOMBARDA 321 middle and tlae white stalks round the edge. Add a little pepper and salt. Put two to four ounces of butter in the middle of the dish, and set the dish on a tripod over the fire for from eight to ten minutes. Sprinkle the Asparagus thickly with finely-grated Parmesan cheese, and serve in the fire-proof dish. Asparagus a la Chateail-roux.— When the Asparagus is cooked, dry it carefully, keep it hot, and pour over it a sauce made of one ounce of butter thickened with the yolks of two eggs well beaten, a squeeze of lemon, pepper and salt. Be careful not to use any of the whites of the eggs, and heat the sauce in the bain-marie. AUBERGINES. ✪ Asparagus alla Lombarda

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water. The saucepan must be deep, and the Asparagus ought to be boiled according to Sir Henry Thompson’s method, viz. : “ Nearly two inches of the heads should be out of the water, “ the steam sufficing to cook them, as they form the tenderest “ part of the plant ; while the hard, stalky part is rendered “ soft and succulent by the longer boiling which this plan “ permits. Instead of the orthodox twenty minutes allotted to “ average Asparagus lying horizontally, in the English manner, “ which half cooks the stalk and over cooks the head, diminish - “ ing its flavour and consistence, a period of thirty or forty “ minutes on the plan recommended will render fully a third “ more of the stalk delicious, while the head will be properly “ cooked by the steam alone.” Asparagus must be boiled with the lid of the pan off, and should boil steadily. It must be most carefully drained after boiling, and if tapes have been used they must, of course, be removed. Asparagus must be served dry in a hot dish. Melted butter should be handed, made very hot, and with a few drops of Tarragon vinegar stirred into it at the last moment. The best sauce for Asparagus is the real Beurre Fondu as eaten in Hol- land — that is, butter melted in a saucepan, flavoured with a pinch of salt and of pepper, and the squeeze of a lemon. Let it settle over the fire, and pour it, free from sediment, into a thoroughly heated metal sauce-boat. Asparagus is excellent served cold with cold mayonnaise sauce, or Argenteuil sauce. Sprue is the name given to Asparagus when the stalks have grown very long and thin. It makes a very good dish when cooked with eggs. Sprue and Eg’g’S. — Cut the Sprue into inch lengths, boil it till tender but do not let it be too soft. Drain it thoroughly. Beat separately the yolks and the whites of three eggs, add a little cream. Mix this into the Sprue just warmed in a saucepan. Spread the mixture thickly on cushions of biead fried in butter to a golden brown. In Lombardy Asparagus is eaten with Parmesan cheese. Asparagus alia Lombarda.— Boil the bundle of Aspara- gus, and place it in a fire-proof dish with the heads in the ASPARAGUS ALLA LOMBARDA 321 middle and tlae white stalks round the edge. Add a little pepper and salt. Put two to four ounces of butter in the middle of the dish, and set the dish on a tripod over the fire for from eight to ten minutes. Sprinkle the Asparagus thickly with finely-grated Parmesan cheese, and serve in the fire-proof dish. Asparagus a la Chateail-roux.— When the Asparagus is cooked, dry it carefully, keep it hot, and pour over it a sauce made of one ounce of butter thickened with the yolks of two eggs well beaten, a squeeze of lemon, pepper and salt. Be careful not to use any of the whites of the eggs, and heat the sauce in the bain-marie. AUBERGINES.

Mrs. Roundell's Practical cookery book