FoodNetArchive

Mrs. Roundell's Practical cookery book

1898

Page 237 · 3 recipe records on this page

Presented as published in 1898. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
This Wild Endive, or Succory, has always been popular abroad, and is now often cultivated in this country. The best variety is the Belgian, called Whitloof. The green leaves of Chicory are excellent in May, cooked like Spinach. When forced and blanched, Chicory makes one of the best salads, the French barie de Gapucin. 342 CHICORY Puree of Chicory. — Pick six or eight heads of Chicory, boil the leaves in plenty of salted water for half an hour, drain them, cool them in cold water, drain again and press the leaves gently in a cloth. Mince the leaves small, stir them over the fire with a quarter of a pound of butter, a little salt and pepper, and serve on squares of fried bi’ead. DANDELIONS. Dandelions are extremely wholesome, but if the leaves are eaten green they are terribly bitter. They should be blanched till the colour is yellowish white. Dandelion leaves thus treated make a good salad either alone or mixed with other salad. In Prance they are liked in the following way. Wash the leaves if they are at all dirty, and mix them with plenty of slices of cold cooked potatoes. Add white pepper, salt, and chopped herbs. Melt a little butter in a stewpan ; as soon as it is boiling hot add a teaspoonful of vinegar and two tablespoonfuls of oilDandelion Salad, stir well, pour over the dandelions and potatoes, and serve very hot. Cream might take the place of the oil. The Fi'ench call this dish Pissenlits en salade chaude. Dandelion leaves when thoroughly blanched make good sandwiches with bread and butter and cold chicken or game. But if at all green the taste is unp'easantly medicinal. ENDIVE. Endive is a troublesome vegetable to cook, for the Curled Endive, which is more often cultivated in England than the Batavian sort, is apt to have its wrinkled leaves crowded with insects. At least six heads of Endive are required for a dish. Endive can be cooked like Spinach, but it requires a good deal of preparation first. Pick off all the outer leaves, cut off the green tips of the other leaves, so that only the white remain. Cut the roots off, detach all leaves from the stalk, and wash the Endive in two or three salted waters. Spread out each leaf with the point of a knife, and look carefully for insects. Drain well in a colander, put the Endive into a large stewpan with plenty of ENDIVE 343 boiling water, throw in half an ounce of salt, and continue to boil for twenty-five minutes. When the Endive is tender, drain and cool it and (1) press it through a coarse wire sieve, (2) chop the leaves fine on a clean board. Endive can then be dressed like Spinach, or it can be simmered in broth for a couple of hours. In this latter case, the Endive should become thick enough to bear being put in a heap. Garnish with fried croutons.