Mrs. Roundell's Practical cookery book

Puree of Green Peas. — Shell enough peas, not old ones, to fill a pint measure to the brim. Slice up the pods, wash them and put them into a stewpan with one average sized lettuce shredded, four ounces of onion, a bunch of herbs, a good bunch of parsley, and seasoning. Cover with fresh milk, boil up slowly, and then simmer until the pods are soft. Drain off the eau de cuisson , pick out the bouquet of herbs and the parsley, and press as much as you can of the rest through a hair-sieve, saving- the pulp. Now put the shelled peas into another stewpan, pour the cuisson over them, boil, and when the peas are soft drain them. Pass them also through the sieve, and add the Puree thus obtained to that got from the pods. Blend the Puree and the euisson by working them into a Roux of half an ounce of butter mixed into half an ounce of flour. Or make a liaison as on p. 45. A good colour is secured by boiling a handful of fresh spinach-leaves with the peas, and passing them with the peas through the sieve. [ Wyvem .] Puree of Jerusalem Artichokes.— Having washed, peeled and boiled one pound of Jerusalem Artichokes, pass them through the sieve ; save the pulp so obtained, measuring a pint PUREE OF JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES 59 of common stock for tlie Puree. Melt half an ounce of butter at the bottom of a stewpan, mix into it three-quarters of an ounce of flour, and then add by degrees the artichoke pulp and the stock. Boil up and pass again through the sieve. Put the pan back on the fire, and when it boils serve. It may be made richer, if wished, by a tablespoonful of cream stirred in, off the fire, at the very last moment. Or boil four ounces of onion, an ounce of parsley, and a bunch of sweet herbs, in a pint of milk. When thoroughly flavoured, strain the milk, add the artichoke pulp to it, and boil up. If liked, add, off the fire, at the last moment, either the yolk of an egg stirred into two tablespoonfuls of fresh milk or a tablespoonful of cream. [ Wyvem .] Puree of Carrots and Tapioca, or Velvet Soup. — Prepare a pint and a half of good white broth with sixpennyworth of chicken giblets, half a pound of lean veal stock meat, and the usual vegetables. Cut eight ounces of the red part only from the carrots, using the light-coloured part in making the broth. Put into a stewpan one ounce of butter with the slices of red carrot, two ounces of the white part of a leek or the same weight of onion, and a saltspoonful of salt. Fry for five minutes, then moisten with half a pint of the broth ; bring to the boil, and simmer till the carrot pieces are done ; then pass the whole through a hair-sieve. Set this Puree aside. Now put the remaining pint of broth on to boil, and when boiling stir in half an ounce of tapioca, which should be crashed beforehand into evenly-granulated particles about the size of a pin’s head. Stir the tapioca into the broth for five minutes ; theu cover the pan, and simmer for twenty minutes, gently skimming every now and then. To finish, put the Carrot Puree into a fresh stewpan, set this on the fire, and gradually stir into it the broth with the tapioca. Bring to the desired degree of heat and serve. [Wyvem.] This soup is infinitely superior to the usual Puree of Carrots.