Practical West African cookery

2. Throw the pieces into a pint of boiling water ; this stops the boiling, add the salt, bring again quickly to the boil and then let it simmer for about twenty minutes, by which time the pumpkin should be soft. 3. Drain off the water and mash the pumpkin through the sieve, add the milk, butter and pepper and pile it in a pie dish. Lightly scrape the surface with the prongs of a fork and brown it in the oven. This makes an excellent vegetable if the right pumpkin is used. Fried Pumpkin. (I). Cut the pumpkin into small pieces about half-an-inch square and boil and simmer them as above in salted water until soft, then drain them. Melt a dessertspoon of butter, lard or ground nut oil in the small frying pan ; when quite hot and bubbling put in the squares and fry them slightly brown. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve very hot. Boiled Paw Paw. (I). Half a green paw paw. 1 small teacup white sauce, 1 teaspoon salt. if liked. £ teaspoon pepper. Paw paws are only good as a vegetable when they are unripe, (that is to say at the end of the rainy season. Peel half a paw paw, take out the seeds and cut in pieces about half-an-inch square. Throw into boiling water (about a breakfastcup of water to a teacup of paw paw), add salt and boil, then simmer, till soft. Drain off the water, dust the paw paw with pepper and pour over it the white sauce (see index), or serve plain. Paw paw can also be fried. After draining it, heat a dessertspoon of butter, lard or ground nut oil in the small frying pan; when bubbling, put in the squares and fry them slightly brown. Dust with pepper and serve. When the paw paws begin to turn yellow they can be boiled in the same way, drained, then mashed and mixed with a dessertspoon of Heinz’s dessicated horse radish (which has first been soaked in a little water) to a breakfastcup of mashed paw paw. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, half-a-teaspoon dry mustard and a teaspoon of butter or lard. Mix well, pile in a pie dish and put to brown in the oven. Served thus, paw paws taste very much like fresh turnips. Stuffed Paw Paw or Stuffed Cucumber. (II). 1 small unripe paw paw or cucumber. 2 tablespoons white bread crumbs or crushed biscuits 2 tablespoons of any minced meat or fowl. 1. Cut the paw paw or out the seeds. 2 tablespoons tomato or onion pulp. 2 eggs, whole. 1 teaspoon butter or lard. 4 teaspoon salt, j teaspoon pepper. (A teaspoon chopped parsley.) cucumber in halves and take 2. In the small pudding basin mix the bread crumbs, minced meat, tomatoes or onion, salt, pepper, butter, the beaten-up eggs (and the parsley if available). Mix well but quite lightly and fill with the mixture the hollowed paw paw or cucumber. Sprinkle over a few bread crumbs, place on the top a small piece of butter or lard and put in a slow oven till the paw paw or cucumber is quite cooked. If there is any danger of their burning whilst in the oven, add a little butter or lard from time to time. Boiled Cucumber with White Sauce. (II). 1 small cucumber. £ teaspoon pepper. £ teaspoon salt. 1 small teacup white sauce (see index).