Cassell's dictionary of cookery

Salsify, Boiled (M. Soyers way).— "I do not know," says M. Soyor, " why this vegetable, which is held in such high esteem on the Continent, should be so little esteemed with us. I will here supply their manner of cooking it, and perhaps you will give it a fair trial. Take twelve middling-sized ones, scrape them well till quite white, rub each with lemon, and put them in cold water. Put into a stewpan a quarter of a pound of beef or mutton suet cut in small dice, one onion, a bit of thyme, a bay-leaf, a table-spoonful of salt, and four cloves ; put on the fire, and stir for five minutes; add two table-spoonfuls of flour, and stir well ; then add three pints of water. When just boiling, put in your salsify, and simmer till tender. They will take nearly one hour. Dish on toast ; sauce over with Dutch, maitre d'hotel, or onion sauce, or a very good demi-glaze, or Italian sauce. Should any remain, they may be made into fritters thus : Put them in a basin, add a little salt, pepper, two spoonfuls of vinegar, half a chopped shallot, and a spoonful of oil ; place in the salsify, and let it remain for some hours. When ready to serve, make a small quantity of batter, dip each piece in it, and fry for five minutes in lard or fat ; dish up with fried parsley over." Salsify, Boiled, Plain.— Scrape the roots lightly, either cut them into three-inch lengths, or leave them whole, and throw them into water with a little lemon till wanted. Put them into boiling salt and water, and keep them boiling quickly till tender. Drain them, arrange on toast upon a hot dish, and pour over them good melted butter — white sauce, Dutch sauce, maitre d'hotel sauce, onion sauce, or Italian sauce, however, may be used. Sometimes the salsify is boiled in sauce flavoured with vegetables, herbs, and spices instead of water. Time to boil, about one hour. Probable cost, variable. Sufiiciont, a dozen roots for a dish. Salsify Croquettes.— Wash, scrape, and boil the salsify till perfectly tender. Rub it through a colander or mash it, and mix with the puree a little butter, cream, salt, cayenne, and lemon-juice : beat it till the ingredients are thoroughly mixed and constitute a stiff smooth paste. Place this on ice, and when it is quite cold, shape it into the form of corks. Dip these into clarified butter, or, if preferred, into beaten egg and grated bread-crumbs, and fry them in hot fat till they are crisp and brown. Lift them up, drain, and serve. Salsify, Fried.— Make a batter as follows : — Take six spoonfuls of flour, a small pinch of salt, a spoonful of olive oil, and beat the whole with beer enough to make it into batter, but do not make it too liquid. Then beat the whites of two eggs, and when well beaten pour them into the batter, which you must keep stirring gently. Next put the vegetables, that are done beforehand and well drained in a cloth, into the batter ; take them out again one by one, and throw them into the dripping. Use a skewer to prevent their sticking together. When fried of a fine colour and crisp, send them up with fried parsley in the centre of the dish, and a little pounded salt sprinkled over the vegetables. — Udel. Salsify, Fried, or Salsify Fritters.