I have however found that French beans grown in India lose so much of their flavour by being hailed that I have adopted steaming them in an ordinary vegetable steamer. The pods may be cut across into lengths of an inch and a 138 CULINARY JOTTINGS FOR MADRAS. half to facilitate operations. Be sure that the beans are quite young, or they will be tough. As soon as the fibre round the pods becomes stringy, they are too old. Having cooked the beans to your satisfaction, you can serve them in the following excellent methods, and always secure a nice entremets with them if you like : — 1. " Aux fines herhes.'' — Turn them out into a hot dish, melt a lump of butter in a little sauce-pan with some finely- chopped parsley, some common garden cress, some finely- minced shallot if approved, some pepper, and a pinch of gi'ated nutme✪ French Beans - Aux Fines Herbesg, — pour over the beans, and serve. 2. " Au sauce blanche.^' — Make a sauce hlanche with flour and melted butter, some of the water in which the beans were cooked, salt, pepper, and a little nutmeg ; stir into this the yolk of a raw egg, or a spoonful of cream, give it two or three drops of lime-juice, and add as above. 3. " Au sauce au fromage.'" — Make a sauce blanche as above, enrich it with the yolks of two eggs and a little milk or cream, dredge into it a table-spoonful of mild grated cheese, and pom- it over the beans piping hot. 4. " Au lard.'' — Mince some fat bacon with a little shallot, and work them awhile in the sauce-pan : add the boiled French beans, toss them about for a minute or two, and serve. 5. " A la creme.'" — Pour a coffee-cupful of boiling cream over the beans. 6. " A la maitre dlwtel.^' — Stir a table-spoonful of maitre dliotel butter into them when piping hot. A well-made tomato sauce, souhise sauce, or a rich veloute, are all applicable to French beans : and a pnulette made of butter, a little flour, and some of the water in which the beans were cooked, thickened with yolks of eggSj and seasoned with salt, assists them greatly. OUR VEGETABLES. 139 French, beans, cold, make a capital salad : I must, how- ever, reserve that form of serving them for discnssion elsewhere. English people are apt to ignore the leans of haricots verts, kidney beans, scarlet runners, and dwarf beans, which when shelled green, and served in various ways are known abroad as flageolets. As a rule we try to eat the pods long after they have outgrown their edible stage, and have become stringy and tough. Now, the young bean when about three parts grown is delicious, and, omitting the mint, may be cooked as laid down for peas and served as recommended for haricots verts. Flageolets a la creme, a la poulette, or a la mattre d'hotel, make quite a first class entremets. Haeicots verts paxaches, a capital dish, is composed of young green pods and shelled beans mixed together. You can thus dispose of the old pods, and use the tender ones to the best advantage. This recipe will be found useful by those who grow their own beans. N. B. — The water in which peas or beans are boiled, " eau de la cuisson,^^ is, remember, a loeah stoch. Use it when making your sauce blanche in preference to milk or plain water. The pepper used with these vegetables should be black, and freshly ground. For this you should possess one of the newly introduced pepper-mills. OIEiu^X^'TEI^ ^ Vegetables— concluded.

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I have however found that French beans grown in India lose so much of their flavour by being hailed that I have adopted steaming them in an ordinary vegetable steamer. The pods may be cut across into lengths of an inch and a 138 CULINARY JOTTINGS FOR MADRAS. half to facilitate operations. Be sure that the beans are quite young, or they will be tough. As soon as the fibre round the pods becomes stringy, they are too old. Having cooked the beans to your satisfaction, you can serve them in the following excellent methods, and always secure a nice entremets with them if you like : — 1. " Aux fines herhes.'' — Turn them out into a hot dish, melt a lump of butter in a little sauce-pan with some finely- chopped parsley, some common garden cress, some finely- minced shallot if approved, some pepper, and a pinch of gi'ated nutmeg, — pour over the beans, and serve. 2. " Au sauce blanche.^' — Make a sauce hlanche with flour and melted butter, some of the water in which the beans were cooked, salt, pepper, and a little nutmeg ; stir into this the yolk of a raw egg, or a spoonful of cream, give it two or three drops of lime-juice, and add as above. 3. " Au sauce au fromage.'" — Make a sauce blanche as above, enrich it with the yolks of two eggs and a little milk or cream, dredge into it a table-spoonful of mild grated cheese, and pom- it over the beans piping hot. 4. " Au lard.'' — Mince some fat bacon with a little shallot, and work them awhile in the sauce-pan : add the boiled French beans, toss them about for a minute or two, and serve. 5. " A la creme.'" — Pour a coffee-cupful of boiling cream over the beans. 6. " A la maitre dlwtel.^' — Stir a table-spoonful of maitre dliotel butter into them when piping hot. A well-made tomato sauce, souhise sauce, or a rich veloute, are all applicable to French beans : and a pnulette made of butter, a little flour, and some of the water in which the beans were cooked, thickened with yolks of eggSj and seasoned with salt, assists them greatly. OUR VEGETABLES. 139 French, beans, cold, make a capital salad : I must, how- ever, reserve that form of serving them for discnssion elsewhere. English people are apt to ignore the leans of haricots verts, kidney beans, scarlet runners, and dwarf beans, which when shelled green, and served in various ways are known abroad as flageolets. As a rule we try to eat the pods long after they have outgrown their edible stage, and have become stringy and tough. Now, the young bean when about three parts grown is delicious, and, omitting the mint, may be cooked as laid down for peas and served as recommended for haricots verts. Flageolets a la creme, a la poulette, or a la mattre d'hotel, make quite a first class entremets. Haeicots verts paxaches, a capital dish, is composed of young green pods and shelled beans mixed together. You can thus dispose of the old pods, and use the tender ones to the best advantage. This recipe will be found useful by those who grow their own beans. N. B. — The water in which peas or beans are boiled, " eau de la cuisson,^^ is, remember, a loeah stoch. Use it when making your sauce blanche in preference to milk or plain water. The pepper used with these vegetables should be black, and freshly ground. For this you should possess one of the newly introduced pepper-mills. OIEiu^X^'TEI^ ^ Vegetables— concluded.

Culinary jottings