Caneton a 1' Orange. — Take a good fat duck, clean
it out, and put the liver apart. Singe the duck, and clean
it very carefully. Then mince the liver with a little
onion and some grated bacon or ham, add salt and
pepper. Put the stuffing inside the duck. Now close
the opening of the duck ; leave the skin of the neck long,
and bring it round under the duck to close the tail.
Spread on the table a clean pudding -cloth, and roll the
duck in this rather tightly, to preserve the shape. Tie up
the two ends of the cloth with string. Put into a stew-
pan, with boiling salted water. Continue to boil it quietly
for one hour for an ordinary duck, one hour and ten
minutes if large ; it will then be cooked, and ought to be
a good pink colour. (Chickens boiled in the same way are
excellent.) Take three oranges, peel them with a spoon,
cut the peel in quarters, taking out all the white ; shred the
8o POT-POURRI FROM A SURREY GARDEN
peel as if for Julienne soup ; put it into water for
seven or eight minutes, drain on a cloth. Take the
rest of the orange, removing all the white ; put the pulp
into a good reduced stock half glazed. Add Spanish
sauce (see ' Dainty Dishes ' ), two or three spoonfuls, and
a little red wine — port is best. Pass through a sieve, and
then add the chips of orange-peel. Unpack the duck,
serve on a dish, surround it with pieces of orange ; put
a little sauce over the duck and the rest in a sauce-
boat.
Another good and useful receipt is the following :—
French Pie.— Cut up 2 Ibs. of lean veal, 2 Ibs. of
bacon, and 2 Ibs. of lean pork, in very thin slices. Place
them in layers in a fireproof pie-dish. Moisten with
stock, and chop up a little herb and very little onion, and
put it between the slices of meat. Cover with a sham
crust of flour and water. Take all the cuttings, parings,
bones, &c. ; cook these in water or weak stock, and
reduce to a large teacupful.
When the pie has baked some time slowly, take it out,
take off the crust and pour in the teacupful of stock.
When it has cooled, it improves the appearance of the
dish to put some well-made aspic jelly (see ' Dainty
Dishes ') on the top.
As it was the end of Lent, I had the chance of seeing
several maigre dishes. All the good cooking which hung
about monasteries and convents was swept out of England
by the Eeformation. It has returned only in my life-
time, for gastronomic or health reasons rather than for
religious mortification. The old object was to make
tasty and palatable what the rules of the Church allowed.
The French have a real talent for making good dishes out
of nothing, and this they share with no other nation in
the world. Ox-tails are not used to make soup in France,
or were not ; but when the French refugees came over
APRIL 81
Page 48
Presented as published in 1898. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
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Caneton a 1' Orange. — Take a good fat duck, clean
it out, and put the liver apart. Singe the duck, and clean
it very carefully. Then mince the liver with a little
onion and some grated bacon or ham, add salt and
pepper. Put the stuffing inside the duck. Now close
the opening of the duck ; leave the skin of the neck long,
and bring it round under the duck to close the tail.
Spread on the table a clean pudding -cloth, and roll the
duck in this rather tightly, to preserve the shape. Tie up
the two ends of the cloth with string. Put into a stew-
pan, with boiling salted water. Continue to boil it quietly
for one hour for an ordinary duck, one hour and ten
minutes if large ; it will then be cooked, and ought to be
a good pink colour. (Chickens boiled in the same way are
excellent.) Take three oranges, peel them with a spoon,
cut the peel in quarters, taking out all the white ; shred the
8o POT-POURRI FROM A SURREY GARDEN
peel as if for Julienne soup ; put it into water for
seven or eight minutes, drain on a cloth. Take the
rest of the orange, removing all the white ; put the pulp
into a good reduced stock half glazed. Add Spanish
sauce (see ' Dainty Dishes ' ), two or three spoonfuls, and
a little red wine — port is best. Pass through a sieve, and
then add the chips of orange-peel. Unpack the duck,
serve on a dish, surround it with pieces of orange ; put
a little sauce over the duck and the rest in a sauce-
boat.
Another good and useful receipt is the following :—
French Pie.— Cut up 2 Ibs. of lean veal, 2 Ibs. of
bacon, and 2 Ibs. of lean pork, in very thin slices. Place
them in layers in a fireproof pie-dish. Moisten with
stock, and chop up a little herb and very little onion, and
put it between the slices of meat. Cover with a sham
crust of flour and water. Take all the cuttings, parings,
bones, &c. ; cook these in water or weak stock, and
reduce to a large teacupful.
When the pie has baked some time slowly, take it out,
take off the crust and pour in the teacupful of stock.
When it has cooled, it improves the appearance of the
dish to put some well-made aspic jelly (see ' Dainty
Dishes ') on the top.
As it was the end of Lent, I had the chance of seeing
several maigre dishes. All the good cooking which hung
about monasteries and convents was swept out of England
by the Eeformation. It has returned only in my life-
time, for gastronomic or health reasons rather than for
religious mortification. The old object was to make
tasty and palatable what the rules of the Church allowed.
The French have a real talent for making good dishes out
of nothing, and this they share with no other nation in
the world. Ox-tails are not used to make soup in France,
or were not ; but when the French refugees came over
APRIL 81