FoodNet

The profession of cookery, from a French point of view

1894

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Presented as published in 1894. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
into it, it not only obviates the necessity of using any onion in the dressing, but gives a piquant, elusive flavouring as difficult to ^' fix " as delicious to taste. Chives, too, belong to the onion family. They are worthy of much more popular use and culti- vation than they can boast at present : the root is bulbous, and grows up early in the spring, ready prepared for the " omelettes au fines herbes,'^ the soupe or salade '' printanier '' ; and for an addition to forcemeat or stuffing they are unrivalled. Thus we see that useful and valuable as onions are they cannot well do everything, as in this country they are unfortunately generally ex- pected to. In many greengrocers' shops, — large ones too — and on the costers' stalls in the street, leeks are a rarity, and always expensive ; shallots still rarer, garlic and chives unknown. Even in the country they are seen in but few gardens; and it is no uncommon thing to be asked what is their use. This is a state of affairs which needs remedying; we are conservative to our own loss, and, as a nation, remarkably slow to learn, or add to our knowledge. P.C. L CHAPTER XIII. tromatoes. FROM being one of the least known and most expensive vegetables^ tomatoes have become very common and plentiful^ bonght and eaten on the streets as freely as cherries or apples, and used in the kitchen almost as much as we can desire. Perhaps never better or more beneficial than when eaten raw, still, to be really nice thus, they ought to be freshly-gathered from the plant ; and few persons are able to do this. Next to eating them raw we may rank eating them ^^ marinees," or '^en salade,'' viz., slicing them in a dish, and dressing with salt and pepper, vinegar and oil. In Parisian restaurants they are served thus all the summer through, and ver}^ refreshing and acceptable they are. A small onion sliced with them is an agreeable 146 TOMATOES, i^-j addition. The}^ are even better than cucumbers if dressed in this manner and served with cold meats. A puree of tomatoes may be made exactly in the same way as the puree of sorrel or spinach, and. served with hot meat. With veal, poultry, sweetbreads, mutton cutlets, or pigeons halved, and done on the grill, a puree of tomatoes, highly seasoned and made fairly thick, is a great addition to the dish. The same puree is invaluable as an aid in using up the remains of cold meat. The latter may be merely sliced and laid in the puree to become hot through, or the slices may be lightly frizzled first. In winter the tinned tomatoes will answer the purpose excellently well, therefore it is well to have them in reserve : an un-appetising dish of cold meat may be quickly transformed into a delicious savoury by their aid at very short notice. An edging of well-boiled rice is a pretty finish to the dish. Plenty of seasoning — especially pepper — should be used with tomatoes, a pinch of cayenne is an advantage. 148 TOMATOES. Tomato Soup Tomato Soup