French Beans - Au Sauce Blanche

Ingredients

• Make a sauce blanche with flour
• melted butter
• some of the water in which the beans were cooked
• salt
• pepper
• a little nutmeg
• the yolk of a raw egg
• a spoonful of cream
• two or three drops of lime-juice

Method

1. 1

   Make a sauce blanche with flour, melted butter, and cooking water.

2. 2

   Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

3. 3

   Stir in egg yolk or cream and lime juice.

4. 4

   Pour over the beans and serve.

Nutrition per serving

As published

This recipe was extracted from Culinary jottings (1885) by A. R. Kenney-Herbert, page 77. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

salt ; cook this awhile till the onions take a pale colour, and then add the peas, vnih. as much broth as will just float them : simmer this patiently till the peas are thoroughly tender, then take up the pan, strain the liquor» spread out the peas on a dish and pick out the pieces of onion ; now thicken the liquor witli butter and flour, add- ing a tea-spoonful of sugar, and lastly, the peas again • stir well, bring the sauce-pan to steaming point, and serve. But, after all, there is no way of turning old peas to a satisfactory account as good as the puree. For this, boil them as previously described, and then work them through the sieve. When you have got them through, add butter, a little black pepper, salt, a very little sugar, with a spoonful of cream or good milk, and serve in a small mould. The flavour of lettuce is strongly recommended by some writers as a help to peas, and onions are also advocated. The lettuce should be shred, and put in Avith the peas to start with, and the onion should go in whole, both being removed when the peas are served. A slice of fat bacon is a capital thing to slip in with " jugged peas." Peas form a favorite entremets alone ; they should be, of course, carefully di-essed, and served as hot as possible. The following styles arc recommended : — 1. ''^ Petifs 20ois au he^trre,^' — boiled, or jugged peas, served with a pat of fresh butter melted in a small sauce- pan, and mixed with them at the last moment. OUR VEGETABLES. 137 2. " A la creme" — a coffee-cupful of boiling cream poured over tlieni just as you serve. 3. " Au jamhon,"" — finely minced liam, tossed in "butter and lightly fried, mixed with boiled, or jugged peas. 4. " Au lard,'^ — the same method, using bacon instead of ham. The bacon atoms should be nice and crisp. 5. The "p«?-ee," previously described. French beans (haricots verts,) are well worthy of our attention, for we can get them when other vegetables are out of season. They are, besides, the correct accompaniment of the roast saddle, the roast loin, and, of course, of venison. I^ow, there is a very common and very grievous mistake, which cooks — in India especially — are prone to make. They slice the pods of this bean into thin strips. By doing this, nearly all the flavour of the bean is lost. The pods, which must be gathered young, should be simply peeled all round to get rid of the delicate fibre, their ends should be nipped off, and they should then be plunged into toiling water : — a pinch of soda will preserve their bright green tint, and at least a tea-spoonful of salt and one of sugar should be mixed with the water. If quite young, there will be no fibre to remove. To preserve the green tint, the following plan is also recommended : — Put a large spoonful of wood ashes in a piece of linen, fold it up, and place it in a strainer, pouring the boiling water in which the beans are to be cooked over it. This plan is equally efi&cacious with globe arti- chokes, cabbages, &c. (Audot.) 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

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.