Cookery for every household

Pick the sorrel carefully, removing all the coarse stalks and any discoloured leaves. Then wash it well , in several waters and put it into a large saucepan with about one tea -cupful of water or just enough to cover the foot of the saucepan. Put on the lid and cook the sorrel slowly, stirring it occasionally, until it is quite tender. Like spinach, sorrel will reduce very much in the cooking. When ready, press it dry and rub it through a wire sieve. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the sorrel to it, and sprinkle in the flour. Mix well and add the milk or cream. Season to taste with pepper, salt, a pinch of nutmeg and a little fine sugar. Serve very hot, decorating the dish with a few croutons of fried bread (see Recipe 1301). Note. — White sauce may be used instead of the milk or cream. If the bitter taste of sorrel is objected to, a little spinach or a lettuce may be cooked along with it. This is a very good accompaniment to a dish of roast veal or mutton. Time to cook, about 20 minutes. Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. Spinach (Epinards) This is a very useful green vegetable with a pleasant and delicate flavour. It is lighter and more easily digested than some of the harder greens, such as cabbage, sprouts, &c., and for this reason it is a favourite with invalids and those suffering from a weak digestion. Spinach does not contain much nutriment, but it is cooling to the blood and laxative in character. It is also rich in nitre. It must be used fresh and young, as when old it develops a bitter taste, which is neither pleasant nor wholesome. The leaves require very careful washing, to rid them of all earth and grit. 569. Spinach with Butter (Epinards au Beurre) 2 lbs. spinach. 1 to 2 oz. butter. A pinch of nutmeg. Pepper and salt. A squeeze of lemon juice. Croutons of fried bread. To Prepare and Cook the Spinach. — Look over the spinach carefully, removing any faded and dis- coloured leaves and also any weeds which may be mixed with it. Remove also the coarser stalks by doubling the leaves and pulling them off lengthwise. Then wash the spinach thoroughly in several waters until quite free from grit. It must be remembered that spinach grows very near the ground and that it requires most careful washing to make it clean. Handle it as lightly as possible, and when clean lift it out of the water. Never drain the water off the spinach after washing, as this would mean leaving any remaining grit behind. Put the spinach into a large saucepan with just the water that hangs on the leaves, or if it is getting old about a tea-cupful of water, sprinkle it with a very little salt and put the lid on the pan. Cook until it is quite tender, stirring it frequently with a wooden spoon. When ready, drain well, pressing out all the water. Then rub the spinach through a wire sieve or chop it very finely. Melt the butter in a saucepan, put in the prepared spinach, season with pepper, salt, a pinch of nutmeg, and a squeeze of lemon juice, and make all thoroughly hot over the fire. Pile up the spinach in a neat pyramid on a hot dish. Dressed Spinach marking it up the sides with the back of a fork; and garnish round the base with triangular croutons of fried bread or toast symmetrically arranged, and if liked, some sections of hard-boiled egg cut in 6 or 8 pieces.