Finely mince one small carrot, one small turnip, one leek, one-third of a stick of celery, one-third of an onion, and some cabbage leaves. Stew the vegetables in one oz. of butter; moisten with one and one-half pints of white consommé, and set to boil. A few minutes having elapsed, add two small potatoes✪ Soupe a la Paysanne minced like the other vegetables, and complete the cooking gently. Send separately some roundels of sowp-flutes. 751—SOUPE AUX POIREAUX ET POMMES DE TERRE, otherwise A LA BONNE FEMME Finely mince the white of four medium-sized leeks. Put this into a stewpan with one oz. of butter, and stew gently for a quarter of an hour. Then add three medium-sized quartered potatoes, cut into roundels the thickness of pennies. Moisten with one pint of white consommé; add the necessary quantity of salt, and set to cook gently. When about to serve, finish the soup with one pint of boiled milk and one and one- half oz. of butter; pour it into the soup-tureen, and add twelve roundels of French soup-flutes✪ Soupe aux Poireaux et Pommes de Terre, cut as thinly as possible. 75a—SOUPE AUX ROGNONS Proceed exactly as for ‘‘ Soupe aux Foies de Volaille,’’ but substitute for the garnish of sliced livers one of calf’s or sheep’s kidney cut into large dice, or sliced, and briskly tossed in butter just before dishing up. Finish the soup similarly to the preceding one, 7.e., with Madeira. CHAPTER XIV FISH IN matters culinary, fish comprise not only the vertebrates of the sea and river, but also the esculent crustacea, mollusca, and chelonia, and one batrachian. Of course, the animals representing these various classes differ enormously in respect of their importance as articles of diet. Fresh-water fish, for in- stance, with the exception of salmon and some kinds of trout, are scarcely ever eaten in England; and the same applies to the frog. As regards salt-water fish, although certain species, such as the sole and the turbot, are in great demand, many other and excellent ones which are looked upon as inferior are seldom put into requisition by first-class cookery. Thus, Brill, Red Mullet, and Bass are not nearly so popular as they de- serve to be, and never appear on a menu of any importance. No doubt, Fashion—ever illogical and wayward—exercises her tyrannical sway here, as in other matters of opinion; for it will be found, even when the distinctions among fish are once established, that there exist a host of incongruities in the un- written law. Fresh cod is a case in point; should this fish appear on the menu of a grand dinner given by Royalty, the guests would not think it at all out of place; but if the chef of a large modern hotel ventured to include it among the items of a plain table-d’héte dinner he would most probably incur the scorn and indignation of his clientéle. This example, than which none could be better suited to our case, successfully shows that the culinary value of the fish has far less to do with the vogue the latter enjoys than the very often freakish whims of the public. One can but deplore the arbitrary proscription which so materially reduces the resources at the disposal of a cook, more particularly at a time when the universally imperious cry is for novelty and variety in dishes and menus respectively; and one can only hope that reason and good sense may, at no remote period, intervene to check the purposeless demands of both entertainers and their guests in this respect. FISH 261 Having regard to these considerations, I have omitted from this work, which is really a thesaurus of selected recipes and not a complete formulary, all those fish enumerated below, which are very rarely eaten in England, and the recipes for which could therefore serve no purpose :— 753—SHAD, chiefly served grilled. 754—FRESH ANCHOVIES, extremely rare, and may be grilled or fried.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Finely mince one small carrot, one small turnip, one leek, one-third of a stick of celery, one-third of an onion, and some cabbage leaves. Stew the vegetables in one oz. of butter; moisten with one and one-half pints of white consommé, and set to boil. A few minutes having elapsed, add two small potatoes minced like the other vegetables, and complete the cooking gently. Send separately some roundels of soup-flutes. 751—SOUPE AUX POIREAUX ET POMMES DE TERRE, otherwise A LA BONNE FEMME Finely mince the white of four medium-sized leeks. Put this into a stewpan with one oz. of butter, and stew gently for a quarter of an hour. Then add three medium-sized quartered potatoes, cut into roundels the thickness of pennies. Moisten with one pint of white consommé; add the necessary quantity of salt, and set to cook gently. When about to serve, finish the soup with one pint of boiled milk and one and onehalf oz. of butter; pour it into the soup-tureen, and add twelve roundels of French soup-flutes, cut as thinly as possible. 75a—SOUPE AUX ROGNONS Proceed exactly as for ‘‘ Soupe aux Foies de Volaille,’’ but substitute for the garnish of sliced livers one of calf’s or sheep’s kidney cut into large dice, or sliced, and briskly tossed in butter just before dishing up. Finish the soup similarly to the preceding one, 7.e., with Madeira. CHAPTER XIV IN matters culinary, fish comprise not only the vertebrates of the sea and river, but also the esculent crustacea, mollusca, and chelonia, and one batrachian. Of course, the animals representing these various classes differ enormously in respect of their importance as articles of diet. Fresh-water fish, for instance, with the exception of salmon and some kinds of trout, are scarcely ever eaten in England; and the same applies to the frog. As regards salt-water fish, although certain species, such as the sole and the turbot, are in great demand, many other and excellent ones which are looked upon as inferior are seldom put into requisition by first-class cookery. Thus, Brill, Red Mullet, and Bass are not nearly so popular as they deserve to be, and never appear on a menu of any importance. No doubt, Fashion—ever illogical and wayward—exercises her tyrannical sway here, as in other matters of opinion; for it will be found, even when the distinctions among fish are once established, that there exist a host of incongruities in the unwritten law. Fresh cod is a case in point; should this fish appear on the menu of a grand dinner given by Royalty, the guests would not think it at all out of place; but if the chef of a large modern hotel ventured to include it among the items of a plain table-d’héte dinner he would most probably incur the scorn and indignation of his clientéle. This example, than which none could be better suited to our case, successfully shows that the culinary value of the fish has far less to do with the vogue the latter enjoys than the very often freakish whims of the public. One can but deplore the arbitrary proscription which so materially reduces the resources at the disposal of a cook, more particularly at a time when the universally imperious cry is for novelty and variety in dishes and menus respectively; and one can only hope that reason and good sense may, at no remote period, intervene to check the purposeless demands of both entertainers and their guests in this respect. Having regard to these considerations, I have omitted from this work, which is really a thesaurus of selected recipes and not a complete formulary, all those fish enumerated below, which are very rarely eaten in England, and the recipes for which could therefore serve no purpose :— 753—SHAD, chiefly served grilled. 754—FRESH ANCHOVIES, extremely rare, and may be grilled or fried.

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