A guide to modern cookery

Meanwhile fry a large, chopped onion in butter; add thereto two-thirds lb. of parboiled and chopped spinach per twelve artichokes. Stir over an open fire, that all moisture may evaporate, and add salt and pepper, a piece of crushed garlic the size of a pea, a tablespoonful of anchovy purée, and two tablespoonfuls of Velouté. Cook gently for ten minutes. Stuff the artichoke-bottoms with this preparation; arrange them on a buttered dish; coat with Mornay sauce; sprinkle with Gruyére, cut brunoise-fashion, and set to glaze in a flerce oven. Upon withdrawing the dish from the oven, sprinkle the artichoke-bottoms with a few drops of melted anchovy butter. 2035—FONDS D’ARTICHAUTS AUX POINTES D’ASPERGES Prepare the artichoke-bottoms as above; stew them in butter, and garnish them with asparagus-heads, covered with cream, and heaped in pyramid-form. Lay them on a buttered dish; coat with Mornay sauce, and set to glaze quickly. 2036—FONDS D’ARTICHAUTS SAUTES Remove the leaves and the chokes from the artichokes, trim the bottoms, and slice them up raw. Season them with salt and pepper; toss them in butter; set them in a vegetable-dish, and sprinkle them with herbs. 2037—PUREE OU CREME D’ARTICHAUTS Take some very tender artichokes; trim and turn the bottoms, and half-cook them, keeping them very white. Complete their cooking in butter, and rub them through a fine sieve, together with the butter used in cooking. Put the purée thus obtained in a saucepan, and add to it the half of its bulk of mashed, very smooth, and creamy potatoes. Finish the purée with a little fresh and a little hazel-nut butter, the latter being used to increase the flavour of the artichokes. 2038—ASPARAGUS (Asperges) The best-known varieties of asparagus in England are :— 1. The Lauris asparagus, which is par excellence the earlyseason kind. 2. The green, Parisian asparagus, which is very small, and of which the most diminutive sticks, also called sprew, serve for garnishes. 3. The Argenteuil asparagus—very much in demand while it is in season. 4. English asparagus, which is somewhat delicate in quality, but inclined to be small. During the season there are, besides, several other kinds of asparagus imported from Spain or France, which, though not equal to the four kinds above mentioned, may nevertheless be used for soups or garnishes instead of asparagus-heads or sprew. Asparagus should be had as fresh as possible; it should be cleaned with care, quickly washed, tied into faggots, and cooked in plenty of salted water. Certain kinds, the flavour of which is somewhat bitter, should be transferred to other water as soon as cooked, with the view of reducing their bitterness. Asparagus is dished on special silver drainers, or on napkins. 2039—ASPERGES A LA FLAMANDE According to Flemish custom, asparagus is served with one hot, hard-boiled half-egg, and one oz. of melted butter per person. The egg-yolk is crushed, seasoned, and finished with the butter by the consumers themselves. This accompaniment may also be prepared beforehand and served in a sauceboat. 2040—ASPERGES AU GRATIN Dish the asparagus in rows, and coat the heads of each row with a little Mornay sauce. When all are dished, twothirds cover the bunch with a band of buttered paper, and coat the uncovered portion with Mornay sauce. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan; glaze quickly at the salamander, remove the paper, and serve at once. 2041—ASPERGES A LA MILANAISE Having thoroughly drained the asparagus, set it on a long, buttered dish sprinkled with grated Parmesan; arrange it in successive rows, each of which sprinkle in the region of the heads with grated Parmesan. When about to serve, cover the cheese-powdered parts copiously with nut-brown butter, and set to glaze slightly at the salamander. $S 2