A guide to modern cookery

Fry a medium-sized onion in butter, and add to it one-half Ib. of Piedmont rice. Put the rice on the side of the stove; add some saffron to it and stir it until it is well saturated with butter. Moisten the rice with about one quart of consommé per lb. The consommé should be added to the rice in seven. or eight instalments, and as fast as it becomes absorbed, a fresh supply should be forthcoming. When adding the liquor, stir the rice with a wooden spoon. Cook the rice under cover, and, to the resulting preparation, which should thus be creamy, add a few pieces of fresh butter and some grated Parmesan. The dish may be finished, either with shavings of white truffles or ham cut into dice. 2259—SALSIFY or OYSTER PLANT (Salsifis) There are two kinds of salsify :—the white and the black, which is also called ‘‘ viper’s grass.” After having carefully scraped and washed it, cook it in a blanc. The same preparations suit the two kinds. 2260—FRIED SALSIFY After having thoroughly drained it, cut it into three and one-half lengths, and put these on a dish. Season with salt and pepper; add lemon juice, a few drops of oil, some chopped parsley, and leave to marinade for from twenty-five to thirty minutes, taking care to toss the salsify from time to time. This done, drain the lengths of salsify, dip them in some thin batter; plunge them in very hot fat, and drain them when the batter is quite dry. Dish them on a napkin with fried parsley. N.B.—It is not absolutely necessary to marinade salsify ; the question is one of taste. 2261—SALSIFIS SAUTE Cut it into two-inch lengths; dry them very well, and toss these in butter in an omelet-pan, until they are of a nice golden colour. Season, and dish in a timbale with fried parsley. 2262—SALSIFIS A LA CREME Proceed as directed in the case of other vegetables prepared in this way. ee TOMATOES 2263—GRILLED TOMATOES Take some ripe tomatoes, if possible; oil them copiously, and: grill’ them: gently. 2264—TOMATES FARCIES- If the tomatoes to be stuffed be large, cut them in two laterally; if they be medium-sized or small, a lateral slice cut from their stem-ends is sufficient. In any case, press them slightly in order to exude their juice and seeds; season them inside with salt and pepper; set them on an oiled tray, and halfcook them in the oven. Finally, stuff them as their designation on the menu requires. 2265—TOMATES FARCIES AU GRATIN Having prepared the tomatoes as above, stuff them with somewhat stiff Duxelles; sprinkle with raspings and a few drops of oil, and set the gratin to form in a hot oven. On taking the dish out of the oven, surround the tomatoes with a thread of clear tomatéd half-glaze sauce. 2266—TOMATES FARCIES A LA PROVENCALE Prepare the tomatoes as follows :—Cut them in two; remove their seeds; season them, and place them, cut side undermost, in an omelet-pan containing very hot oil. Turn them over when they are half-cooked; cook them for a little while longer; lay them on a gratin-dish, and stuff them with the following preparation:—For six tomatoes, fry two tablespoonfuls of chopped onion in oil; add four peeled, pressed, and concassed tomatoes, a pinch of chopped parsley, and a crushed clove of garlic, and cook under cover for twelve minutes. Complete with four tablespoonfuls of bread-crumbs, soaked in consommé and rubbed through a sieve; two anchovies also rubbed through a sieve, and finish with some somewhat fat, braised-beef gravy. When the tomatoes are stuffed, sprinkle them with bread-crumbs combined with grated cheese; sprinkle with oil, and set the gratin to form. These tomatoes may be served either hot or cold. 2267—TOMATES FARCIES A LA PORTUGAISE Stuff the tomatoes with pilaff rice combined with a quarter