Calalou a l’Orientale. — Chop off both ends from a couple of
dozen gumbos or gombos, put them in a basin, sprinkle freely
with salt, and let them macerate for fifteen minutes or so.
Take them out, well wash them in warm water, put into a
saucepan of salted water and boil, taking care to preserve
their green colour. Take them out when done, and drain.
Have ready 2 or 3 handfuls of French beans, likewise
boiled in salted water. Cut two egg-plant fruits or mad-
apples into oblong squares, and let them macerate to extract
the water. Cut five or six large tomatoes in pieces, and take
out all the seeds or pips. Cut off the stems of a few green
sweet peppers, core them, slice the flesh lengthwise, and fry
them for five minutes. Put two sliced onions into a frying-
pan with a little oil, and fry them gently without allowing
them to take colour ; add the peppers, toss the pan until
they are partly cooked, then add the egg-plant fruits or mad-
apple3. Cook for a few minutes longer, add the tomatoes, and
cook until all the moisture has evaporated. Now add the
French beans, sprinkle over a little salt, cayenne, and chopped
parsley, with a small clove of garlic, cook for a minute or two,
put in the gumbos, which should have been warmed in a
frying-pan with a little oil, cook for two minutes longer,
turn the whole out on a dish, and serve. If the gumbos are
large they should be cut in thick slices before being warmed
in the oil.
CALF. — This Anglo-Saxon word, correctly spelled Cealf,
suggests a history cleverly explained by Sir Walter Scott
in his novel of “ Ivanhoe,” where Wamba, the jester,
expounds to Gurtb, the Saxon swineherd, the change that
the animal undergoes when it leaves its Saxon guardian
to be slaughtered for the table of the Norman master —
Saxon Calf becomes Norman Veal. This distinction has
become a custom of the country, and will therefore be
respected in the instructions given for preparing the
many splendid dishes to which the delicate white meat
Veal can be subjected; but, when dealing with those
dishes which are prepared from the “offal,” or those
parts which would formerly probably fall to the lot
of the slave, we retain the Saxon Calf. It must not
be supposed, however, that the term is now applied in
any sense of disparagement ; quite the reverse, for
since modern cooks have, by the exercise of culinary tact
and seasoning skill, directed their attention to those parts,
such as the head, brains, liver, sweetbread, and feet,
some dishes are now so prepared that no longer fall
to the lot of the lowly, but rank high amongst the
luxuries of the gourmet’s table. So much for the
modern cooks’ art, which has raised refuse or “offal”
into dainties, as displayed in the clever receipts given
under this heading.
Page 63
Presented as published in 1890. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Calalou a l’Orientale. — Chop off both ends from a couple of dozen gumbos or gombos, put them in a basin, sprinkle freely with salt, and let them macerate for fifteen minutes or so. Take them out, well wash them in warm water, put into a saucepan of salted water and boil, taking care to preserve their green colour. Take them out when done, and drain. Have ready 2 or 3 handfuls of French beans, likewise boiled in salted water. Cut two egg-plant fruits or madapples into oblong squares, and let them macerate to extract the water. Cut five or six large tomatoes in pieces, and take out all the seeds or pips. Cut off the stems of a few green sweet peppers, core them, slice the flesh lengthwise, and fry them for five minutes. Put two sliced onions into a fryingpan with a little oil, and fry them gently without allowing them to take colour ; add the peppers, toss the pan until they are partly cooked, then add the egg-plant fruits or madapples. Cook for a few minutes longer, add the tomatoes, and cook until all the moisture has evaporated. Now add the French beans, sprinkle over a little salt, cayenne, and chopped parsley, with a small clove of garlic, cook for a minute or two, put in the gumbos, which should have been warmed in a frying-pan with a little oil, cook for two minutes longer, turn the whole out on a dish, and serve. If the gumbos are large they should be cut in thick slices before being warmed in the oil.
CALF. — This Anglo-Saxon word, correctly spelled Cealf, suggests a history cleverly explained by Sir Walter Scott in his novel of “ Ivanhoe,” where Wamba, the jester, expounds to Gurtb, the Saxon swineherd, the change that the animal undergoes when it leaves its Saxon guardian to be slaughtered for the table of the Norman master — Saxon Calf becomes Norman Veal. This distinction has become a custom of the country, and will therefore be respected in the instructions given for preparing the many splendid dishes to which the delicate white meat Veal can be subjected; but, when dealing with those dishes which are prepared from the “offal,” or those parts which would formerly probably fall to the lot of the slave, we retain the Saxon Calf. It must not be supposed, however, that the term is now applied in any sense of disparagement ; quite the reverse, for since modern cooks have, by the exercise of culinary tact and seasoning skill, directed their attention to those parts, such as the head, brains, liver, sweetbread, and feet, some dishes are now so prepared that no longer fall to the lot of the lowly, but rank high amongst the luxuries of the gourmet’s table. So much for the modern cooks’ art, which has raised refuse or “offal” into dainties, as displayed in the clever receipts given under this heading.