Mrs. Roundell's Practical cookery book

Beetroot must be carefully dug up or it will “bleed” and become pale and tasteless. The crown of a Beetroot should not be cut down closely, or much of the shoulder, which is the best part, will be lost. Beetroot should always be baked, as it loses colour and becomes as tough as indiarubber when boiled. Salt must never be added, for Beetroot is a thoroughly sweet vegetable, yielding a large amount of sugar. A large root will take a long time to cook, from an hour and a half to two hours to boil, and nearly as long to bake. Of course it cannot be tried with a skewer, but it will generally be done when the outside “ gives ” to a firm touch. It must not be skinned till it is cold. Many people like Beet- BEETROOT root best when cold, cut in thin slices, and served in a soupplate round a pile of celery, with mayonnaise sauce. Or, after baking, the Beetroot can be sliced, and served hot with bechamel sauce. The young tender leaves can be cooked like Spinach. Stewed Beetroot. — Bake the root and let it get cold. Peel it, slice it, and add some lemon-juice. Put the slices in a stewpan with just enough gravy to cover them, and simmer for half an hour. Before serving thicken the gravy with some cream coloured by beating up a couple of slices of Beetroot in the mortar. CABBAGE, BRUSSELS SPROUTS, AND BROCCOLI. It is important to remember that all varieties of the Cabbage must be first put into cold water with salt and vinegar so as to dislodge insects, then boiled, and then well drained, before any attempt is made to cook them in an artistic way. Still, Cabbage is far better steamed than boiled, as in steaming it does not absorb nearly so much water as in boiling. There are one or two excellent vegetable steamers for this purpose. The Cabbage must first be well sprinkled inside and out with salt, and the leaves thoroughly searched for insects. An ordinary Cabbage must be cut in half, or into four pieces, according to its size. When ready lay it, dry, in the perforated top of the tin steamer. Pill the bottom of the steamer just half full of water, set it over a brisk fire, and test the Cabbage from time to time with a skewer so as to ascertain when it is sufficiently cooked. Most green vegetables have a better flavour when steamed than when boiled, but their colour is dulled. To prevent this Wyvern advises that a bag of wood ashes should be placed in the water at the bottom of the steamer. Colcannon. — Take equal quantities of cold cooked cabbage and potatoes. Rub them through a sieve and mix them well together. Add pepper and salt, an ounce of butter, and a wellbeaten egg. Butter a small pudding basin, press the Colcannon into it, and bake in a hot oven from 30 to 40 minutes. Turn out into a hot dish and serve hot. Colcannon is particularly good with Bubble and Squeak. 330 CABBAGE, BRUSSELS SPROUTS, AND BROCCOLI Cabbag’G a la Creme. — Choose a firm white spring Cabbage, and boil it in two waters till tender, changing the water for fresh boiling water at the end of 15 minutes. Drain the Cabbage carefully, and chop it up small on a board. Put it back in the hot saucepan with an ounce of butter, a gill of cream, pepper and salt. Stir over the fire till hot, and turn it out into a hot dish.