Mrs. Roundell's Practical cookery book

Fried Celery with Celery Puree. — Trim and quarter, say, eight heads of Celery. Remove any stringy or hard pieces, and blanch for ten minutes in boiling salted water. Then stew the Celery in a little broth till tender. Divide the Celery into two equal parts. Rub one half through a sieve, making it into a puree by adding milk. Season with white pepper and salt, and keep the puree hot. Take the other half of the Celery, which has remained in pieces. Coat each piece well by dipping it in milk and then rolling it in a cloth with plenty of dried flour. Fry these pieces a golden brown. Place them upright in a hot dish, and fill the centre with the puree. Stir a little bit of butter into the puree at the last moment. The pieces of Celery are improved by frying them in batter. Braised Celery. — Trim, blanch, wash, and drain the Celery as before. Melt an ounce of butter in a stewpan. Cover the bottom closely with sliced vegetables of all sorts. Place the Celery upon this carpet, covering it with a buttered paper. Put the cover on the pan, and fry all gently for fifteen minutes. Then add a pint and a half of stock, and let the Celery braise gently for two hours and a half. Turn it about from time to time, in order to baste it in the broth, but be careful not to break it. The braising is the important part. When the Celery is tender split each piece into four, place on nicely-fried long croutons, and serve. CELERIAC. Celeriac, or turnip-rooted Celery, the Celeri Rave of the French, is another vegetable too often neglected in this country. z CELERIAC The roots and not the stalks are used, and Celeriac is most useful when Celery fails. The roots can he stored in autumn in a shed, or, with a little protection, they can be left in the ground and taken up as required. Celeriac can be used in October. The roots should be well washed, the leaves cut off about an inch from the roots, and if the roots are very large it is well to divide them. Blanch them in boiling salted water, and drain thoroughly. Celeriac makes an excellent puree, and is very good in cooked salads. Wyvern suggests that the roots when peeled should be cut with a root-cutter into round or oval balls before blanching and draining. They are then to be put into a well-buttered stewpan, covered with broth, simmered till tender, and served with either a brown or white sauce, or glazed for a garnish. The Celeriac can be simmered in the sauce and the sauce allowed to reduce with the Celeriac in it. In this case it should be served in a deep dish with the sauce poured round it, and (as with Cardoons) the sauce, whether brown or white, should be as thick as cream. CAPSICUM. This very pretty little shrub belonging to Tropical America is easily cultivated in a greenhouse. The fruit when ripe is bright red, and by gathering and grinding a few at a time fresh and pure Cayenne Pepper is readily made at home. The berries keep pretty well when gathered, but it is much better to let them hang on the bush and pick them as required. The same Capsicum, Capsicum Baccatum , is the CMli, and the fruits when in a green state are made into Chili Vinegar by simmering them in salt and water, and putting them, covered with mustard, into a jar which is filled up with vinegar. This, however, is better bought in small quantities, the Capsicum fruits being allowed to ripen for Cayenne Pepper. CHESTNUTS.