Practical household cookery

Wash and peel a pound of artichokes as in No. 75 r, blanch them in boiling salt water for five minutes, then drain and put them in a stewpan with an ounce of melted butter. Moisten with half a pint of broth, season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and simmer very gently for about twenty-five minutes, with the stewpan covered, taking care to turn them, in order to acquire a deep yellow colour. When done, dish them up, squeeze the juice of a lemon over the remainder of the glaze, pour it over the artichokes, and serve. Note, — Pickled Jerusalem artichokes prepared in the following manner eat very well with cold meat : — Wash and peel four pounds of artichokes as previously described, cut these in thin slices, boil for five minutes in enough vinegar to soak them, and properly seasoned with salt, a dozen cloves, and two dozen peppercorns ; pour tlie lot into an earthenware pickle-jar, let the contents get cool, and then cover with a cork. It will keep for months, and any quantity can be taken out as wanted. 753. GREEN ARTICHOKES. BUTTER SAUCE. Cut half an inch off the top of six artichokes, pare off the bottoms and loose leaves, and boil them in plenty of salt water for about three-quarters of an hour ; drain them upside down on a cloth, and remove the fibrous substance from the inside with the handle of a spoon, then dish up on a napkin, and serve with Butter sauce (No. 216) in a sauceboat apart 754. ARTICHOKES A LA BARIGOULE. Trim six artichokes as in the foregoing, boil them in the same way, and remove the inside in a similar manner, then squeeze the water out, and season them slightly with salt and pepper. Meanwhile pour a gill of salad-oil into a frying-pan, and when hot, fry the top of the leaves in it for about three minutes, then the bottoms in a similar way, and drain the artichokes upside down on a cloth. Chop up fine half a pound of fresh and trimmed mushrooms, a handful of parsley, and four shalots, put these into a stewpan with three ounces of scraped fat bacon and an ounce of butter ; season with salt, pepper, and a little chopped thyme; fry the lot for about seven minutes, stirring the while ; then lay it on a plate and divide it in six parts ; put each part of this mixture in each artichoke ; place a thin slice of fat bacon on the top of each ; tie round with string to keep them in shape ; put them in a saut6-pan ; moisten with half a pint of good stock ; bake in the oven for fifteen minutes ; remove the string, dish them up, and serve. 765. ARTICHOKES A L'lTALIENNE. Ti*im, boil, and remove the inside of six artichokes as in the previous number ; dish them up, pour half a pint of boiling Sharp Italian sauce (Na 205) in the centre, and serve. 756. FRIED ARTICHOKES. Trim and pare off four nice artichokes as described for artichokes. Butter sauce. Cut them lengthwise in slices a quarter of an inch thick, remove the fibrous substance close to the bottom, and throw the pieces in cold water, with a gill of vinegar to keep them whita Prepare a batter with a gill of salad-oil, a quarter of a pound of flour, four yolks of eggs, salt and pepper to taste. When these ingredients have been well mixed together, if it is found that the batter is too thin, add a little flour; if too thick, a little cold water ; then drain the pieces of artichokes, and with the hand mix them well in the batter till they are all evenly coated ; after which, fry them in hot fat, previously heated to the right temperature for that purpose. When of a nice brown colour draw them out, and drain on a wire sieve ; sprinkle with salt, dish them up on a napkin, and serve. Note. — In addition to the above, artichokes either plain boiled or raw, can also be eaten k la poivrade, a mixture of oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. 767. SEAKALE. BUTTER SAUCE.