Practical household cookery

Remarks on Rice. Rice, like paste, can be eaten with as much advantage in soups as in made dishes, and in either case will always be found nourishing, appetising, and refreshing. Its cooking differs but slightly from paste, as rice can be boiled in the soup with which it is intended to be served. It can also be prepared in more than a hundred different ways, and eaten by all classes, from its simplest and cheapest mode of preparation to the most expensive and luxurious made dishes. Rice is good in almost every soup, can be eaten with any meat, fish, or poultry, is made into various >«i V' «,' puddings, and sensed as a sweet with any kind of stewed fruit. The best rice to use is the Italian, the grain of which is short and plump. It can be distinguished from others by a slight grey tinge, and, although dearer than the Indian and Egyptian, is, nevertheless, cheaper than either, on account of its swelling propensity and nourishing properties, which are not possessed by others to the same extent. Never attempt to make a "risotto" with a long white-grained rice, as you will fail. 102. PLAIN RICE AND BROTH. Pour three pints of good broth into a stewpan, and set it to the boil. Meantime wash in a basin, with two or three different cold waters, a pint of rice; when the broth is on the boil throw the rice in, boil for about twenty minutes, season with salt and a little pepper, pour into a soup-tureen, and serve with grated cheese on a plate apart. Note, — Rice can also be cooked in plain water, drained, and served with boiling broth, in which case it keeps clearer. 103. RICE AND CABBAOE SOUP. Blanch in salt water for a few minutes the heart of a cabbage cut in eight parts; strain the water through a colander; press the cabbage, and put it back into the stewpan with three pints of cold broth, a small knuckle or ham -bone, and a quarter of a pound of rice, properly washed, as in No. 102 ; boil for twenty-five minutes, season to taste, take the bone or knuckle out, and pour the soup into a soup-tureen. This soup can be made " maigre " by using water instead of broth; in which case add two ounces of butter a few minutes before serving. . 104. RICE AND POTATO SOUP. Proceed with the potatoes as for cabbage, described in the previous number, but omit the knuckle or ham-bone. 105. RICE AND VEGETABLE SOUP. All kinds of vegetables are good for this soup, but must first be blanched in boiling salt water for a few minutes and properly dried ; then fry them in a stewpan with butter ; soak them afterwards with good gravy in another stewpan, and boil till cooked. Meantime boil three pints of broth; throw half a pint of rice into it, and after twenty minutes of ebullition mix with the vegetables and gravy, season with salt and pepper, stir, pour into a soup-tureen, and serve with a little grated cheese on a plate apart. Macaroni or any other paste can be added to either of the above soups, provided it has been previously cooked apart. 106. MINESTRONE. The minestrone is a real Italian national soup. It is composed of a mixture of vegetables and rice, is very much appreciated and considered as a delicacy by the natives. Vegetables used for this soup should be fresh and tender, and the following are generally the most in request. Take the heart of a small cabbage, one carrot, four potatoes, three leeks, and half a head of celery; shred very fine; blanch these separately; strain and fry them in two ounces of butter with half a pint of kidney beans, half a pint of green peas, and a dozen French beans cut in small diamonds ; then take one ounce of fat bacon, mash with a knife-blade the clove of a garlic, and mix it with the bacon,