POTATO CROQUETTES OR CUTLETS.--These are very similar to potato b.a.l.l.s, only they should be smaller and more delicately flavoured. The potatoes are boiled and mashed, and, if the croquettes are wished to be very good, one or two hard-boiled yolks of eggs should be mixed with them. The mixture is slightly flavoured with shallot, savoury herbs or thyme, chopped parsley, and a little nutmeg. One or two fresh well-beaten-up eggs are now added, the mixture then rolled into small b.a.l.l.s no bigger than a walnut. These are then dipped in well-beaten-up egg, and then bread-crumbed. The b.a.l.l.s are fried a nice golden-brown colour and served.

Potato cutlets are exactly the same, only instead of shaping the mixture into a little ball, the ball is flattened into the shape of a small oval cutlet. These are then egged, bread-crumbed, and fried, but before being sent to table a small piece of green parsley stalk is stuck in one end to represent the bone of the cutlet. These little cutlets, placed on an ornamental sheet of white paper, at the bottom of the silver dish, look very pretty. A small heap of fried parsley should be placed in the centre of the dish.

POTATO PIE.--(_See_ SAVOURY DISHES, p. 112.)

POTATO CHEESECAKE.--(_See_ CHEESECAKES, p. 169.)

POTATO SALADS.--(_See_ SALADS, p. 101.)

POTATO, BORDER OF.--A very pretty dish can be made by making a border of mashed potatoes, hollow in the centre, in which can be placed various kinds of other vegetables, such as haricot beans, stewed peas, &c. The mashed potato should be mixed with one or two well-beaten-up eggs, and the outside of the border can be moulded by hand, to make it look smooth and neat; a piece of flexible tin, flat, will be found very useful, or even a piece of cardboard. If you wish to make the border ornamental, you can proceed exactly as directed under the heading Rice Borders, and if it is wished to make the dish particularly handsome, it can be painted outside, before being placed in the oven, with a yolk of egg beaten up with a tiny drop of hot water. When this is done, the potato border has an appearance similar in colour to the rich pastry generally seen outside a pie, or _vol au vent_. The inside of the potato border after it has been scooped out can be filled with plain boiled macaroni mixed with Parmesan cheese, and ornamented with a little chopped parsley on the top and a few small baked red ripe tomatoes. Again, it can be filled with white haricot beans piled up in the shape of a dome, with some chopped parsley sprinkled over the top. There are, perhaps, few dishes in vegetarian cookery that can be made to look more elegant.

POTATO BISCUITS (_M. Ude's Recipe_).--Take fifteen fresh eggs, break the yolks into one pan and the whites into another. Beat the yolks with a pound of sugar pounded very fine, sc.r.a.pe the peel of a lemon with a lump of sugar, dry that and pound it fine also; then throw into it the yolks, and work the eggs and sugar till they are of a whitish colour. Next whip the whites well and mix them with the yolks. Now sift half a pound of flour of potatoes through a silk sieve over the eggs and sugar. Have some paper cases ready, which lay on a plafond with some paper underneath. Fill the cases, but not too full; glaze the contents with some rather coa.r.s.e sugar, and bake the whole in an oven moderately heated.

POTATO BREAD.--In making bread, a portion of mashed potato is sometimes added to the flour, and this addition improves the bread very much for some tastes; it also keeps it from getting dry quite so soon. At the same time it is not so nutritious as ordinary home-made bread. Boil the required quant.i.ty of potatoes in their skins, drain and dry them, then peel and weigh them. Pound them with the rolling-pin until they are quite free from lumps, and mix with them the flour in the proportion of seven pounds of flour to two and a half pounds of potatoes. Add the yeast and knead in the ordinary way, but make up the bread with milk instead of water. When the dough is well risen, bake the bread in a gentle oven. Bake it a little longer than for ordinary bread, and, when it seems done enough, let it stand a little while, with the oven-door open, before taking it out.

Unless these precautions are taken, the crust will be hard and brittle, while the inside is still moist and doughy. This recipe is from "Ca.s.sell's Dictionary of Cookery."

POTATO CAKE.--Take a dozen good-sized potatoes and hake them in the oven till done, then peel and put them into a saucepan with a little salt and grated lemon-peel; set them upon the stove and put in a piece of fresh b.u.t.ter and stir the whole; add a little cream and sugar, still continuing to stir them; then let them cool a little and add some orange-flower water, eight yolks of eggs and four only of whites, whisked into froth; heat up the whole together and mix it with the potato puree. b.u.t.ter a mould and sprinkle it with bread-crumbs; pour in the paste, place the pan upon hot cinders, with fire upon the lid, and let it remain for three-quarters of an hour, or it may be baked in an oven.

POTATO CHEESE.--Potato cheeses are very highly esteemed in Germany; they can be made of various qualities, but care must be taken that they are not too rich and have not too much heat, or they will burst. Boil the potatoes till they are soft, but the skin must not be broken. The potatoes must be large and of the best quality. When boiled, carefully peel them and beat them to a smooth paste in a mortar with a wooden pestle. To make the commonest cheese, put five pounds of potato paste into a cheese-tub with one pound of milk and rennet; add a sufficient quant.i.ty of salt, together with caraways and c.u.min seed sufficient to impart a good flavour. Knead all these ingredients well together, cover up and allow them to stand three or four days in winter, two to three in summer. At the end of that time knead them again, put the paste into wicker moulds, and leave the cheeses to drain until they are quite dry. When dry and firm, lay them on a board and leave them to acquire hardness gradually in a place of very moderate warmth; should the heat be too great, as we have said, they will burst.

When, in spite of all precautions, such accidents occur, the crevices of the burst cheeses are, in Germany, filled with curds and cream mixed, some being also put over the whole surface of the cheese, which is then dried again. As soon as the cheeses are thoroughly dry and hard, place them in barrels with green chickweed between each cheese; let them stand for about three weeks, when they will be fit for use.

POTATOES A LA BARIGOULE.--Peel some potatoes and boil them in a little water with some oil, pepper, salt, onions, and savoury herbs. Boil them slowly, so that they can absorb the liquor; when they are done, brown them in a stew-pan in a little oil, and serve them to be eaten with oil and vinegar, pepper and salt.

POTATOES, BROILED.--Potatoes are served this way sometimes in Italy. They are first boiled in their skins, but not too long. They are then taken out and peeled, cut into thin slices, placed on a gridiron, and grilled till they are crisp. A little oil is poured over them when they are served.

POTATOES A LA LYONNAISE.--First boil and then peel and slice some potatoes.

Make some rather thin puree of onion. (_See_ SAUCE SOUBISE.) Pour this over the potatoes and serve.

Another way is to first brown the slices of potatoes and then serve them with the onion sauce, with the addition of a little vinegar or lemon-juice.

POTATOES A LA PROVENCALE.--Put a small piece of b.u.t.ter into a stew-pan, or three tablespoonfuls of oil, three beads of garlic, the peel of a quarter of a lemon, and some parsley, all chopped up very fine; add a little grated nutmeg, pepper and salt. Peel some small potatoes and let them stew till they are tender in this mixture. Large potatoes can be used for the purpose, only they must be cut tip into pieces. Add the juice of a lemon before serving.

HARICOT BEANS.--It is very much to be regretted that haricot beans are not more used in this country. There are hundreds of thousands of families who at the end of a year would be richer in purse and more healthy in body if they would consent to deviate from the beaten track and try haricot beaus, not as an accompaniment to a dish of meat, but as an article of diet in themselves. The immense benefit derived in innumerable cases from a diet of beans is one of the strongest and most practical arguments in favour of vegetarianism. Meat-eaters often boast of the plainness of their food, and yet wonder that they suffer in health. It is not an uncommon thing for a man to consult his doctor and to tell him, "I live very simply, nothing but plain roast or boiled."

Medical men are all agreed on one point, and that is that haricot beans rank almost first among vegetables as a nourishing article of diet. In writing on this subject, Sir Henry Thompson observes, "Let me recall, at the close of these few hints about the haricot, the fact that there is no product of the vegetable kingdom so nutritious, holding its own, in this respect, as it well can, even against the beef and mutton of the animal kingdom."

This is a very strong statement, coming as it does from so high an authority, and vegetarians would do well to hear it in mind when discussing the subject of vegetarianism with those who differ from them. Sir Henry proceeds as follows:--"The haricot ranks just above lentils, which have been so much praised of late, and rightly, the haricot being to most palates more agreeable. By most stomachs, too, haricots are more easily digested than meat is; and, consuming weight for weight, the eater feels lighter and less oppressed, as a rule, after the leguminous dish, while the comparative cost is very greatly in favour of the latter."

To boil haricot beans proceed as follows. We refer, of course, to the dried white haricot beans, the best of which are those known as Soissons.

The beans should be soaked in cold water overnight, and in the morning any that may be found floating on the top of the water should be thrown away.

Suppose the quant.i.ty be a quart; place these in a saucepan with two quarts of cold water, slightly salted. As soon as time water conies to the boil, move it so that the beans will only simmer gently; they must then continue simmering till they are tender. This generally takes about three hours, and if the water is hard, it is advisable to put in a tiny piece of soda.

This is the simple way of cooking beans usually recommended in cookery-books when they are served up with a dish of meat, such as a leg of mutton a la Bretonne, where the beans are served in some rich brown gravy containing fat. In vegetarian cookery, of course, we must proceed entirely differently, and there are various ways in which this nourishing dish can be served, as savoury and as appetising, and indeed more so, than if we had a.s.sistance from the slaughter-house. We will now proceed to give a few instances.

In the first place, it will greatly a.s.sist the flavour of the beans if we boil with them one or two onions and a dessertspoonful of savoury herbs.

Supposing, however, we have them boiled plain. Take a large dry crust of bread and rub the outside well over with one or two beads of garlic. Place this crust of bread with the beans after they have been strained off, and toss them lightly about with the crust without breaking the beans. Remove the crust and moisten the beans while hot with a lump of b.u.t.ter, add a br.i.m.m.i.n.g dessertspoonful of chopped blanched parsley; squeeze the juice of a lemon over the whole, and serve. Instead of b.u.t.ter we can add, as they always do in Italy, two or three tablespoonfuls of pure olive oil. Those who have conquered the unreasonable English prejudice against the use of oil will probably find this superior to b.u.t.ter.

If the beans are served in the form of a puree, it is always best to boil a few onions with them and rub the onions through the wire sieve with the beans, taking care that the quant.i.ty of onion is not so large that it destroys and overpowers the delicate and delicious flavour of the beans themselves.

Next, we would call attention to the importance of not throwing away the water in which the beans were boiled. This water contains far more nourishment than people are aware of, and throughout the length and breadth of France, where economy is far more understood than in this country, it is invariably saved to a.s.sist in making some kind of soup, and as our soup will, of course, be vegetarian, the advantage gained is simply incalculable.

FLAGEOLETS.--These are haricot beans in the fresh green state, and are rarely met with in this country, though they form a standing dish abroad.

They are exceedingly nice, and can be cooked in a little b.u.t.ter like the French cook green peas. They are often flavoured with garlic, and chopped parsley can be added to them. Those who are fond of this vegetable in the fresh state can obtain them in tins from any high-cla.s.s grocer, as the leading firms in this country keep them in this form for export.

PEAS, DRIED.--Dried peas, like dried beans, contain a very great amount of nourishment. Indeed, in this respect, practically, dried beans, dried peas, and lentils may be considered equal. Dried peas are met with in two forms--the split yellow pea and those that are dried whole, green. Split peas are chiefly used in this country to make pea soup, or puree of peas and peas pudding. We have already given recipes for the two former, and will now describe how to make--

PEAS PUDDING.--Soak a quart of peas in water overnight, throwing away those in the morning that are found floating at the top. Drain them off and tie them up in a pudding-cloth, taking care to leave plenty of room for the peas to swell; put them into cold water, and boil them till they are tender. This will take from two to three hours. When tender, take them out, untie the cloth, and rub them through a colander, or, better still, a wire sieve. Now mix in a couple of ounces of b.u.t.ter with some pepper and salt, flour the cloth well and tie it up again and boil it for another hour, when it can be turned out and served. Peas pudding when eaten alone is improved by mixing in, at the same time as the b.u.t.ter, a dessertspoonful of dried powdered mint, also, should you have the remains of any cold potatoes in the house, it is a very good way of using them up. A few savoury herbs can be used instead of mint.

PEAS "BROSE."--Dr. Andrew, in writing to the "Cyclopaedia of Domestic Medicine," says, "In the West of Scotland, especially in Glasgow, 'peas brose,' as it is called, is made of the fine flour of the white pea, by forming it into a ma.s.s merely by the addition of boiling water and a little salt. It is a favourite dish with not only the working cla.s.ses, but it is even esteemed by many of the gentry. It was introduced into fashion chiefly by the recommendation of Dr. Cleghorn, late Professor of Chemistry in Glasgow University. The peas brose is eaten with milk or b.u.t.ter, and is a sweet, nourishing article of diet peculiarly fitted for persons of a costive habit and for children."

PEAS, DRIED WHOLE, GREEN.--This is perhaps the best form with which we meet peas dried. When the best quality is selected, and care taken in their preparation, they are quite equal to fresh green peas when they are old.

Indeed, many persons prefer them.

Soak the peas overnight, throwing away those that float at the top; put them into cold water, and when they boil let the peas simmer gently till they are tender. The time varies very much with the quality and the size of the peas, old ones requiring nearly three hours, others considerably less. When the peas are tender, throw in some sprigs, if possible, of fresh mint, and after a minute strain them off; add pepper, salt, and about two ounces of b.u.t.ter to a quart of peas--though this is not absolutely necessary--and nearly a dessertspoonful of white powdered sugar.

If you wish to have the peas as bright a green as freshly gathered ones, after you strain them off you can mix them in a basin, before you add the b.u.t.ter, with a little piece of green vegetable colouring (sold in bottles by all grocers). The peas should then be put back in the saucepan for a few minutes to be made hot through, and then finished as directed before.

PEAS, DRIED, GREEN, WITH CREAM.--Boil the peas as before directed till they are quite tender, then strain them off and put them in a stew-pan with one ounce of b.u.t.ter to every quart of peas and toss them lightly about with a little pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg. Add to each quart of peas a quarter of a pint of cream and a dessertspoonful of powdered sugar; surround the dish with fried or toasted bread.

LENTILS.--Lentils are, comparatively speaking, a novel form of food in this country, though they have been used abroad for many years, and a recipe for cooking them will be found in a well-known work, published in Paris in 1846, ent.i.tled "_La Cuisiniere de la Campagne et de la Ville; ou, Nouvelle Cuisine Economique_," one of the most popular French cookery-books ever published, and which in that year had reached a circulation of 80,000 copies.

Recipes for boiled lentils and lentil soup are given in "Ca.s.sell's Dictionary of Cookery," published in 1875; but it is stated in the introductory remarks that lentils are little used in England except as food for pigeons, and adds, "They are seldom offered for sale." Since that date lentils have become an exceedingly popular form of food in many households, and vegetarians generally regard them as one of the most nourishing forms of food served at the table. There are two kinds of lentils, the German and Egyptian. The Egyptian are red and much smaller than the German, which are green. The former kind are generally used on the Continent, in Italy and the South of France, while, as the name implies, the green lentils are more commonly used in Eastern Europe. Either kind, however, can be used for making soup and puree, recipes of which have already been given, as well as for the recipes in the present chapter.

LENTILS, BOILED.--The lentils should be placed in soak overnight, and those that float should be thrown away. Suppose we have half a pint of lentils, they should be boiled in about a pint and a half of water. Boil them till they are tender, which will take about half an hour, then drain them off and put them back in the saucepan for a few minutes with a little piece of b.u.t.ter, squeeze over them the juice of half a lemon, and serve hot. Some people make a little thickened sauce with yolks of eggs and a little b.u.t.ter and flour mixed with the water in which they are boiled.

LENTILS, CURRIED.--Lentils are very nice curried. Boil the lentils as directed above till they are tender. When they are placed in a vegetable-dish make deep well in the centre and pour some thick curry sauce into it. (_See_ CURRY SAUCE.)