Broad Beans (Fèves de marais).—These
may be cooked when old, as they are to
love
er
but horse feed; indeed, unless very young, they should
always be cooked until the skins crack, then shelled,
and served, after being tossed over the fire with a pat
of butter, lemon juice, pepper and salt, and some
minced parsley; or worked into a pretty stiff purée.
To boil broad beans, put them on in absolutely boiling
water, and cook them very gently till the skins crack,
which, if fairly young, they will do in twenty to twenty-
five minutes; then at once lift them out, drain them
remove the skins by rubbing them on a clean cloth,
and toss them till quite hot in butter, etc. as described
above; or put them when shelled into good parsley
or maître d'hôtel sauce, and cook them gently till
ready. There are two points to be remembered in
cooking beans—(1) be careful with the salt, for if too
much is put in they burst and spoil, so it is better to
put in too little, as more can be added when re-heating
them. (2) Cook beans always very slowly, especially
if getting elderly, but remember that once broad beans
are really old nothing will soften them, and prolonged
cooking only serves to harden them. For a purée,
boil the beans in plain salted water (½oz. salt to half
a gallon of water is about the right average) till tender
enough to rub through a sieve; then stir them over
the fire to a stiff mash, seasoning them with salt,
pepper, and minced parsley, and moistening them
with butter or thick cream.