VEGETABLES.
dripping, and let them cook again till done, which
you can make sure of by pressing one between your
finger and thumb, and if tender the beans are ready.
Now strain them off and save the liquor, which is
a most excellent basis for many kinds of soup (indeed,
few English women appear to know that haricot soup
made precisely like our national peas soup is a capital
variante on that deservedly popular winter purée).
The beans are now ready to be served in a variety of
ways. Ex. gra.: Brown delicately a minced (medium
sized) onion in 1 oz. of clarified dripping, then at once
stir in the beans, dusting them with a little sifted flour,
stirring and moistening them gradually with one
or two spoonfuls of the liquor they were cooked in,
then let them cook gently at the side of the fire, in a
covered pan, for ten to fifteen minutes, and serve as
stewed haricots, or H. à la Lyonnaise. Or, stir the
stained beans in a clean pan with ½ oz. or so of butter,
tossing them in this, and adding a tablespoonful of
velouté sauce, white pepper and salt, and at the last
the yolks of one or more eggs, and serve as H.
Monceaux. Or, stir to the strained beans two or
three tablespoonfuls of any good gravy, till it is all
quite hot, adding at the last ½ oz. of fresh butter,
and serve very hot, as H. au jus. If the beans are
served as in the preceding recipe, only using velouté,
béchamel, or melted butter for the gravy, moistening
it at the last with a good pat of maître d'hôtel butter,
the beans are known as H. à la Francaise, or à la
maître d'hôtel. Prepared according to any of these
recipes they are excellent as a separate vegetable,
whilst, if arranged, when drained, round a well