Beans, French, Haricot verts.—In this country
we all but invariably cook these beans when too old.
They should only be just old enough for the bean to
be formed in the pod, while the whole is tender enough
to need nothing beyond the breaking or snipping off
of the tips and the consequent pulling away of the
string that goes round them. This is of course to
town dwellers a counsel of perfection; but those pos-
sessing gardens will soon realise the difference. If,
however, necessity obliges the eating of French beans
when old enough to require stringing and slicing,
remove the tip with a sharp knife, tearing away the
string, and then cutting them through diagonally
(Fig. 1) if to serve as a vegetable, or in lozenges (Fig. 2)
if to be used for a garnish. When beans, however,
are old enough for this, it is better, where possible,
to let them grow till the bean can be shelled from the
pod, and then serve them (either fresh or dried) as
flageolets. To boil French beans (haricots verts)
remove the string, etc., as mentioned before, and put
them on in plenty of absolutely boiling lightly salted
water, with a teaspoonful of sugar for a good dish,
and boil them fast in an uncovered pan for ten minutes
if young, but allowing from ten to twenty if old.
Drain well and serve plain, or mixed with any sauce,
such as maître d'hôtel, béchamel, parsley butter,
Hollandaise, Soubise, tomato, etc., to taste. It takes
about a gill of sauce for each pound or pint of beans.
Some cooks, to ensure the colour and crispness of
their beans, add a morsel of soda, the size of a small pea,
to the boiling water, but this effectually prevents
the use of the bean liquor for soup-making, for
which it is very useful; if the beans are young and
fresh the plan given above answers admirably;
whilst if by any chance the beans are none of the
freshest and brightest to start with, if you cook them
at all, it is best to stew them thus: Butter a stew pan,
lay in the beans, dust them with salt, and cover them
with second stock, let them stew very gently,
keeping them well covered with the liquor, and adding
a little more as that in the pan evaporates. When
tender drain off the beans and keep them hot in a
vegetable dish; meanwhile thicken the strained
broth in which they were cooked with ½oz. of butter
and the yolk of an egg beaten up with a spoonful
of milk, and when this is all well blended pour it
over the beans and serve. If preferred, beans cooked
thus may be drained, served with beurre noir, or
noisette (i.e., fry 2oz. to 4oz. of butter till of a rich brown,
then add to this half a gill of tarragon vinegar, a
little pepper, and either minced green tarragon or
parsley, as you please). Or again, mince enough
fat bacon to make two tablespoonfuls, mix this
with about a teaspoonful of finely minced onion,
shallot, or chives, and fry these together till the onion
colours lightly, then lay in the cooked and drained
beans, with a little lemon juice or vinegar to taste,
and toss it all over the fire for a minute or two till
it is all thoroughly heated, and serve very hot. This
is the well known haricots verts au lard. Scarlet
runners, when young enough, are cooked exactly like
French beans.