four sprays of parsley, one medium onion sliced, a
bay leaf, and two or three peppercorns. This is
sufficient for a good quantity of meat: for instance,
a whole chicken when cut up would only need half
the above). Scraps of chicken, pieces of cold cooked
veal cut into pieces the size of a florin, remains of sweet-
breads, brains, cold tongue, sliced vegetable marrow,
cucumber, artichokes, potato, broken-up cauliflower,
etc., can, all and any, be used in this way, and the
greater the mixture the better the dish. (Only remember
the cook must know how to fry to perfection before
attempting this frittura. Frying is not by any means
a difficult art, granted a little care and intelligence.
The three great points in fritter-frying are, good
batter, plenty of friture (or frying fat), and a clear
even fire. If you go in for this style of cookery it is
well worth while to invest in a proper frying kettle;
as this is, however, often rather an expensive item,
it is just as serviceable to buy a pan known to iron-
mongers as a “fish pan,” which is simply a two-
handled rather shallow fish kettle without a lid, and
usually sold with a wire drainer, as it is generally
used for frying fish in. This costs but a few
shillings even in seamless steel, and is of course
cheaper (though naturally not so durable) if
bought in seamed tin. (This pan, of a fairly large
size, I have, by the way, frequently utilised as a
bain-marie.) Having seen that your pan is perfectly
clean and dry, put in whatever friture you choose,
being careful to have it when melted fully two
inches deep, but see that there is from two and a
half to three inches space above this to prevent any