PURÉES.
to whether you are using dried or green peas, lentils, or haricot beans, &c. All kinds of dried pulse may be made into soup in this way, but the cook must bear in mind that if these homely purées are to be acceptable, she must be careful to keep the colour good in any case; thus if dried green peas are used, a little spinach or vegetable green should be added to bring up the tint, and the vegetables, &c. must not colour when fried in the first instance; if white haricot beans are used, the French method of thickening should be preferred, and a little milk should be added to the water of which the soup is made. (It may be remarked in passing, that in Eng- land we make far too little use of lentils, which are in truth most nutritious. Few people seem to be aware that the expensive and popular Revalenta Arabica is almost, if not entirely, composed of purified and skinned lentils reduced to a fine flour.) Of course, if a richer soup is required than is given above, second, bone, or vegetable stock can be used, or the water in which salt beef, bacon, or a ham has been cooked may be thus utilised; but in this last case be very careful as to the salt, for the boilings of salt meat are apt to be so strongly salted as to render further salt unnecessary, if not actually a cause of failure.
Another form of vegetable purée is made with root vegetables, such as potatoes, carrots, turnips, Jerusalem artichokes, &c., and is generally made somewhat in this way: melt one ounce of well clarified dripping or butter in a pan, and cook in it till tender, but without colouring, four ounces of onions, two to four ounces of celery (this depends on
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how strong you wish the taste of the celery to be), and a bunch of herbs; then in about five minutes or so lay in a pound of potatoes, peeled and cut up, cover down the pan and let it continue to cook gently for twelve or fifteen minutes longer, shaking the pan now and again to prevent the contents burning, and add a quart of liquid with a few peppercorns, and seasoning. Let it now all cook gently till tender (about one and a-half hours), then rub it through the sieve, re-heat, add a liaison of flour and milk, and serve. With regard to the use of butter or fat in these soups it will be found to give a richer flavour, if less butter is used at first, or indeed if none at all be employed, the quantity so used ordinarily being stirred in at the very last. It is to this practice that French purées owe the creamy rich taste which usually distinguishes them from the more rough-and-ready English thick soups. It does not entail more expense, and very little if any more trouble, whilst the gain in flavour is unmistakable. This hint is derived from M. Gouffé, who, eminent chef as he was, did not think ordinary plain cooking beneath his notice, but applied to it the care and attention considered by the ignorant as only necessary for what they term “high class cookery.” It may be safely asserted that it is to the absurd and arbitrary division of cookery into so-called “plain” and “high class” that we owe the slovenli- ness and unpalatableness of our British cuisine.
For crèmes, perhaps, crème de céleri will be as typical as any. For this take four or five good heads of celery, and cook them with a medium-
PURÉES.
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sized onion in about one or two pints of either white stock, water, or half water and half milk, and when tender rub it all through a sieve; add sufficient of the liquor in which it was cooked to bring it to the right consistency, season to taste, and bring it just to, but not beyond the boil, then lift it off the fire, and stir in the yolks of one or two eggs, beaten up with from half to one gill of cream, and serve. In this way artichoke bottoms, asparagus, celeriac, cucumber, salsify, seakale, &c., can all be cooked, adding a little more seasoning and spice according to the taste of the consumer, but always remembering that a vegetable crème must, however rich its texture, taste chiefly and predominantly of the vegetable from which it takes its name, even when game or poultry stock is used in its composition.
The above directions will serve, if carefully followed, to help any young cook, but for her con- venience we may sum up the hints thus :—
In cooking the vegetables, cook them thoroughly, and if fried in the first place, be careful to let them stand for a minute or two before sieving, to throw up the fat used for this purpose, which should be carefully skimmed off, or the soup will be greasy. It is for this reason I prefer the French method, by which the butter is only added as a liaison at the last, for this imparts a creamy taste, but if properly mixed in, never gives a greasy flavour. If the vegetables, &c., are fried at the beginning, as they naturally must be for dark soups, fry them quickly with the cover off, stirring all the time to prevent their catching, and where a very rich brown colour