LENTILS, RICE, AND MACARONI IN VARIOUS WAYS.
1. Lentil Moulds.
Boil half a pint of lentils in one pint of water till quite soft and mashed up; if more water is required, add a little drop; chop up an onion very small, two beads of garlic chopped, a pinch of lemon thyme, the grated rind of half a lemon, two eggs well beaten, pepper and salt to taste. Mix well together, butter some plain Darrol moulds, put the mixture in and bake till set, turn them out on to a paper, garnish with parsley, sippets of fried bread and hard-boiled eggs in quarters.
2. Lentil Cutlets.
Boil some lentils as in previous recipe, flavour in the same way, mix with them one tea-cup of bread crumbs, form into cutlets, fry in butter a nice colour. Dish neatly, and pour over them a tomato sauce, as per recipe No. 15.
3. Plain Dhàl.
Boil some lentils plain, put them aside, now cut up an onion, two beads of garlic, and fry in three ounces of butter with twenty-four cloves a pale yellow, then put in your lentils, and two bay-leaves. Let it simmer gently for about one hour; the lentils must not be thick; salt to taste. Serve with a separate dish of plain boiled rice, and slices of lemon, to squeeze over it.
4. Lentil Currie.
Boil some lentils plain, put them aside. Now cut up an onion, two beads of garlic, and two bay-leaves; fry in three ounces of butter with twenty-four cloves a nice brown, then add one tablespoon of the best currie powder, stir, and then put in your lentils; let them simmer gently for one hour; add salt to taste, and a small cup of tomato pulp. Serve with a separate dish of plain boiled rice.
5. Haricot Bean Pie.
Boil one pint of haricot beans till quite soft, put a mite of soda in the water to soften it, when quite done drain and set aside.
Cut up an onion into rings, chop up two beads of garlic; fry these in three ounces of butter with twenty-four cloves a nice golden colour. Now add one teaspoon of the best currie powder, and one cup of tomato pulp. Mix well, then add Nepaul pepper and salt to taste, a few drops of tarragon vinegar; put in your beans, and mix well. Turn out in a pie dish, and let them cool. Cover with a nice homely short crust, and bake a nice golden brown. This pie is nutritious, and really nice.
6. Haricot Bean Stew.
Boil one pint of beans till quite soft, drain, and set them aside. Make a thorough tasty brown sauce, as Nos. 16 or 18 in recipes given; pour it over the beans, warm all thoroughly through, and serve decorated with sippets of fried bread and slices of lemon.
7. Haricot Bean Currie.
Boil the beans as in previous recipe; cut up an onion and two beads of garlic; fry in three ounces of butter with twenty-four cloves a nice brown. Add one tablespoon of best currie powder, one cup of tomato pulp, a stick of cinnamon, a blade of mace, the peel of half a lemon grated, salt to taste; put in your beans, and let them simmer very gently for half an hour, taking great care they do not burn. Serve with a separate dish of rice.
8. Haricot Bean Pudding.
Get one pint of dried green haricots, boil till quite soft; mash them up thoroughly with a fork. Add three ounces of butter, pepper and salt to taste, one teaspoon of chopped parsley, one teaspoon of chopped onion; mix well. Add a well-beaten egg; well butter a plain mould; put the mixture in and steam for one hour. Turn out on to a dish, paper and decorate with parsley and small sliced tomatoes.
9. Plain Boiled Rice.
In boiling rice as it should be done, observe the following directions, and success is bound to follow:—(1) Use the best rice only. (2) Do not be afraid of plenty of water, four quarts to one pound. (3) Put in the rice as the water comes to the boil, having put in a good teaspoon of salt before you add the rice. (4) Watch carefully the moment the rice is soft, drain at once and set before the fire to steam for about half an hour or more; by this means your rice will be grain from grain separate, and look most appetising. These remarks apply to the cooking of rice in every form, when it is required dry, and to eat with savouries.
10. Yellow Rice.
Never throw away the water in which kedgrees or yellow rice have been boiled. They make delicious soups on meat days, with the addition of a little Armour's Beef Extract, as the stock is already flavoured and thickened; or it will make a delicious mullagatawny soup with the addition of currie powder, and made according to recipe No. 9 (Soups), without the herrings, and using the liquor instead. This applies equally to the water in which haricot beans and peas have been boiled. It always makes good stock for soup.
Boil in the water you put on for your rice one large onion whole, three beads of garlic whole, twenty-four cloves, the seeds of twelve cardamoms, three bay-leaves, two sticks of cinnamon, two blades of mace, and a pennyworth of saffron, one heaped up teaspoon of salt. Let these come to the boil, and then add one pound of the best rice. Watch carefully. Taste it from time to time. The moment the rice is soft drain at once, and set before the fire to steam. Before serving remove the onion, garlic, bay-leaves, cinnamon, and mace, but not the cloves and cardamoms. Decorate with onions fried crisp and brown, sultanas fried, and almonds blanched and fried. This is very nice.
11. Kedgree.
Put on some water with all the flavourings of the previous recipe, omit the saffron. When it comes to the boil add half a pound of pink lentils that have been well washed. When these change colour and get yellow, which will take about five minutes, add half a pound of best rice; stir well, and watch carefully. The moment the rice is done enough drain at once, and set before the fire to steam. Remove the spices, etc., as before, and decorate in the same way.
12. Another Kedgree.
Do some rice as yellow rice recipe. Add to it some flaked smoked haddock, and one teaspoon of herbs as for veal stuffing, and two ounces of butter. Mix well loosely with a fork. Serve hot, and decorate with hard-boiled eggs cut in quarters, and onions fried crisp and brown.
13. Another Kedgree.
The same as No. 11. Add to it four hard-boiled eggs chopped fine, two ounces of butter. Mix well lightly with a fork, and serve, decorated in the usual way with fried onions brown and crisp and fried almonds.
14. Tomato Rice.
Cut up an onion into thin rings, chop two beads of garlic, also two bay-leaves; fry this in three ounces of butter with twenty-four cloves a nice pale yellow. Now add one cup of tomato pulp, salt and Nepaul pepper to taste, a few drops of tarragon vinegar. Stir well; let it simmer for about twenty minutes; strain, and pour the sauce over some cold rice you may have by you; cover up, and warm thoroughly through. Serve decorated with bright West Indian pickles.
15. Cheese Pillau.
Boil some rice, with all the flavouring as for "yellow rice." Remove the spices, etc. Add two ounces of butter and three ounces of grated Parmesan cheese, Nepaul pepper and salt to taste. Mix all lightly with a fork. Dish garnished with watercress.
16. Rice Savoury.
Any cold rice you may have by you may do for this dish. Well beat up two eggs with a little milk; mix with one small onion chopped, one small bead of garlic, one teaspoon of chopped parsley, one teaspoon mixed of lemon thyme, tarragon and chervil, Nepaul pepper and salt to taste. Mix all well together. Put it into a plain mould well buttered; put it in the oven till well set. Turn out on to a paper. Garnish with tufts of parsley and small red tomatoes.
N.B.—Rice can be cooked any colour, by simply adding a harmless vegetable colouring to the water in which it is boiled, and thus it looks very pretty served with stewed fruits, etc., as it makes the simplest thing look appetising and nice. Any cook with very little ingenuity could turn out any number of pretty and tasty dishes of rice alone; it has the advantage of being nutritious and digestible, and is about the most economical thing there is in the market.
17. Macaroni Savoury.
Boil as much macaroni as you require, in salt and water. When tender, drain, and put it aside.
Cut up an onion into very thin rings, chop two beads of garlic small, fry in three ounces of butter with twenty-four cloves a pale yellow, then add one cup of tomato pulp; stir well; the grated rind of half a lemon, Nepaul pepper and salt to taste, a few drops of tarragon vinegar; pour over the macaroni, and warm thoroughly through. This is a delicious and most digestible dish. Garnish with watercress in bunches round the dish, and serve.
18. Macaroni Cheese.
Boil some macaroni plain. Put it in a well-buttered pie dish thus—a layer of macaroni, a layer of grated Parmesan cheese, a sprinkling of mustard and salt, till the dish is full on the top, sprinkle the cheese. Beat up three eggs well in one pint of milk, pour it over the macaroni, and well cover it. Put a few dabs of butter over it here and there, and put it in the oven, and bake a bright golden brown. Serve, decorated with a nice frill round the dish.
19. Curried Macaroni.
Boil some macaroni. Put it aside. Cut up an onion into thin rings, chop up two beads of garlic, fry in three ounces of butter with twenty-four cloves a delicate brown. Now add one tablespoon of best currie powder, one cup of tomato pulp, the grated rind of half a lemon, and the strained juice of half a lemon, salt to taste. Pour the sauce over the macaroni, and serve thoroughly hot.
20. Macaroni Savoury.
Boil some macaroni, cut it into short lengths of about two inches long, well beat up three eggs. Mix with them one teaspoon of chopped onion, one teaspoon of herbs as for veal stuffing, one teaspoon of chopped parsley, Nepaul pepper and salt to taste. Mix it thoroughly with one cup of milk, and stir it well into the macaroni. Pour it into a pie dish, put a few dabs of butter over the top here and there, and bake a nice brown.
N.B.—Vermicelli answers all the same purpose as macaroni. Some like it better and think it more delicate; both are cheap and nutritious, and both are capable of manipulation in a great many ways.