CUCUMBER STUFFED
Half a pint milk, 1 small onion, a few pieces of parsley, a thin strip of lemon-peel, 1 oz. flour, 1 oz. butter, 1 dessertspoonful grated cheese, 1 teaspoonful tomato catsup, 1 dessertspoonful ground sweet almonds, 2 ozs. large straight macaroni, some chopped parsley, 1 medium-sized cucumber, seasoning.
Method.—Peel the cucumber, taking care to remove every particle of green skin, and cut it into pieces of about two inches thick and cook until tender in boiling, salted water to which a tiny piece of soda has been added; directly it is ready (it must not be left in the water after it is done), drain the pieces and carefully remove the seeds. Have ready some macaroni prepared according to the instructions given below, and quickly fill the cucumber cases with it; place in the oven to re-heat the cases and serve surrounded by thick tomato sauce (see page 106). Boil the macaroni thoroughly (keeping it boiling steadily from the time it goes into the saucepan until it is done), drain it on a soft cloth and cut it on a board into pieces of about a quarter of an inch thick. Put the milk into a saucepan, when the macaroni is put on to boil, with the onion, lemon-peel, parsley, almonds, and some salt and pepper, and let it boil up and then simmer gently for half an hour. Melt the butter in another saucepan, mix the flour smoothly with it, and add the flavoured milk (after straining it) by degrees and stir until the sauce is perfectly smooth and thick; add the macaroni, catsup, and cheese and it will be ready to use; scatter a little chopped parsley over the surface of the macaroni.