Vegetables served as "entremets."

French and English treatment of vegetables;

I find it the more necessary to call attention to this subject, as much has of late been said, which may lead many to believe that French usage is invariably right, and English usage invariably wrong. Very far from the truth, I humbly submit, is such an allegation as this, even in regard of our treatment of vegetables. No doubt we are too often guilty of carelessness and inattention to the condition in which vegetables are presented, in the service of our tables, but our principle is in the main correct, and only wants to be pursued with intelligence. When vegetables are really good, well grown, and fresh, no good judge desires that their natural qualities of flavour, odour, and consistence, or even colour, should be destroyed by the addition of other materials, and of foreign flavours. Let us take two, in illustration of these remarks, green peas and the tomato.

Garden peas, petitspois, when young, quickly grown and, above all things, freshly gathered, have a delicious characteristic flavour of their own, are rather sweet, and almost crisp when eaten; and they maintain these attributes unimpaired, if simply boiled in salt and water. Such should be eaten a l'Anglaise, the use of the term itself being a tacit admission on the part of the French chef, that the simple cooking advocated here, and practised in this country is, in this instance, justifiable. All that is produced under this name is a dish of peas, cooked as described, served with a pat of fresh butter, and some salt, accompanied by the capital of green peas, for example.

Little pepper-mill, which is natural to a French table, and almost unknown here.* A morsel of the butter is stirred into the hot peas, a little black pepper, full of fragrance, freshly ground over them, and a pinch of salt, according to taste, and the whole stirred. The same process is equally applicable to French beans, and also to that excellent mixture of French beans and flageolets, so well-known as haricots panache's, so rarely served in this country. All these vegetables, when in excellent condition, are doubtless served at their best a l'Anglaise, not only in relation to the palate, but also in view of the average digestion. To return to our petits pois as the type. When green peas are a little hard, old, and tough, or a little coarse in flavour, and without sweetness, then it is that the French cook treats them with advantage. For such peas as these, when no others are to be had - and it must be confessed that inferior peas are far too commonly met with - by all means let them be served d la Francaise. This is stewing gently in a little water, a good proportion of butter, with sliced onion and salt, stirring in a little flour, and a small quantity of sugar. Some, exceptionally, add a little cream, and yolk of egg. Another excellent French method,a la Paysanne, is to add first butter as before, salt and onion; and then stew slowly in a fair quantity of stock, with lettuces, finely sliced, some sugar, and a shred or two of parsley, if desired. Almost any peas may be rendered tender and appetizing if thus treated.

* It was so when I first wrote, but has now for some time been growing in favour here, and may be seen at many tables and for sale in many shops. At the time referred to I could not have found a table pepper-mill in London, and obtained my own in Paris.

"Haricots verts," and "panaches."

To treat peas no longer young and tender.

Again, haricots verts sautes au beurre, is a favourite mode of cooking them; but no superfluous butter should appear when they are served; the quantity allowed in which to toss them for a few minutes on a brisk fire, after boiling, should amount to no more, according to the rule, than a tenth part by weight of that of the vegetables themselves when dry.*

But who does not know that it is common enough, both in town and province throughout France, to be supplied not only with French beans, but other vegetables, saturated with butter, rendering them for most English stomachs, at all events, hazardous, and to some tastes repulsive.

The natural inference from all this is, that certain French methods are desirable, and their success is remarkable, when - as we have already seen in relation to both meats and vegetables - the materials are inferior; but the English method is the simplest and best, when the materials are - as they always should, when practicable, be - the best of their kind. And now, briefly, for the tomato. In almost any condition, simple cookery alone is admissible for it. Doubtless, if ripe and fresh, it is excellent when eaten raw; but to have it at its very best, the tomato should be dipped, for thirty seconds at most, into boiling water. On removing it, the skin, which could previously be detached only with difficulty, peels off with the greatest ease. The juicy, fruity qualities are revealed by this process; and it may be eaten alone or with any meat; and for a salad it should invariably be thus prepared. If served hot, only plain boiling, baking, or broiling will cook this delicious half-fruit, half - vegetable, so as least to alter or diminish its natural flavour; although its deterioration has already commenced, since each of these processes develops a degree of acidity which before cooking did not exist, and is neither agreeable nor quite wholesome. It is excellent if served cold by itself, when simply peeled as above described, with a little salt and pepper, and perhaps a few drops of oil, with cold meat, or with savoury rice, or indeed in many ways. But to serve a hot tomato, by stuffing it with onion, parsley, and shalot, with some odds and ends of meat or poultry minced (tomates farcies), is mischievous meddling carried to its highest pitch!

* Some persons who have not studied practical cookery may not quite understand the French term sauter, or the corresponding English term, "toss." It means, to fry lightly or partially in butter, using a shallow pan, and, moving the material to be fried, or, rather, "tossed," so as to avoid the production of a temperature high enough to brown the surface - a condition which is intended to be produced by frying proper, as before explained (p. 125) to take place, by immersing the material in heated oil.