The Book of Household Management Part 140

_Time_.--10 to 15 minutes to boil the spinach, 5 minutes to warm with the b.u.t.ter.

_Average cost_ for the above quant.i.ty, 8d.

_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.

_Seasonable_.--Spring spinach from March to July; winter spinach from November to March.

_Note_.--Grated nutmeg, pounded mace, or lemon-juice may also be added to enrich the flavour; and poached eggs are also frequently served with spinach: they should be placed on the top of it, and it should be garnished with sippets of toasted bread.--See coloured plate U.

VARIETIES OF SPINACH.--These comprise the Strawberry spinach, which, under that name, was wont to be grown in our flower-gardens; the Good King Harry, the Garden Oracle, the p.r.i.c.kly, and the Round, are the varieties commonly used. The Oracle is a hardy sort, much esteemed in France, and is a native of Tartary, introduced in 1548. The common spinach has its leaves round, and is softer and more succulent than any of the Bra.s.sica tribe.

SPINACH DRESSED WITH CREAM, a la Francaise.

1156. INGREDIENTS.--2 pailfuls of spinach, 2 tablespoonfuls of salt, 2 oz. of b.u.t.ter, 8 tablespoonfuls of cream, 1 small teaspoonful of pounded sugar, a very little grated nutmeg.

_Mode_.--Boil and drain the spinach as in recipe No. 1155; chop it finely, and put it into a stewpan with the b.u.t.ter; stir over a gentle fire, and, when the b.u.t.ter has dried away, add the remaining ingredients, and simmer for about 5 minutes. Previously to adding the cream, boil it first, in case it should curdle. Serve on a hot dish, and garnish either with sippets of toasted bread or leaves of puff-paste.

_Time_.--10 to 15 minutes to boil the spinach; 10 minutes to stew with the cream.

_Average cost_ for the above quant.i.ty, 8d.

_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.

_Seasonable_.--Spring spinach from March to July; winter spinach from November to March.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SPINACH.]

SPINACH.--This is a Persian plant. It has been cultivated in our gardens about two hundred years, and is the most wholesome of vegetables. It is not very nutritious, but is very easily digested. It is very light and laxative. Wonderful properties have been ascribed to spinach. It is an excellent vegetable, and very beneficial to health. Plainly dressed, it is a resource for the poor; prepared luxuriantly, it is a choice dish for the rich.

SPINACH.--This vegetable belongs to a sub-order of the _Salsolaceae_, or saltworts, and is cla.s.sified under the head of _Spirolobeae_, with leaves shaped like worms, and of a succulent kind. In its geographical distribution it is commonly found in extratropical and temperate regions, where they grow as weeds in waste places, and among rubbish, and in marshes by the seash.o.r.e.

In the tropics the order is rarely found. Many of them are used as potherbs, and some of them are emetic and vermifuge in their medicinal properties.

FRENCH MODE OF DRESSING SPINACH.

1157. INGREDIENTS.--2 pailfuls of spinach, 2 tablespoonfuls of salt, 2 oz. of b.u.t.ter, 1 teaspoonful of flour, 8 tablespoonfuls of good gravy; when liked, a very little grated nutmeg.

_Mode_.--Pick, wash, and boil the spinach, as in recipe No. 1155, and when quite tender, drain and squeeze it perfectly dry from the water that hangs about it. Chop it very fine, put the b.u.t.ter into a stewpan, and lay the spinach over that; stir it over a gentle fire, and dredge in the flour. Add the gravy, and let it boil _quickly_ for a few minutes, that it may not discolour. When the flavour of nutmeg is liked, grate some to the spinach, and when thoroughly hot, and the gravy has dried away a little, serve. Garnish the dish with sippets of toasted bread.

_Time_.--10 to 15 minutes to boil the spinach; 10 minutes to simmer in the gravy.

_Average cost_ for the above quant.i.ty, 8d.

_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.

_Seasonable_.--Spring spinach from March to July; winter spinach from October to February.

_Note_.--For an entremets or second-course dish, spinach, dressed by the above recipe may be pressed into a hot mould; it should then be turned out quickly, and served very hot.

BAKED TOMATOES.

(_Excellent_.)

1158. INGREDIENTS.--8 or 10 tomatoes, pepper and salt to taste, 2 oz. of b.u.t.ter, bread crumbs.

_Mode_.--Take off the stalks from the tomatoes; cut them into thick slices, and put them into a deep baking-dish; add a plentiful seasoning of pepper and salt, and b.u.t.ter in the above proportion; cover the whole with bread crumbs; drop over these a little clarified b.u.t.ter; bake in a moderate oven from 20 minutes to 1/2 hour, and serve very hot. This vegetable, dressed as above, is an exceedingly nice accompaniment to all kinds of roast meat. The tomatoes, instead of being cut in slices, may be baked whole; but they will take rather longer time to cook.

_Time_.--20 minutes to 1/2 hour.

_Average cost_, in full season, 9d. per basket.

_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.

_Seasonable_ in August, September, and October; but may be had, forced, much earlier.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE TOMATO.]

TOMATOES.--The Tomato is a native of tropical countries, but is now cultivated considerably both in France and England. Its skin is of a brilliant red, and its flavour, which is somewhat sour, has become of immense importance in the culinary art. It is used both fresh and preserved. When eaten fresh, it is served as an _entremets_; but its princ.i.p.al use is in sauce and gravy; its flavour stimulates the appet.i.te, and is almost universally approved. The Tomato is a wholesome fruit, and digests easily.

From July to September, they gather the tomatoes green in France, not breaking them away from the stalk; they are then hung, head downwards, in a dry and not too cold place; and there they ripen.

HOT TOMATO SAUCE, or PUREE OF TOMATOES.

(See No. 529.)

[Ill.u.s.tration: STEWED TOMATOES.]

STEWED TOMATOES.

I.

1159. INGREDIENTS.--8 tomatoes, pepper and salt to taste, 2 oz. of b.u.t.ter, 2 tablespoonfuls of vinegar.

_Mode_.--Slice the tomatoes into a _lined_ saucepan; season them with pepper and salt, and place small pieces of b.u.t.ter on them. Cover the lid down closely, and stew from 20 to 25 minutes, or until the tomatoes are perfectly tender; add the vinegar, stir two or three times, and serve with any kind of roast meat, with which they will be found a delicious accompaniment.

_Time_.--20 to 25 minutes.

_Average cost_, in full season, 9d. per basket.

_Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons.

_Seasonable_ from August to October; but may be had, forced, much earlier.

a.n.a.lYSIS OF THE TOMATO.--The fruit of the love-apple is the only part used as an esculent, and it has been found to contain a particular acid, a volatile oil, a brown, very fragrant extracto-resinous matter, a vegeto-mineral matter, muco-saccharine, some salts, and, in all probability, an alkaloid. The whole plant has a disagreeable odour, and its juice, subjected to the action of the fire, emits a vapour so powerful as to cause vertigo and vomiting.

II.

1160. INGREDIENTS.--8 tomatoes, about 1/2 pint of good gravy, thickening of b.u.t.ter and flour, cayenne and salt to taste.

_Mode_.--Take out the stalks of the tomatoes; put them into a wide stewpan, pour over them the above proportion of good brown gravy, and stew gently until they are tender, occasionally _carefully_ turning them, that they may be equally done. Thicken the gravy with a little b.u.t.ter and flour worked together on a plate; let it just boil up after the thickening is added, and serve. If it be at hand, these should be served on a silver or plated vegetable-dish.