Dr. Allinson's cookery book Part 4

The potatoes should be peeled, washed, and cut into thin slices, and the onions peeled and cut into thin slices. Arrange the vegetables and tomatoes in layers; dust a little pepper and salt between the layers, and finish with a layer of potatoes. Cut the b.u.t.ter into little bits, place them on the top of the potatoes, fill the dish with hot water, and bake the hot-pot for 2 hours or more in a hot oven. Add a little more hot water if necessary while baking to make up for what is lost in the cooking.

LEEK PIE.

1 bunch of leeks, 1 lb. of potatoes, 1/2 teaspoonful of herbs, a little nutmeg, 1 pint of milk, pepper and salt to taste, 8 oz. of Allinson fine wheatmeal, 3 eggs, 1 oz. of b.u.t.ter. Cut up into dice the potatoes and leeks, parboil them in 1 pint of water, adding the herbs, b.u.t.ter, and seasoning; place the vegetables in a pie-dish, make a batter with the milk, eggs, and meal, pour it over the vegetables, mix all well, and bake the pie 1-1/2 to 2 hours in a moderate oven.

LENTIL PIE.

1/2 lb. of lentils, 1 lb. of potatoes, 1 lb. of tomatoes, 1 Spanish onion, 1 heaped-up teaspoonful of herbs, 3 hard-boiled eggs, 1-1/2 oz.

of b.u.t.ter, pepper and salt to taste. Have the lentils cooked beforehand. Peel, wash, and cut into dice the potatoes and onion, and fry them in the b.u.t.ter until nearly soft. Scald and slice the tomatoes, and mix the fried vegetables, lentils, tomatoes, herbs, and seasoning well together. Turn the mixture into a pie-dish, and pour over as much water or vegetable stock as may be required for gravy.

Quarter the eggs and place them on the top. Cover with a short crust, and bake the pie for 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

LENTIL RISSOLES.

1/2 lb. of lentils, 1 finely chopped onion, 1 breakfastcupful of breadcrumbs, 1 breakfastcupful of tinned tomatoes, 1-1/2 oz. of b.u.t.ter, 2 eggs, pepper and salt to taste, some raspings, b.u.t.ter, vege-b.u.t.ter or oil for frying. Pick and wash the lentils, and boil them in enough water to cover them; when this is absorbed add the tomatoes, and if necessary gradually a little more water to prevent the lentils from burning. Fry the onion in 1-1/2 oz. of b.u.t.ter, mix it with the lentils as they are stewing, and add pepper and salt to taste. When the lentils are quite soft, and like a puree (which will take from 1 to 1-1/2 hours), set them aside to cool. Mix the lentils and the breadcrumbs, beat up one of the eggs and add it to the mixture, beating all well together. If it is too dry, add a very little milk, but only just enough to make the mixture keep together.

Form into rissoles, beat up the second egg, roll them into the egg and raspings, and fry the rissoles a nice brown in boiling b.u.t.ter or oil.

Drain and serve.

LENTIL TURNOVERS.

6 oz. of lentils, 6 oz. of mushrooms, 1 English onion chopped very fine, 1 ounce of b.u.t.ter, 1 dessertspoonful of lemon juice, pepper and salt to taste. Pick and wash the lentils, and cook them in only as much water as they will absorb. Peel, wash, and cut up the mushrooms, chop fine the onion, and fry both in the b.u.t.ter. Add them to the lentils now cooking; also the lemon juice and seasoning. When the lentils are quite soft, the whole should be a fairly firm puree. Let it cool, and meanwhile make a paste of 6 oz. of Allinson fine wheatmeal and 2 oz. of b.u.t.ter or vege-b.u.t.ter and a little water. Roll the paste out thin, cut into squares of about 4 inches. Place some of the lentil mixture in each, moisten the edges, turn half over, and press the edges together. Bake for 15 minutes in a floured tin, and serve with brown sauce, vegetables, and potatoes.

LENTILS (CURRIED), AND RICE.

1 breakfastcupful each of lentils and rice, 1 lb. of fresh tomatoes or 1/2 a tinful of tinned ones, 1 dessertspoonful of curry, 3 eggs, well beaten, 2 oz. of b.u.t.ter, some breadcrumbs, and salt to taste. Roast the rice in a frying-pan in half of the b.u.t.ter until browned; then set it over the fire with 1-1/2 pints of water and the lentils, picked and washed. When tender set them aside to cool a little. Scald and skin the tomatoes, cut them into slices and place them in a b.u.t.tered pie-dish. Smooth the curry with 1 spoonful of water; add the curry, the eggs, and salt to the cooked rice and lentils, and mix all well.

Spread all over the tomatoes, scatter breadcrumbs over the top, cut up the rest of the b.u.t.ter in pieces and place them here and there over the breadcrumbs. Bake the savoury for 3/4 of an hour to 1 hour.

LENTILS (POTTED), FOR SANDWICHES.

1/2 lb. of lentils, 1 English onion, 1/2 a cupful of tinned tomatoes, 1 blade of mace, 1 oz. of b.u.t.ter, pepper and salt to taste. Pick and wash the lentils, and set them over the fire to cook, only just covered with water, adding the mace, pepper, and salt. Chop fine the onion and fry it a nice brown in the b.u.t.ter; add the fried onions and tomatoes to the lentils, stir them sometimes to prevent burning, and let the lentils cook gently until they have become soft and make a fairly firm puree. If too dry, add a little more water as may be required. When they are done remove the mace and turn the lentils out to get cold. Then use for making sandwiches with very thin bread and b.u.t.ter.

MINESTRA.

1 breakfastcupful of potatoes cut into small dice, 2 breakfastcupfuls of flagolet beans, onions, carrots, and celery mixed (the latter cut up small), 1/4 lb. of rice, 2 oz. of b.u.t.ter, 2 oz. of grated Parmesan cheese, pepper and salt to taste. Boil the vegetables in 1 quart of water until quite tender, add the rice, also pepper and salt, and cook all together gently until the rice is soft, adding more water if necessary. Before serving add the b.u.t.ter and cheese, stir a few minutes, and serve.

MUSHROOM CUTLETS.

1/4 lb. of mushrooms, 1/2 teacupful of mashed potatoes, 1 teacupful of breadcrumbs, 1 small onion, 2 eggs, 2 oz. of b.u.t.ter, a little milk, 1 teaspoonful of finely chopped parsley, 1/2 teaspoonful of herbs. Peel and cut up the mushrooms, chop up the onion, and fry them in 1 oz. of b.u.t.ter. Mix the mushrooms and onion with the breadcrumbs, 1 egg well beaten, add also pepper and salt to taste; if necessary add a little milk to make it into a paste; shape the mixture into cutlets, dip them in the other egg well beaten, and fry them in the rest of the b.u.t.ter.

Serve with tomato sauce.

MUSHROOM PIE.

1-1/2 lbs. of mushrooms, 1-1/2 lbs. of potatoes, 1 Spanish onion, 1 oz. of b.u.t.ter, pepper and salt to taste, 1 teaspoonful of mixed herbs, and 3 hard-boiled eggs. Peel and wash the mushrooms, and cut them into 2 or 4 pieces, according to their size. Peel and wash the potatoes, and cut them into pieces the size of walnuts; parboil them with 1 pint of water, and turn them into a pie-dish with the water. Chop up the onion, and cook the mushrooms and onion for 10 minutes with the b.u.t.ter in 1/2 pint of water, adding the herbs and seasoning. Mix all well in the pie-dish, quarter the eggs, and place them on the top, cover with a short crust, and bake the pie for 3/4 of an hour to 1 hour.

MUSHROOM SAVOURY.

4 ounces of Allinson plain rusks 3 eggs, 1 pint of milk, 2 oz. of b.u.t.ter, 1 lb. of mushrooms, 1 small onion chopped fine, and pepper and salt to taste. Crush the rusks and soak in the milk; add the eggs well whipped. Peel, wash, and cut up the mushrooms, and fry them and the onion in the b.u.t.ter. When they have cooked in the b.u.t.ter for 10 minutes add them to the other ingredients, and season with pepper and salt. Pour the mixture into a greased pie-dish, and bake the savoury for 1 hour. Serve with green vegetables, potatoes, and tomato sauce.

MUSHROOM TARTLETS.

1/2 lb. of mushrooms, 1 oz. of b.u.t.ter, 1 small English onion, 1 tablespoonful of vermicelli broken up small, pepper and salt to taste.

Peel and wash the mushrooms and cut them up; chop up the onions very fine, melt the b.u.t.ter in the frying-pan and fry the mushrooms and onion in it, adding pepper and salt to taste; a good deal of liquid will run from the mushrooms, stir into it the vermicelli, which let cook in the juice until tender; let the mixture cool, line some tartlet tins with Allinson wholemeal crust, fill with the mixture, cover with crust, and press the edges well together; bake in a moderate oven.

MUSHROOM TART AND GRAVY.

1 lb. of mushrooms, 1/2 lb. of Allinson fine wheatmeal, 4 oz. of b.u.t.ter or Allinson frying oil, pepper and salt to taste. Pick and wash the mushrooms, remove the stalks, dry them and cut them into pieces; make pastry with the meal, 3 oz. of the b.u.t.ter, and a little cold water; roll it out, line a large plate and heap the mushrooms upon it, dredge well with pepper and salt, and cut the rest of the b.u.t.ter into bits to be scattered over the mushrooms; when you line the plate, keep a little of the paste, cut this into thin strips and lay them in diamond shape across the pie; bake the pie 3/4 hour in a moderate oven.

The Gravy.--The stalks of the mushrooms, 4 eschalots chopped very fine, 1 teaspoonful of Allinson cornflour, 3 bay leaves, 1/2 oz. of b.u.t.ter, pepper and salt to taste. Fry the stalks and eschalots in the b.u.t.ter, then gently cook them in 3/4 pint of water for 1/2 hour, adding seasoning and the bay leaves; strain, return the sauce to the saucepan, and thicken it with the cornflour.

MUSHROOM TURNOVERS.

1/2 lb. of medium-sized mushrooms, 1 oz. of b.u.t.ter, pepper and salt to taste. For the pastry, 1/2 lb. of Allinson fine wheatmeal, 3 oz. of b.u.t.ter (or 3 tablespoonfuls of Allinson frying oil). Make the pastry of the meal, b.u.t.ter, and a little water; pick and wash the mushrooms, cut them up in small pieces dredge them with pepper and salt, and fry them in the b.u.t.ter for 5 to 10 minutes. Roll the paste out, cut it in squares of about 4 inches, and place as much mushroom on each as it will conveniently hold. Press the edges of each square together, folding them in triangular shape, and bake them in a moderate oven for an hour. Serve with brown gravy.

OATMEAL PIE-CRUST.

4 oz. each of medium oatmeal and Allinson fine wheatmeal, and 2-1/2 oz. of vege-b.u.t.ter or b.u.t.ter. Make the crust in the usual way with cold water. It will be found beautifully short, very tasty, and more digestible than white flour pastry.

ONION TART.

1 lb. of Spanish onions, 1 lb. of English onions, 4 oz. of b.u.t.ter, 3 eggs, 1/2 pint of cream, pepper and salt to taste, 1/2 lb. of Allinson fine wheatmeal. Slice the onions, and stew them with 1-1/2 oz. of b.u.t.ter without browning them. When tender let the onions cool, mix with them the eggs, well beaten, and the cream, also the seasoning.

Make a paste with the meal and the rest of the b.u.t.ter, line with it a baking-tin, keeping back a small quant.i.ty of the paste; pour the mixture of onions, eggs, and cream into the paste-lined tin, cut the rest of the paste into thin strips, and lay these crossways over the tart, forming diamond-shaped squares; bake the tart in a moderate oven until golden brown.

ONION TURNOVER.

2 medium-sized Spanish onions, 1 oz. of b.u.t.ter (or Allinson frying oil), 3 eggs, pepper and salt. For the pastry, 6 oz. of Allinson fine wheatmeal, 2-1/2 oz. of b.u.t.ter or oil. Chop the onions fine, boil them a few minutes in a little water, and drain them; stew them in the b.u.t.ter for 10 minutes, adding the seasoning beat up the eggs and mix them well with the onions over the fire, remove the mixture as it begins to set. Have ready the pastry made with the meal, b.u.t.ter, and a little cold water, roll it out, place the onions and eggs on it, fold the pastry over, pinching the edges over, and bake the turnover brown.

Serve with gravy. This is a Turkish dish.

POTATO PIE.

Slice potatoes and onions, stew with a little water until nearly done, put into a pie-dish, flavour with herbs, pepper, and salt, add a little soaked tapioca and very little b.u.t.ter, cover with short wheatmeal crust, and bake 1 hour. To make a very plain pie-crust use about 2 oz. of b.u.t.ter or a proportionate quant.i.ty of Allinson frying oil to 1 lb. of wheatmeal. Roll or touch with the fingers as little as possible, and mix with milk instead of water. Eat this pie with green vegetables.

POTATO AND TOMATO PIE.