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Collection of old recipes using peas, beans, or lentils

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Victorian Pea Recipes from Fast Day Cookery or Meals Without Meat by Grace Johnston [1893]

Pea Soup.

Boil one pint of the best peas in two quarts of water and a mite of soda till they are quite soft. If the peas get too thick add a little more water; when quite soft, pass them through a sieve into a nice purée. Cut up an onion in thin rings, then chop it very small, also two beads of garlic, fry in two ounces of butter a golden brown. Then add twenty-four cloves, a carrot cut into thin slices, and a turnip cut into thin slices, and the purée; let it simmer gently till the carrot and turnip are soft, and then again strain it. Add pepper and salt to taste. Serve with dried powdered mint, and fried bread cut into dice.

Green Pea Soup.

Boil one pint of dried green peas in two quarts of water with a mite of soda till the peas are quite soft. If the water evaporates add a little more; pass the peas through a wire sieve. Now chop up an onion very small, also two beads of garlic, fry in two ounces of butter a golden colour. Add your peas, then a whole carrot, a whole turnip, and two sticks of celery; simmer gently till the vegetables are soft, remove the vegetables, add pepper and salt to taste, and serve the purée with dry powdered mint and fried bread cut into dice.

Victorian Pea, Bean, & Lentil Recipes from New Vegetarian Dishes by Mrs Bowdich [1892] WITH PREFACE BY ERNEST BELL, M.A. TREASURER OF THE LONDON VEGETARIAN SOCIETY

GENERAL HINTS ON COOKING PULSE

Haricot Beans.

Among the pulses there is none more nourishing, more generally liked, nor more useful to the vegetarian cook than the haricot bean. Whether on account of its refined flavour, its delicate colour, its size, or last, but not least, its cheapness, I do not hesitate to place it first. Like the potato, however, its very simplicity lays it open to careless treatment, and many who would be the first to appreciate its good qualities if it were placed before them well cooked and served, now recoil from the idea of habitually feeding off what they know only under the guise of a stodgy, insipid, or watery mass. A few hints, therefore, respecting the best manner of preparing this vegetable may be useful.

Firstly, the beans should invariably be washed and placed in a basin of cold water the night before they are required for use, and should remain in soak about ten or twelve hours. If left longer than this during hot weather they are apt to turn sour.

They should not be cooked in the same water that they have been soaked in.

Soft water must be used to cook them. If this be not obtainable, Maignen’s Ante-Calcaire will be found to render the water soft.

Salt should not be added until they are at least half cooked, as its tendency is to harden them. This applies also to peas, lentils, etc.

They take about two hours to cook, or three if required very soft.

They must not be allowed to boil very fast, for, like potatoes, they are then liable to break before becoming tender.

About two pints of water, one ounce of butter, and one teaspoon of salt to half-pint of soaked beans, may be taken as a fair average.

During soaking they swell to nearly double their original size, and in boiling they double again.

Never throw away the liquor in which they are boiled but reserve it as “stock.”

When they are to be plainly served as a vegetable, it is best to remove the lid of the saucepan a few minutes before dishing up, and so reduce the liquor to the desired strength.

When required for frying they should be strained 3as soon as tender, and spread over a plate to dry. They may then be fried in butter or oil.

Always make a point of tasting them before sending to table, for if not sufficiently salted they are very insipid.

All spices, herbs, etc., boiled with the beans for flavouring purposes, should be tied in a small piece of muslin, which may at any moment be easily removed.

Haricot bean pulp, which will be found frequently mentioned in the following recipes, is made by boiling the beans until tender and rather dry, and then rubbing them through a wire sieve with a wooden spoon.

Lentils.

Next in usefulness to the haricot bean comes the German lentil. This must not be confounded with the Egyptian lentil, which closely resembles the split pea; for not only is the former double the price of the latter, but I may add double its worth also, at least from a culinary point of view.

In vegetarian cookery the lentil takes the place of the dark meats of the flesh-eaters’ dietary, such as beef and mutton, the haricot bean supplying a substitute for the white, such as veal, chicken, etc.

The liquor in which lentils have been boiled forms a rich foundation for dark sauces, also a delicious and nourishing beverage, in flavour resembling beef-tea, can be obtained from them (see Recipe No. 12).

4Besides being darker in colour, the flavour of lentils is much more pronounced than that of haricots.

Throughout the following recipes the word “lentil” means German lentil, without exception.

Split Peas, etc.

Most of the advice given above respecting haricots and lentils applies to the treatment of split peas, dried green peas, and Egyptian lentils.

French Bean Soup.

  • 3 pints water.
  • 1 pint soaked haricot beans.
  • 2 potatoes.
  • 1 ounce butter.
  • 1 onion.
  • 1 pound French beans.
  • 1 teaspoon salt.
  • 1 dozen peppercorns.

Dissolve the butter in a saucepan and fry in it the potatoes and onion sliced for five minutes, then add the haricot beans and water and boil for two hours. Add the salt, rub through a wire sieve, replace in the pan, add the French beans cut fine, and simmer until tender. Tinned beans do equally well, and only require to be made thoroughly hot.

Haricot Bean Soup.

  • 1 pint soaked haricot beans.
  • 1 good-sized carrot.
  • 1 good-sized turnip.
  • 2 onions.
  • 1 small head of celery.
  • 2 ounces butter.
  • 1 teaspoon salt.
  • 2 quarts water.

Dissolve the butter in a saucepan, place in the onions sliced and fry five minutes; then add the other vegetables sliced, the beans, and water. Boil one and a half hours, add salt, and simmer half an hour longer. Strain before serving.

Lentil Soup.

  • 1 pint lentils.
  • 2 quarts water.
  • 1½ ounces butter.
  • 1 carrot.
  • 1 onion.
  • 1 turnip.
  • 1 potato.
  • 1 teaspoon salt.
  • 1 tablespoon minced parsley.

Slice the vegetables and fry in the butter for five minutes, place them in a saucepan with the lentils and water and boil one and a half hours; add salt and a little pepper if liked. Strain, replace in the saucepan, add the parsley, boil for three minutes, and serve.

Note.—The solid part which is strained away should on no account be wasted, but will be found excellent for making lentil puddings, pies, stews, etc.

Lentil Broth.

  • ½ pint soaked lentils.
  • 1 tablespoon pearl barley.
  • 1 quart water.
  • 1 ounce butter.
  • 1 shallot sliced.
  • 1 flat teaspoon salt.
  • { 3 peppercorns.
  •  3 allspice, and a small strip of lemon peel, tied in muslin.

Place altogether in a saucepan with the exception of the salt, which should be added later, and boil gently for two hours, removing the scum as it rises. Strain and serve with sippets of freshly-made toast.

Note.—The above will be found a very excellent substitute for mutton broth, being very nourishing, and tasty; when liked a turnip maybe added, and will give additional flavour. The lentils and barley, which have been strained, may be used in many ways.

Lentil Tea. (A substitute for Beef Tea.)

  • 1 pint soaked lentils.
  • 1 pint water.
  • 2 ounces butter.
  • ½ teaspoon salt.
  • 2 cloves.
  • 6 peppercorns.
  • A very small piece of mace.
  • A little pepper if liked.

Dissolve the butter in a saucepan, place in all the ingredients except salt and pepper. Boil half an hour, removing the scum as it rises. Add salt, boil another half hour. Strain carefully and serve with toast or bread.

Note.—The lentils should be re-boiled, and will make a very useful stock.

Mulligatawny Soup.

  • 1½ pints soaked haricot beans.
  • 3 quarts water.
  • 2 large carrots.
  • 2 large turnips.
  • 1 large onion.
  • 1 leek.
  • 2 ounces butter.
  • 2 teaspoons salt.
  • 2 dozen peppercorns.
  • ½ ounce curry powder.
  • ½ ounce flour.

Place the beans, water, onion and leek in a large saucepan and place on the fire. Slice the carrots and turnips and fry in one ounce of butter until slightly brown. Add them to the beans and boil altogether for one hour, then add salt and peppercorns. Boil for another hour, strain, return to the saucepan and thicken with the flour, curry powder, and one ounce of butter made into a paste. Stir until it has boiled for three minutes. Strain again if necessary before serving. Serve boiled rice in another dish.

Pea Soup.

  • 1 pint soaked peas.
  • 1 ounce butter.
  • 2½ pints water.
  • 1 stick of celery.
  • 1½ teaspoons salt.
  • 1 large carrot.
  • 1 large turnip.
  • 1 large onion.
  • 1 dozen peppercorns.
  • ½ teaspoon mixed herbs.

Dissolve the butter in a saucepan, place in it the peas and one pint of water, and boil gently for half-an-hour. In the meantime prepare and slice the vegetables and add them to the peas, together with the seasonings, boil for one and a half hours, and pass through a sieve, rubbing the vegetables through with a wooden spoon.

Dried Green Pea Soup.

  • 1½ pints soaked green peas.
  • 1 large onion.
  • 1 large carrot.
  • 1 large turnip.
  • 2 quarts water.
  • 1 ounce butter.
  • 1 teaspoon salt.
  • 1 dozen peppercorns.

Dissolve the butter in a large saucepan, place in the peas (which must have been carefully picked over), the vegetables sliced, and the peppercorns. Boil gently three hours, add salt, and rub through a wire sieve with a wooden spoon. Serve with sippets of toast.

Fresh Green Pea Soup.

  • 2 pints of shelled green peas.
  • 1 ounce butter.
  • A handful of mint.
  • 1 cabbage lettuce.
  • 3 pints of water.
  • 1½ teaspoons of salt.
  • 1 onion.
  • 1 lump of sugar.

Dissolve the butter in a large saucepan and place in the peas, the onion sliced, the lettuce and mint thoroughly washed, the water, salt, and sugar. Boil for one and a half hours, strain through a wire sieve, rubbing the peas through with a wooden spoon.

Brighton Stew.

  • ½ pound cooked haricot beans.
  • ½ pint fresh green peas.
  • 1 small cauliflower.
  • 6 small onions.
  • 1 pint haricot bean stock.
  • 1 ounce butter.
  • ½ ounce flour.
  • The juice of half a lemon.
  • Salt and pepper to taste.

Dissolve the butter in a stewpan, peel and halve the onions and fry them for about ten minutes, but do not allow to brown, stir in the flour, add the peas and stock, and simmer until the vegetables are tender, stirring frequently, then add the beans, lemon juice, and seasonings. Boil the cauliflower separately, break up the white part into neat pieces, add them to the stew, and simmer altogether for a few minutes. Pour into an entrée dish and serve very hot.

Note.—Good tinned peas will answer the purpose when fresh ones are not obtainable.

Stewed Green Peas.

  • 1 pint shelled peas.
  • 1 lettuce.
  • 1 gill of water.
  • 1 onion sliced.
  • A sprig of mint.
  • ½ ounce of butter.
  • Salt to taste.

Wash the lettuce and cut it up rather fine, place it with the other ingredients in a stewpan, and simmer without the lid about half an hour, or until the peas are quite tender.

Green Pea and Lettuce Stew.

  • 1½ pints shelled peas.
  • 2 cabbage lettuces sliced.
  • 1 small onion sliced.
  • 1 tablespoon water.
  • 1 ounce butter.
  • The yolks of 2 eggs.
  • 1 tablespoon cream.
  • ¼ teaspoon salt.
  • ½ teaspoon white sugar.

Stew the peas, lettuces and onion very gently with the butter and water for half an hour (three-quarters of an hour if the peas are not very young). Add the sugar and salt, then stir in the yolks of eggs and cream; continue stirring for a minute until it all thickens (but on no account allow it to boil, or the eggs will curdle), and serve with sippets of toasted bread.

Haricot Bean Stew. [1]

  • 1 pint soaked haricot beans.
  • 4 potatoes.
  • 2 large onions.
  • ½ ounce butter
  • 1 quart water.
  • 1 teaspoon salt.

Prepare and slice the vegetables, place them with the butter, beans, and water, in a stewpan, and simmer gently for two hours and a half; add salt.

Haricot Bean Stew. [2]

  • 1 pint soaked haricot beans.
  • 1 quart water.
  • 1 teaspoon salt.
  • ½ ounce butter.
  • 1 good-sized onion.
  • 1 tablespoon semolina.
  • ½ pint stewed tomatoes.

Dissolve the butter in a stewpan, place in the 28beans, the onion cut up, and the water, and boil for two hours; add salt. Simmer for half an hour longer, then shake in the semolina, and continue stirring for about ten minutes. Cooked semolina will do equally well, and need only be added five minutes before serving (about a quarter of a pound will be required). Lastly, add tomatoes, which should have been previously stewed [see below for method], and serve.

Stewed Tomatoes. [for recipe above]

  • 1 dozen tomatoes.
  • 1½ ounces butter.
  • ½ teaspoon salt.
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper.

Scald the tomatoes by pouring boiling water over them, then place in cold water for half a minute. Remove the skins, which will now come off quite easily, slice the tomatoes into about four pieces with a very sharp knife. Have ready a stewpan in which the butter has been dissolved, place the tomatoes in it, add the seasoning, and stew gently for about twenty minutes, stirring frequently.

Note.—When strained, this constitutes a very choice sauce, and it may be slightly thickened.

Haricot Bean Stew. [3]

  • ½ pint soaked haricot beans.
  • 2 carrots.
  • 2 turnips.
  • 2 onions.
  • ½ ounce butter.
  • 1 pint water.
  • ½ pint
  • ½ teaspoon salt.
  • 1 dozen peppercorns tied in muslin.
  • 1 tablespoon soaked or crushed tapioca.

Boil the beans in the water with the butter, vegetables sliced, and the peppercorns, for two hours; remove the peppercorns, add salt and tapioca, and stir until it thickens.

Haricot Bean Ragoût.

  • 1 pint soaked haricots.
  • 1 quart water.
  • 2 carrots.
  • 2 turnips.
  • 2 onions.
  • 1 teaspoon salt.
  • 2 ounces butter.
  • 1 tablespoon flour.

Boil the haricot beans until tender, adding salt a short time previously. Strain and spread the beans on a dish that they may dry. Slice the carrots and turnips very fine, and boil for half an hour in the liquor; strain also. Slice the onions, and fry ten minutes in the butter, but do not allow them to brown; add haricots and flour, and simmer altogether another five minutes, stirring all the time. Chop the vegetables very fine, add to the beans and onions, pour in the liquor, stir until it boils and thickens, and serve.

Haricot Bean and Green Pea Stew.

  • ½ pint soaked haricot beans.
  • ½ pint shelled green peas.
  • 1½ pints of water.
  • 1 onion.
  • 1 ounce butter.
  • ½ ounce flour.
  • 1½ teaspoons of salt.
  • A sprig of mint.

Boil the haricot beans in the usual way with one pint of the water, one teaspoon of salt, and the onion sliced. When cooked, thicken with a paste of the flour and butter. Boil the green peas with the remainder of the water, salt, and mint. When tender, mix with the haricot beans, and serve with sippets of toast.

Irish Stew. [prepared with lentils]

  • ½ pint soaked lentils.
  • 6 potatoes.
  • 2 large onions.
  • ½ ounce butter.
  • 1 pint water.
  • 1 teaspoon salt.
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper.

Place the lentils and butter with the vegetables, which must be sliced, in a saucepan with the water, and stew gently for one hour. Add seasonings a quarter of an hour before serving.

Lentil Stew with Forcemeat Cutlets.

  • 1 quart soaked lentils.
  • 1 carrot.
  • 1 turnip.
  • 1 onion.
  • 1 teaspoon Worcester sauce.
  • 2 teaspoons salt.
  • 1 ounce butter.
  • Forcemeat.

Simmer the lentils gently in three pints of water for one and a half hours. Strain. Put a quarter of a pound of the lentils on one side to cool. Rub the rest through the wire sieve with a wooden spoon until nothing but the skins remain. In the meantime, boil the vegetables with sufficient water to cover, until quite tender. When thoroughly cooked pour into the lentil purée, add the sauce and salt, and re-warm. Prepare forcemeat [see below recipe], adding the quarter of a pound of lentils chopped fine; shape into little cutlets (about twelve), brown in a frying-pan with the butter, place on a hot dish, pour the gravy over, and serve at once.

Forcemeat. [meat-free]

  • 6 teaspoons chopped parsley.
  • 3 teaspoons mixed sweet herbs.
  • 3 teaspoons grated lemon rind.
  • 2 teaspoons pepper.
  • 1 teaspoon salt.
  • ½ teaspoon powdered mace.
  • 4 ounces bread crumbs.
  • 2 eggs.
  • 2 ounces butter.

Mix all the dry ingredients thoroughly, then add the butter (which has been previously warmed) and the beaten eggs, and stir all well together.

Golden Marbles. [pan fried haricot bean balls]

  • ¼ pound haricot bean pulp.
  • 2 ounces bread crumbs.
  • ¼ pound mashed potatoes.
  • 1 shalot.
  • 1 egg.
  • ½ teaspoon salt.
  • Bread crumbs.

Rub well-cooked haricots through a wire sieve until the requisite quantity of pulp is obtained, add the bread crumbs, potato, salt and shallot, which must be very finely minced, stir in half a beaten egg, shape into little balls the size of marbles, roll them in the other half of egg and the bread crumbs, and fry in boiling fat until a golden brown.

Haricot Bean Croquettes.

  • ½ pint soaked haricot beans.
  • ¼ pint water.
  • ¼ pint milk.
  • 1 ounce butter.
  • 4 ounces bread crumbs.
  • 2 or 3 shalots.
  • ¼ teaspoon salt.
  • ¼ teaspoon white sugar.
  • ¼ teaspoon white pepper.
  • 1 egg.

Place the beans in a stewpan with the water and butter, and boil for two hours; then add milk, salt and pepper, and stew for half an hour longer. Mince the shalot and fry for one minute, but without browning. Strain the haricot beans and chop them very fine, add the shalot and yolk of egg and liquor that was strained off, and put the mixture aside for a little while. When cool, stir in two ounces of the bread crumbs, form into little balls, roll in the white of the egg and the remainder of the bread crumbs, and fry in boiling oil.

Haricots on Bread.

  • ½ pint soaked haricot beans.
  • 1 pint water.
  • 2 tablespoons mashed potato.
  • 1 dozen Brussels sprouts.
  • 3 onions.
  • The yolks of 2 eggs.
  • 1 gill of rich sauce.
  • 1 teaspoon salt.
  • 12 small rounds of bread without crust.

Slice the onions and boil them with the beans in the water for one and a quarter hours, then add the salt and boil again without the saucepan lid, until the beans are dry. When quite dry rub them through a wire sieve, place the pulp in a small stewpan, add the yolks of eggs and the sauce, and stir over a gentle heat until the eggs thicken, but not boil, or they will curdle; then stir in the potato. Butter the rounds of bread (which should be about two and a half inches in diameter) on both sides, lay in a baking tin, and spread the mixture very thickly on them. Bake in a moderate oven for about ten minutes. Then place a cooked sprout in the centre of each round, and replace in the oven for a few minutes to re-heat before serving.

Savoury Haricots on Toast.

  • 1 pint water.
  • ½ pint soaked haricot beans.
  • 1 tablespoon cream or milk.
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice.
  • ¼ teaspoon salt.
  • A very little grated nutmeg.
  • A very little pepper.
  • A little cooked spinach.
  • 4 eggs.
  • 4 rounds hot buttered toast.

Stew the haricot beans gently for three hours, rub through a wire sieve with a wooden spoon, add cream, salt, lemon juice, pepper and nutmeg, have ready four poached or baked eggs, four small rounds of buttered toast, and a little cooked and seasoned spinach. Place a layer of the haricot cream on the toast (about a quarter of an inch thick), then a layer of spinach, stamp out the yolks of the eggs with a pastry cutter leaving a quarter of an inch border of white, and place one on the top of each round. This is a very pretty and tasty dish.

Haricot Beans with Eggs.

  • 3 tablespoons cooked haricot beans.
  • 3 tablespoons liquor from ditto.
  • 1 tablespoon mashed potatoes.
  • 3 or 4 eggs.
  • Salt and pepper to taste.
  • 2 teaspoons Worcester sauce.
  • 1 teaspoon fine mixed herbs.
  • 2 teaspoons browned bread crumbs.

Mix the beans (which should have been cooked according to the haricot bean recipe below, omitting the potatoes), the liquor, potatoes and seasonings, except the herbs, well together, pour into a flat pie dish, break on the top as many eggs as are needed to cover the mixture, sprinkle over them the bread crumbs and herbs mixed, and bake until the eggs are set.

Haricot Bean Stew. [for recipe above]

  • 1 pint soaked haricot beans.
  • 4 potatoes.
  • 2 large onions.
  • ½ ounce butter
  • 1 quart water.
  • 1 teaspoon salt.

Prepare and slice the vegetables, place them with the butter, beans, and water, in a stewpan, and simmer gently for two hours and a half; add salt.

Haricot Beans Garnished.

  • ½ pint soaked haricot beans.
  • 1 pint water.
  • 1 flat teaspoon salt.
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper.
  • 1 ounce butter.
  • ½ ounce flour.
  • 1 carrot.
  • 1 turnip.
  • 1 onion.
  • A sprig of parsley.
  • A strip of lemon peel.
  • A pinch of sweet herbs.
  • A pinch of powdered mace.
  • The juice of half a lemon.

Boil the beans, [using the haricot bean cooking recipe below], and leave them to dry off as directed, but in a warm place and with a cloth over them. Place the liquor which has been strained from them in a small stewpan, with the vegetables sliced very thin, the parsley, lemon peel, herbs, and pepper, and boil for half an hour. Strain and thicken with the flour and half an ounce of the butter. Toss the beans gently in the other half ounce of butter, to which has been added the mace and lemon juice. Pile the beans in the centre of a hot dish, pour round them the gravy, garnish with cut lemon, parsley, and sippets of toast, and serve.

Haricot Beans. [for recipe above]

  • 1 pint soaked haricot beans.
  • 1 pint water.
  • 1 teaspoon salt.
  • 1 ounce butter.

Boil the beans in the water for half an hour, add salt, and boil again gently for another half or three-quarters of an hour; strain away the liquor, and leave the beans in the colander to dry off. Dissolve the butter in a stewpan, gently toss the beans in it, taking care not to break them, and serve.

Either chopped parsley, grated nutmeg, or lemon juice may be added to the butter, but the beans are extremely good quite plain.

Haricot Mould (Hot).

  • 2 tablespoons sago.
  • 4 tablespoons cooked haricot beans.
  • 1 pint stock.
  • ½ ounce butter.
  • Seasoning to taste.

Place the butter and stock in a stewpan, and if the stock be not already very highly flavoured, add seasonings, such as a slice of lemon, half a dozen peppercorns, a good teaspoon of curry powder, and a shalot, or if curry powder be not liked, half a teaspoonful of mixed herbs, or half a tablespoonful of Worcester sauce may be substituted. Boil altogether for fifteen minutes, then strain, return to the stewpan, add sago and beans and stir briskly until it becomes quite thick, turn into a greased mould, stand the mould in a tin or plate containing a little water, and bake for half an hour with a cover on. When set, allow it to cool slightly before turning out, then serve with a border of spinach or tasty greens; or it may be allowed to get quite cold, then cut in slices, and fried.

Lentil Cakes.

A Savoury.

  • ¼ pound flour.
  • 2 ounces butter.
  • A pinch of salt.
  • ¼ pound cooked lentils and vegetables mixed.
  • Frying oil.
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder.

Mix the flour, butter, salt and baking powder well together, then work in the lentils and vegetables, which should have been previously minced. Mix all thoroughly, and roll out about half an inch thick, stamp into rounds with a pastry cutter or any fancy shape, and fry in boiling oil until quite brown.

This is a very good way of using up lentils and vegetables which have been used for making gravy.

Note.—These cakes are specially recommended to travellers.

Green Peas and Carrots on Toast.

  • 10 or 12 button carrots.
  • ½ pint fresh green peas.
  • A little more than a gill of white stock.
  • 1 ounce butter.
  • 1 ounce flour.
  • 6 rounds of toasted bread.

Scrape and slice the carrots very thin and stew them in the butter until quite tender, stir in the 52flour, then add the peas (cooked); pour in the stock, and stir over the fire for ten or fifteen minutes. Butter the toast, then spread the mixture on very thickly and serve hot. Salt and pepper should be added to taste, and a sprig of mint may be used for flavouring if liked.

Haricot Bean Salad.

  • ½ pint soaked haricot beans.
  • 1 pint of water.
  • 1 ounce butter.
  • ½ teaspoon salt.
  • A little grated nutmeg.
  • ½ pint salad sauce

Dissolve half an ounce of butter in a saucepan, place in the beans and water, and boil one and a half hours; add salt and boil another half hour. When done, strain (saving the liquor), and turn the beans into a basin containing half an ounce of oiled [melted] butter and the nutmeg. Stir the beans about carefully, and then place them in a dish or salad bowl; pour the sauce over, and stand on one side to get thoroughly cold.

Salad Sauce. [for recipe above]

  • 1 small onion.
  • 8 slices of beetroot.
  • 2 tablespoons of vinegar.
  • ½ pint haricot bean stock.
  • 1 ounce butter.
  • ½ teaspoon Worcester sauce.
  • ¼ teaspoon mustard.
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice.
  • 2 teaspoons browned flour.
  • Pepper and salt to taste.

Dissolve the butter in a small stewpan, place in the onion sliced and fry ten minutes; then add stock and beetroot, and simmer for twenty minutes; add the mustard, sauce, lemon juice, and flour, and simmer five minutes, stirring all the time; rub through a sieve, and when cold stir in the vinegar.

This quantity is only sufficient for a small salad.

Alexandra Pie.

  • 1 pint soaked haricot beans.
  • 1 carrot.
  • 1 turnip.
  • 2 onions.
  • ½ pint liquor.
  • 1 ounce butter.
  • ½ pound mashed potatoes.
  • 2 ounces bread crumbs.
  • 1 egg.
  • 1 teaspoon salt.
  • 1 quart water.

Slice the carrot, turnip and onions, boil them with the beans one and a half hours, add salt and boil half an hour, strain, turn the beans and vegetables on to a large plate and place on one side to cool. Dissolve the butter in a frying pan, and fry the beans and vegetables until slightly browned; turn into a pie dish, pour over the liquor which was strained off, place in the mashed potatoes, and lastly cover with the egg and bread crumbs well mixed. The white and yolk should be beaten separately. Bake in a rather hot oven until a nice brown.

Lentil Pudding.

  • 1 tablespoon soaked lentils.
  • ¼ pint water.
  • 2 tablespoons soaked sago.
  • ½ ounce butter.
  • 1 turnip.
  • 1 carrot.
  • 1 shalot.
  • ½ teaspoon salt.
  • Paste for crust

Slice the carrot and turnip, mince the shalot, and place them in a stewpan with the lentils, butter, and water; boil for about half an hour, add salt and sago, and stir for three minutes. Line a small pudding basin with paste, pour in the mixture, cover with more paste, tie a floured cloth over, and boil for three hours.

Plain Paste for Puddings. [for recipe above]

  • ¾ pound flour.
  • 6 ounces butter.
  • Rather less than ½ pint water.
  • A pinch of salt.
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder.

Pass the flour through a sieve on to a board, mix with it the salt and baking powder, and thoroughly rub in the butter. Make a hole in the centre of the paste, pour in the water, stirring it into the paste at the same time with the other hand. When sufficiently moist to adhere in the shape of a ball, roll out to the required thickness. If cooked in a basin the pudding will require to boil for at least three hours; if in a cloth, less time will be found sufficient.

Potted Lentils.

  • 1 quart soaked lentils.
  • 1 quart water.
  • 4 ounces butter.
  • 1 teaspoon salt.
  • A pinch of sweet herbs.
  • 6 cloves.
  • 6 allspice.
  • 12 peppercorns.
  • 1 inch cinnamon stick.
  • A piece of mace size of a shilling.

Dissolve the butter in a saucepan, then place in all the ingredients except the salt. Remove the scum as it rises. Boil one hour, add salt, boil again half an hour, then remove the lid and stir constantly for another half hour, or until the lentils are reduced to a thick pulp. Rub through a wire sieve with a wooden spoon until only the husks remain. When quite cold, place in a dish or jar, and pour oiled butter over the top to exclude the air. It will keep good for some days.

Note.—The thick remaining in the sieve may be re-boiled for stock.

Lentil and Tomato Sausages with Piquante Sauce.

  • 1 pound soaked lentils.
  • 1 tin tomatoes.
  • 1 onion.
  • 1 egg.
  • 1½ teaspoons salt.
  • ½ teaspoon pepper.
  • ¼ pound bread crumbs.
  • 1 ounce each butter and flour.

Boil the lentils and onion sliced in the tomato juice (having previously strained away the pulp) for one and a half hours; add one teaspoonful of salt and a quarter of pepper; strain. When cool, take a quarter of a pound of the lentils, add the remainder of the seasoning and the tomato pulp, which must have been squeezed quite dry, chop all fine, add three ounces of bread crumbs and half a beaten egg. Shape into little sausages, roll in the remainder of the egg and bread crumbs, and fry in boiling oil. Thicken the liquor which was strained off with the butter and flour, and serve separately.

Note.—The remaining lentils can be used in a variety of ways

Toad-in-the-Hole. [lentil & potato sausages]

  • ¼ pound cooked lentils.
  • ¼ pound mashed potatoes.
  • 1 teaspoon mixed herbs.
  • Half an egg.
  • ½ teaspoon salt.
  • ½ teaspoon pepper.
  • ½ ounce butter.
  • Batter. [see recipe below]

Chop the lentils, add potatoes, herbs, salt, pepper and egg, shape into six sausages, and fry in the butter until brown. Make a batter, well grease a good-sized pie-dish, place the sausages in, pour the batter over, and bake in a moderate oven about thirty minutes.

Baked Batter. [for recipe above]

  • 3 ounces flour.
  • 2 eggs.
  • ½ pint milk.
  • 1 ounce butter.
  • A pinch of salt.

Place the flour and salt in a basin, beat up the eggs in another basin; add half the butter to the milk, and place in the oven for a few minutes to allow the butter to dissolve, then add the milk to the eggs and pour on to the flour, stir briskly with a wooden spoon, grease a baking tin or dish with the remainder of the butter, pour in the batter, and bake in a rather hot oven for half an hour.

Curried Lentils.

  • ¼ pint soaked lentils.
  • 1 pint water.
  • 1½ ounces butter.
  • 1 small apple.
  • 1 onion.
  • A pinch of powdered mace.
  • 1 teaspoon flour.
  • 1 teaspoon salt.
  • 6 peppercorns.
  • ½ teaspoon white sugar.
  • 1 teaspoon curry powder.
  • 2 teaspoons vinegar.

Simmer the lentils with the peppercorns (tied up in a piece of muslin) and mace for one hour, add the salt, remove the peppercorns and strain. In the meantime slice the onion, mince the apple, and fry them together in the butter for ten minutes, place in a stewpan together with two tablespoons of the lentils, the sugar, flour and curry powder, mix well together, add the liquor of the lentils, and simmer for half an hour, stirring frequently; add the vinegar before serving. Serve rice in a separate dish.

Curried Haricot Beans.

  • ½ pint soaked haricots.
  • 1 onion.
  • 1 carrot.
  • 1 turnip.
  • 1 teaspoon salt.
  • 2 teaspoons curry powder.
  • 1 quart water.
  • Juice of ½ lemon.
  • 1 teaspoon Worcester sauce.
  • 1½ ounces butter.
  • 1½ ounces flour.

Simmer the beans and vegetables sliced for two hours, add seasoning, thicken with the butter and flour, and serve with boiled rice.

Curried Haricot Beans.

Another way.

  • 1 pint sauce superbe. [see below recipe]
  • 1 onion sliced and fried.
  • 2 teaspoons curry powder.
  • The juice of half a lemon.
  • 1 pound cooked haricot beans.
  • Cooked rice.

Place the sauce, curry powder, and lemon juice in a stewpan, and stir over the fire for ten minutes, then add the fried onion and beans, simmer another ten minutes, and serve with boiled rice.

Note.—This is a delicious curry. Cooked lentils may be used in place of haricot beans.

Sauce Superbe. [for recipe above]

  • 1 large turnip.
  • 1 large carrot.
  • 1 large onion.
  • 1 large tomato.
  • 1 small stick of celery.
  • 1 teaspoon salt.
  • 2 tablespoons pearl barley.
  • 2 ounces butter.
  • 1½ pints water.
  • { 12 peppercorns.
  •  2 cloves.
  •  A very little each of mace and cinnamon, tied in muslin.

Slice the vegetables, except the tomato, and fry in the butter until a nice brown; place in a stewpan together with the water, barley, salt and flavourings, and boil three-quarters of an hour. Add tomato sliced, simmer half an hour, stirring frequently, and strain. If required for masking, thicken with one ounce each of brown flour and butter.

Note.—The vegetables and barley may be served as a stew, or used in various ways

Haricot Bean Soufflé.

  • ½ pound cooked haricot beans.
  • 1 large onion.
  • 1 teaspoon mixed herbs.
  • 1 teaspoon salt.
  • ½ ounce butter for dish.
  • 1 tomato.
  • 3 eggs.
  • 1 ditto hard boiled. [ditto means – the same – so in this case it means 1 hard boiled egg]

Mince the haricot beans (which should be cold and thoroughly dry) very fine. Boil the onion whole until tender, chop and mix with the beans, adding salt and herbs. Prepare a flat pie dish by greasing it well with the butter, and decorate it with the tomato scalded, peeled, and cut in slices, and the hard boiled egg also cut in slices; sprinkle over these a little salt. Then beat up the other three eggs, whites and yolks separately, the former to a stiff froth, thoroughly incorporate the haricot bean mixture with the beaten eggs, pour carefully into the pie dish so as not to disarrange the decorations, and bake in a moderate oven from half to three-quarters of an hour. Turn out and serve quickly.

Note.—This makes a pretty dish if cooked in little moulds.

Recipes from Cassell’s Vegetarian Cookery, A Manual of Cheap and Wholesome Diet [1891]

Haricot Beans.

It is very much to be regretted that haricot beans are not more used in this country. There are hundreds of thousands of families who at the end of a year would be richer in purse and more healthy in body if they would consent to deviate from the beaten track and try haricot beaus, not as an accompaniment to a dish of meat, but as an article of diet in themselves. The immense benefit derived in innumerable cases from a diet of beans is one of the strongest and most practical arguments in favour of vegetarianism. Meat-eaters often boast of the plainness of their food, and yet wonder that they suffer in health. It is not an uncommon thing for a man to consult his doctor and to tell him, “I live very simply, nothing but plain roast or boiled.”

Medical men are all agreed on one point, and that is that haricot beans rank almost first among vegetables as a nourishing article of diet. In writing on this subject, Sir Henry Thompson observes, “Let me recall, at the close of these few hints about the haricot, the fact that there is no product of the vegetable kingdom so nutritious, holding its own, in this respect, as it well can, even against the beef and mutton of the animal kingdom.”

This is a very strong statement, coming as it does from so high an authority, and vegetarians would do well to hear it in mind when discussing the subject of vegetarianism with those who differ from them. Sir Henry proceeds as follows:—“The haricot ranks just above lentils, which have been so much praised of late, and rightly, the haricot being to most palates more agreeable. By most stomachs, too, haricots are more easily digested than meat is; and, consuming weight for weight, the eater feels lighter and less oppressed, as a rule, after the leguminous dish, while the comparative cost is very greatly in favour of the latter.”

To boil haricot beans proceed as follows. We refer, of course, to the dried white haricot beans, the best of which are those known as Soissons. The beans should be soaked in cold water overnight, and in the morning any that may be found floating on the top of the water should be thrown away. Suppose the quantity be a quart; place these in a saucepan with two quarts of cold water, slightly salted. As soon as time water conies to the boil, move it so that the beans will only simmer gently; they must then continue simmering till they are tender. This generally takes about three hours, and if the water is hard, it is advisable to put in a tiny piece of soda. This is the simple way of cooking beans usually recommended in cookery-books when they are served up with a dish of meat, such as a leg of mutton à la Bretonne, where the beans are served in some rich brown gravy containing fat. In vegetarian cookery, of course, we must proceed entirely differently, and there are various ways in which this nourishing dish can be served, as savoury and as appetising, and indeed more so, than if we had assistance from the slaughter-house. We will now proceed to give a few instances.

In the first place, it will greatly assist the flavour of the beans if we boil with them one or two onions and a dessertspoonful of savoury herbs. Supposing, however, we have them boiled plain. Take a large dry crust of bread and rub the outside well over with one or two beads of garlic. Place this crust of bread with the beans after they have been strained off, and toss them lightly about with the crust without breaking the beans. Remove the crust and moisten the beans while hot with a lump of butter, add a brimming dessertspoonful of chopped blanched parsley; squeeze the juice of a lemon over the whole, and serve. Instead of butter we can add, as they always do in Italy, two or three tablespoonfuls of pure olive oil. Those who have conquered the unreasonable English prejudice against the use of oil will probably find this superior to butter.

If the beans are served in the form of a purée, it is always best to boil a few onions with them and rub the onions through the wire sieve with the beans, taking care that the quantity of onion is not so large that it destroys and overpowers the delicate and delicious flavour of the beans themselves.

Next, we would call attention to the importance of not throwing away the water in which the beans were boiled. This water contains far more nourishment than people are aware of, and throughout the length and breadth of France, where economy is far more understood than in this country, it is invariably saved to assist in making some kind of soup, and as our soup will, of course, be vegetarian, the advantage gained is simply incalculable.

Flageolets.

These are haricot beans in the fresh green state, and are rarely met with in this country, though they form a standing dish abroad. They are exceedingly nice, and can be cooked in a little butter like the French cook green peas. They are often flavoured with garlic, and chopped parsley can be added to them. Those who are fond of this vegetable in the fresh state can obtain them in tins from any high-class grocer, as the leading firms in this country keep them in this form for export.

Pea Soup, from Split Dried Peas.

Take a pint of split peas and put them in soak overnight in some cold water, and throw away those that float, as this shows that there is a hole in them which would be mildewy. Take two onions, a carrot, a small head of celery, and boil them with the peas in from three pints to two quarts of water till they are tender. This will be from four to five hours. When the peas are old and stale even longer time should be allowed. Then rub the whole through a wire sieve, put the soup back into the saucepan, and stir it while you make it hot or it will burn. In ordinary cookery, pea soup is invariably made from some kind of greasy stock, more especially the water in which pickled pork has been boiled. In the present instance we have no kind of fat to counteract the natural dryness of the pea-flour. We must therefore add, before sending to table, two or three ounces of butter. It will be found best to dissolve the butter in the saucepan before adding the soup to be warmed up, as it is then much less likely to stick to the bottom of the saucepan and burn. Fried or toasted bread should be served with the soup separately, as well as dried and powdered mint. The general mistake people make is, they do not have sufficient mint.

Pea Soup, from Dried Green Peas.

Proceed as in the above recipe in every respect, substituting dried green peas for ordinary yellow split peas. Colour the soup green by adding a large handful of spinach before it is rubbed through the wire sieve, or add a small quantity of spinach extract (vegetable colouring sold by grocers in bottles); dried mint and fried or toasted bread should be served with the soup, as with the other.

Pea Soup, Green (Fresh).

Take half a peck of young peas, shell them, and throw the peas into cold water. Put all the shells into a quart or more of stock or water. Put in also a handful of spinach if possible, a few sprigs of parsley, a dozen fresh mint-leaves and half a dozen small, fresh, green onions. Boil these for an hour, or rather more, and then rub the whole through a wire sieve. You cannot rub all the shells through; but you will be able to rub a great part through, that which is left in the sieve being only strings. Now put on the soup to boil again, and as soon as it boils throw in the peas; as soon as these are tender—about twenty minutes—the soup is finished and can be sent to table. If the soup is thin, a little white roux can be added to thicken it; if of a bad colour, or if you could not get any spinach, add some spinach extract (vegetable colouring, sold by all grocers), only take care not to add too much, and make the soup look like green paint.

Peas, Dried.

Dried peas, like dried beans, contain a very great amount of nourishment. Indeed, in this respect, practically, dried beans, dried peas, and lentils may be considered equal. Dried peas are met with in two forms—the split yellow pea and those that are dried whole, green. Split peas are chiefly used in this country to make pea soup, or purée of peas and peas pudding. We have already given recipes for the two former, and will now describe how to make—

Peas Pudding.

Soak a quart of peas in water overnight, throwing away those in the morning that are found floating at the top. Drain them off and tie them up in a pudding-cloth, taking care to leave plenty of room for the peas to swell; put them into cold water, and boil them till they are tender. This will take from two to three hours. When tender, take them out, untie the cloth, and rub them through a colander, or, better still, a wire sieve. Now mix in a couple of ounces of butter with some pepper and salt, flour the cloth well and tie it up again and boil it for another hour, when it can be turned out and served. Peas pudding when eaten alone is improved by mixing in, at the same time as the butter, a dessertspoonful of dried powdered mint, also, should you have the remains of any cold potatoes in the house, it is a very good way of using them up. A few savoury herbs can be used instead of mint.

Peas “Brose.”

Dr. Andrew, in writing to the “Cyclopædia of Domestic Medicine,” says, “In the West of Scotland, especially in Glasgow, ‘peas brose,’ as it is called, is made of the fine flour of the white pea, by forming it into a mass merely by the addition of boiling water and a little salt. It is a favourite dish with not only the working classes, but it is even esteemed by many of the gentry. It was introduced into fashion chiefly by the recommendation of Dr. Cleghorn, late Professor of Chemistry in Glasgow University. The peas brose is eaten with milk or butter, and is a sweet, nourishing article of diet peculiarly fitted for persons of a costive habit and for children.”

Peas, Dried Whole, Green.

This is perhaps the best form with which we meet peas dried. When the best quality is selected, and care taken in their preparation, they are quite equal to fresh green peas when they are old. Indeed, many persons prefer them.

Soak the peas overnight, throwing away those that float at the top; put them into cold water, and when they boil let the peas simmer gently till they are tender. The time varies very much with the quality and the size of the peas, old ones requiring nearly three hours, others considerably less. When the peas are tender, throw in some sprigs, if possible, of fresh mint, and after a minute strain them off; add pepper, salt, and about two ounces of butter to a quart of peas—though this is not absolutely necessary—and nearly a dessertspoonful of white powdered sugar.

If you wish to have the peas as bright a green as freshly gathered ones, after you strain them off you can mix them in a basin, before you add the butter, with a little piece of green vegetable colouring (sold in bottles by all grocers). The peas should then be put back in the saucepan for a few minutes to be made hot through, and then finished as directed before.

Peas, Dried, Green, with Cream.

Boil the peas as before directed till they are quite tender, then strain them off and put them in a stew-pan with one ounce of butter to every quart of peas and toss them lightly about with a little pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg. Add to each quart of peas a quarter of a pint of cream and a dessertspoonful of powdered sugar; surround the dish with fried or toasted bread.

Peas, Green.

By far the best and nicest way of cooking green peas when served as a course by themselves is to stew them gently in a little butter without any water at all, like they do in France. The peas are first shelled, and then placed in a stew-pan with a little butter, sufficient to moisten them. As soon as they are tender, which will vary with the size and age of the peas, they can be served just as they are. The flavour of peas cooked this way is so delicious that they are nicest eaten with plain bread. When old peas are cooked this way it is customary to add a little white powdered sugar.

Peas, Green, Plain Boiled.

Shell the peas, and throw them into boiling water slightly salted. Keep the lid off the saucepan and throw in a few sprigs of fresh green mint five minutes before you drain them off. Young peas will take about ten to twenty minutes, and full-grown peas rather longer. Serve the peas directly they are drained, as they are spoilt by being kept hot.

Peas, Stewed.

When peas late in the season get old and tough, they can be stewed. Boil them for rather more than half an hour, throwing them first of all into boiling water; drain them off, and put them into a stew-pan with a little butter, pepper, and salt. Young onions and lettuces cut up can be stewed with them, but young green peas are far too nice ever to be spoilt by being cooked in this way.

Information about Lentils.

Lentils are, comparatively speaking, a novel form of food in this country, though they have been used abroad for many years, and a recipe for cooking them will be found in a well-known work, published in Paris in 1846, entitled “La Cuisinière de la Campagne et de la Ville; ou, Nouvelle Cuisine Économique,”one of the most popular French cookery-books ever published, and which in that year had reached a circulation of 80,000 copies.

Recipes for boiled lentils and lentil soup are given in “Cassell’s Dictionary of Cookery,” published in 1875; but it is stated in the introductory remarks that lentils are little used in England except as food for pigeons, and adds, “They are seldom offered for sale.” Since that date lentils have become an exceedingly popular form of food in many households, and vegetarians generally regard them as one of the most nourishing forms of food served at the table. There are two kinds of lentils, the German and Egyptian. The Egyptian are red and much smaller than the German, which are green. The former kind are generally used on the Continent, in Italy and the South of France, while, as the name implies, the green lentils are more commonly used in Eastern Europe. Either kind, however, can be used for making soup and purée, recipes of which have already been given, as well as for the recipes in the present chapter.

Lentils, Boiled.

The lentils should be placed in soak overnight, and those that float should be thrown away. Suppose we have half a pint of lentils, they should be boiled in about a pint and a half of water. Boil them till they are tender, which will take about half an hour, then drain them off and put them back in the saucepan for a few minutes with a little piece of butter, squeeze over them the juice of half a lemon, and serve hot. Some people make a little thickened sauce with yolks of eggs and a little butter and flour mixed with the water in which they are boiled.

Lentils, Curried.

Lentils are very nice curried. Boil the lentils as directed above till they are tender. When they are placed in a vegetable-dish make deep well in the centre and pour some thick curry sauce into it. (See CURRY SAUCE –

Curry Sauce.—Take six large onions, peel them, cut them up into small pieces, and fry them in a frying-pan in about two ounces of butter. As soon as the onions begin to change colour, take a small carrot and cut it up into little piece; and a sour apple. When the onions, etc., are fried a nice brown, add about a pint of vegetable stock or water and let the whole simmer till the vegetables are quite tender, then add a tea-spoonful of Captain White’s curry paste and a dessertspoonful of curry powder; now rub the whole through a wire sieve, and take care that all the vegetables go through. It is rather troublesome, but will repay you, as good curry sauce cannot be made without. The curry sauce should be sufficiently thick owing to the vegetables being rubbed through the wire sieve. Should therefore the onions be small, less water or stock had better be added. Curry sauce could be thickened with a little brown roux, but it takes away from the flavour of the curry. A few bay-leaves may be added to the sauce and served up whole in whatever is curried.

For instance, if we have a dish of curried rice, half a dozen or more bay-leaves could be added to the sauce and served up with the rice.

Rice, Curried.—Boil a teacupful of well-washed rice in two breakfastcupfuls of water, and let the rice absorb all the water; put a cloth in the saucepan, and stir up the rice occasionally with a fork till the grains become dry and separate easily the one from the other. Now mix it up with some curry sauce, make the whole hot, and send it to table with a few whole bay-leaves mixed in with the rice. Only sufficient curry sauce should be added to moisten the rice—it must not be rice swimming in gravy; or you can make a well in the middle of the boiled rice and pour the curry sauce into this.

Lentils à la Provençale.

Soak the lentils overnight and put them into a stew-pan with five or six spoonfuls of oil, a little butter, some slices of onion, some chopped parsley, and a teaspoonful of mixed savoury herbs. Stew them in this till the lentils are tender, and then thicken the sauce with yolks of eggs, add a squeeze of lemon-juice, and serve. N.B.—Haricot beans can be cooked in a similar manner.

MODERN COOKERY FOR PRIVATE FAMILIES (New Edition) by ELIZA ACTON [1882]

AN EXCELLENT GREEN PEAS SOUP.

Take at their fullest size, but before they are of bad colour or worm-eaten, three pints of fine large peas, and boil them as for table [see instructions below] with half a teaspoonful of carbonate of soda in the water, that they may be very green. When they are quite tender, drain them well, and put them into a couple of quarts of boiling, pale, but good beef or veal stock, and stew them in it gently for half an hour; then work the whole through a fine hair-sieve, put it into a clean pan and bring it to the point of boiling; add salt, should it be needed, and a small teaspoonful of pounded sugar; clear off the scum entirely, and serve the soup as hot as possible. An elegant variety of it is made by adding a half pint more of stock to the peas, and about three quarters of a pint of asparagus points, boiled apart, and well drained before they are thrown into it, which should be done only the instant before it is sent to table.

Green peas, 3 pints: boiled 25 to 30 minutes, or more. Veal or beef stock, 2 quarts (with peas): 1/2 an hour. Sugar, one small teaspoonful; salt, if needed.

Obs.—When there is no stock at hand, four or five pounds of shin of beef boiled slowly down with three quarts of water to two, and well seasoned with savoury herbs, young carrots, and onions, will serve instead quite well. A thick slice of lean, undressed ham, or of Jewish beef, would improve it.

Should a common English peas soup be wished for, make it somewhat thinner than the one above, and add to it, just before it is dished, from half to three quarters of a pint of young peas boiled tender and well drained.

TO BOIL GREEN PEAS.

To be eaten in perfection these should be young, very freshly gathered, and shelled just before they are boiled; should there be great inequality in their size, the smaller ones may be separated from the others, and thrown into the saucepan four or five minutes later.

Wash, and drain the peas in a cullender, put them into plenty of fast-boiling water, salted, keep the pan uncovered, and let them boil rapidly until they are tender; drain them well, dish them quickly, and serve them very hot, with good melted butter in a tureen; or put a slice of fresh butter into the midst of the peas, heap them well over it in the centre of the dish, and let it dissolve before they are disturbed.

Never, on any account, boil or mix mint with them unless it be expressly ordered, as it is particularly distasteful to many persons. It should be served in small heaps round them, if at all.

15 to 25 minutes, or more if old.

GREEN PEAS SOUP, WITHOUT MEAT.

Boil tender in three quarts of water, with the proportions of salt and soda directed for them in Chapter XVII., [see instructions below this recipe] one quart of large, full grown peas; drain and pound them in a mortar, mix with them gradually five pints of the liquor in which they were cooked, put the whole again over the fire, and stew it gently for a quarter of an hour; then press it through a hair-sieve.

In the mean time, simmer in from three to four ounces of butter,[40] three large, or four small cucumbers pared and sliced, the hearts of three or four lettuces shred small, from one to four onions, according to the taste, cut thin, a few small sprigs of parsley, and, when the flavour is liked, a dozen leaves or more of mint roughly chopped: keep these stirred over a gentle fire for nearly or quite an hour, and strew over them a half-teaspoonful of salt, and a good seasoning of white pepper or cayenne.

When they are partially done drain them from the butter, put them into the strained stock, and let the whole boil gently until all the butter has been thrown to the surface, and been entirely cleared from it; then throw in from half to three quarters of a pint of young peas boiled as for eating, and serve the soup immediately.

40.  Some persons prefer the vegetables slowly fried to a fine brown, then drained on a sieve, and well dried before the fire; but though more savoury so, they do not improve the colour of the soup.

When more convenient, the peas, with a portion of the liquor, may be rubbed through a sieve, instead of being crushed in a mortar; and when the colour of the soup is not so much a consideration as the flavour, they may be slowly stewed until perfectly tender in four ounces of good butter, instead of being boiled: a few green onions, and some branches of parsley may then be added to them.

Green peas, 1 quart; water, 5 pints: cucumbers, 3 to 6; lettuces, 3 or 4; onions, 1 to 4; little parsley; mint (if liked), 12 to 20 leaves; butter, 3 to 4 oz.; salt, half-teaspoonful; seasoning of white pepper or cayenne: 50 to 60 minutes. Young peas, 1/2 to 3/4 of a pint.

Obs.—We must repeat that the peas for these soups must not be old, as when they are so, their fine sweet flavour is entirely lost, and the dried ones would have almost as good an effect; nor should they be of inferior kinds. Freshly gathered marrowfats, taken at nearly or quite their full growth, will give the best quality of soup. We are credibly informed, but cannot assert it on our own authority, that it is often made for expensive tables in early spring, with the young tender plants or halms of the peas, when they are about a foot in height. They are cut off close to the ground, like small salad, we are told, then boiled and pressed through a strainer, and mixed with the stock. The flavour is affirmed to be excellent.

TO BOIL VEGETABLES GREEN.

After they have been properly prepared and washed, throw them into plenty of boiling water which has been salted and well skimmed; and keep them uncovered and boiling fast until they are done, taking every precaution against their being smoked. Should the water be very hard, a small half-teaspoonful of carbonate of soda, may be added with the salt, for every two quarts, and will greatly improve the colour of the vegetables; but if used in undue proportion it will injure them; green peas especially will be quickly reduced to a mash if boiled with too large a quantity.

Water, 1 gallon; salt, 2 oz.; soda, 1/4 oz.; or carbonate of soda, 1 teaspoonful.

A CHEAP GREEN PEAS SOUP.

Wash very clean and throw into an equal quantity of boiling water salted as for peas, three quarts of the shells, and in from twenty to thirty minutes, when they will be quite tender, turn the whole into a large strainer, and press the pods strongly with a wooden spoon. Measure the liquor, put two quarts of it into a clean deep saucepan, and when it boils add to it a quart of full grown peas, two or even three large cucumbers, as many moderate-sized lettuces freed from the coarser leaves and cut small, one large onion (or more if liked) sliced extremely thin and stewed for half an hour in a morsel of butter before it is added to the soup, or gently fried without being allowed to brown; a branch or two of parsley, and, when the flavour is liked, a dozen leaves of mint.

Stew these softly for an hour, with the addition of a small teaspoonful, or a larger quantity if required of salt, and a good seasoning of fine white pepper or of cayenne; then work the whole of the vegetables with the soup through a hair-sieve, heat it afresh, and send it to table with a dish of small fried sippets. The colour will not be so bright as that of the more expensive soups which precede it, but it will be excellent in flavour.

Pea-shells, 3 quarts; water, 3 quarts: 20 to 30 minutes. Liquor from these, 2 quarts; full-sized green peas, 1 quart; large cucumbers, 2 or 3; lettuces, 3; onion, 1 (or more); little parsley; mint, 12 leaves; seasoning of salt and pepper or cayenne: stewed 1 hour.

Obs.—The cucumbers should be pared, quartered, and freed from the seeds before they are added to the soup. The peas, as we have said already more than once, should not be old, but taken at their full growth, before they lose their colour: the youngest of the shells ought to be selected for the liquor.

RICH PEAS SOUP.

Soak a quart of fine yellow split peas for a night, drain them well, and put them into a large soup-pot with five quarts of good brown gravy stock; and when they have boiled gently for half an hour, add to the soup three onions, as many carrots, and a turnip or two, all sliced and fried carefully in butter; stew the whole softly until the peas are reduced to pulp, then add as much salt and cayenne as may be needed to season it well, give it two or three minutes’ boil, and pass it through a sieve, pressing the vegetables with it.

Put into a clean saucepan as much as may be required for table, add a little fresh stock to it should it be too thick, and reduce it by quick boiling if too thin; throw in the white part of some fresh celery sliced a quarter of an inch thick, and when this is tender send the soup quickly to table with a dish of small fried or toasted sippets. A dessertspoonful or more of currie-powder greatly improves peas soup: it should be smoothly mixed with a few spoonsful of it, and poured to the remainder when this first begins to boil after having been strained.

Split peas, 1 quart: soaked one night. Good brown gravy soup, 5 quarts: 30 minutes. Onions and carrots browned in butter, 3 of each; turnips, 2: 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 hours. Cayenne and salt as needed. Soup, 5 pints; celery, sliced, 1 large or 2 small heads: 20 minutes.

Obs.—When more convenient, six pounds of neck of beef well scored and equally and carefully browned, may be boiled gently with the peas and fried vegetables in a gallon of water (which should be poured to them boiling) for four or five hours.

COMMON PEAS SOUP.

Wash well a quart of good split peas, and float off such as remain on the surface of the water; soak them for one night, and boil them with a bit of soda the size of a filbert in just sufficient water to allow them to break to a mash. Put them into from three to four quarts of good beef broth, and stew them in it gently for an hour; then work the whole through a sieve, heat afresh as much as may be required for table, season it with salt and cayenne or common pepper, clear it perfectly from scum, and send it to table with fried or toasted bread. Celery sliced and stewed in it as directed for the rich peas soup, will be found a great improvement to this.

Peas, 1 quart: soaked 1 night; boiled in 2 quarts or rather more of water, 2 to 2-1/2 hours. Beef broth, 3 to 4 quarts: 1 hour. Salt and cayenne or pepper as needed: 3 minutes.

PEAS SOUP WITHOUT MEAT.

To a pint of peas, freed from all that are worm-eaten, and well washed, put five pints of cold water, and boil them tolerably tender; then add a couple of onions (more or less according to the taste), a couple of fine carrots grated, one large or two moderate-sized turnips sliced, all gently fried brown in butter; half a teaspoonful of black pepper, and three times as much of salt.

Stew these softly, keeping them often stirred, until the vegetables are sufficiently tender to pass through a sieve; then rub the whole through one, put it into a clean pan, and when it boils throw in a sliced head of celery, heighten the seasoning if needful, and in twenty minutes serve the soup as hot as possible, with a dish of fried or toasted bread cut into dice. A little chili vinegar can be added when liked: a larger proportion of vegetables also may be boiled down with the peas at pleasure.

Weak broth, or the liquor in which a joint has been boiled, can be substituted for the water; but the soup is very palatable as we have given the receipt for it. Some persons like it flavoured with a little mushroom catsup. All peas soup is rendered more wholesome by the addition of a small quantity of currie-paste or powder.

Split peas, 1 pint; water, 5 pints: 2 hours or more. Onions, 2; carrots, 2; large turnip, 1; pepper, 1/2 teaspoonful; salt, 1-1/2 teaspoonful: 1 to 1-1/2 hour. Celery, 1 head: 20 minutes.

Recipes from English Housewifry by Elizabeth Moxon [1764]

To make Green PEASE SOOP.

Take a neck of mutton, and a knuckle of veal, make of them a little good gravy; then take half a peck of the greenest young peas, boil and beat them to a pulp in a marble mortar; then put to them a little of the gravy; strain them through a hair sieve to take out all the pulp; put all together, with a little salt and whole pepper; then boil it a little, and if you think the soop not green enough, boil a handful of spinage very tender, rub it through a hair-sieve, and put into the soop with one spoonful of wheat-flour, to keep it from running: You must not let it boil after the spinage is put in, it will discolour it; then cut white bread in little diamonds, fry them in butter while crisp, and put it into a dish, with a few whole peas. Garnish your dish with creed rice, and red beet-root.

You may make asparagus-soop the same way, only add tops of asparagus, instead of whole pease.

Common PEASE SOOP in Winter.

Take a quart of good boiling pease which put into a pot with a gallon of soft water whilst cold; add thereto a little beef or mutton, a little hung beef or bacon, and two or three large onions; boil all together while your soop is thick; salt it to your taste, and thicken it with a little wheat-flour; strain it thro’ a cullender, boil a little sellery, cut it in small pieces, with a little crisp bread, and crisp a little spinage, as you would do parsley, then put it in a dish, and serve it up. Garnish your dish with raspings of bread.

To make PEASE SOOP in Lent.

Take a quart of pease, put them into a pot with a gallon of water, two or three large onions, half a dozen anchovies, a little whole pepper and salt; boil all together whilst your soop is thick; strain it into a stew-pan through a cullender, and put six ounces of butter (work’d in flour) into the soop to thicken it; also put in a little boil’d sellery [cellery], stew’d spinage [spinage], crisp bread, and a little dry’d mint powdered; so serve it up.

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