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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.
Scotch Kale.—Scotch
kale, or curly greens, as it is sometimes called in some
parts of the country, is cooked like ordinary greens. It
should be washed very carefully, and thrown into
fast-boiling salted water. The saucepan should remain
uncovered, as we wish to preserve the dark green colour.
Young Scotch kale will take about twenty minutes to boil
before it is tender. When boiled, if served as a course by
itself, it should be strained off very thoroughly and warmed
in a stew-pan with a little butter, pepper, and salt.
Sea Kale.—Sea kale
possesses a very delicate flavour, and in cooking it the
endeavour should be to preserve this flavour. Throw the sea
kale when washed into boiling water; in about twenty
minutes, if it is young, it will be tender. Serve it on
plain dry toast, and keep all the heads one way. Butter
sauce, white
sauce, Dutch
sauce, or sauce
Allemande can be served with sea kale, but should
be sent to table separate in a boat, as the majority of good
judges prefer the sea kale quite plain.
Spinach.—The chief
difficulty to contend with in cooking spinach is the
preliminary cleansing. The best method of washing spinach is
to take two buckets of water. Wash it in one; the spinach
will float on the top whilst the dirt settles at the bottom.
Lift the spinach from one pail, after you have allowed it to
settle for a few minutes, into the other pail. One or two
rinsings will be sufficient. Spinach should be picked if the
stalks are large, and thrown into boiling water slightly
salted. Boil the spinach till it is tender, which will take
about a quarter of an hour, then drain it off and cut it
very small in a basin with a knife and fork, place it back
in a saucepan with a little piece of butter to make it
thoroughly hot, put it in a vegetable dish and serve.
Hard-boiled
eggscut in halves, or poached
eggs, are usually served with spinach. A little cream,
nutmeg, and lemon-juice can be added. Many cooks rub the
spinach through a wire sieve.
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