CUCUMBER COOKERY

Shannon News, 28 January 1927, Page 3

CUCUMBER COOKERY

Cucumber soup is light and delicate in flavour, just right for warm weather. /To Make, —Peel two large cucumbers and, with a vegetable scoop, cut out a few round pieces and cook them in salted water to use a garnish. Cut up the remainder of the cucumber and simmer,in boiling water for ten minutes; drain well. Wash lib, of spinach in several waters, peel and slice an onion. Melt 2oz. of butter or margarine in a pan, •add the cucumber, spinach and onion, and stir over low heat for five minutes, add a quart of white stock of any kind and a bunch of herbs, and simmer until the cucumber is soft. Hub all through a hair sieve except the herbs, which should be removed. Return the puree to the pan and add a dessertspoonful of cornflour blended smoothly with a gill of milk. Stir until boiling, then simmer for six minutes, stirring all the time. Season, and if too thick, add a little more milk. Add the cucumber balls and serve. Hand dice of fried bread or toast. If a richer soup be desired, a gill of cream may be added, or the yolks of two eggs. These are added after the cornflour has cooked. The soup must not boil after the eggs are put in or they may curdle. Cucumber Scallops. Peel, cut in pieces and remove the seeds from two cucumbers. Boil them with a peeled and sliced onion in salted water until tender. Drain well and cut the cucumber into dice. Greas,e some scallop shells, put a layer of white sauce in each, then a thick layer of cucumber and onion, season ; and cover with grated cheese, and another layer of sauce. Sprinkle with more cheese, put pieces of butter here and there over the top, and brown under a griller, or in the oven. Serve hot. Cold Cucumber Creams. Peel and slice a cucumber and boil in salted water until tender. Drain through a colander and then on a cloth, and rub through a hair sieve. Add three-quarters of a gill of rather thick, well-flavoured white sauce, and reheat. Melt half an ounce of gelatine in half a gill of water and strain into the mixture. When cold, stir in a gill of whipped cream, season if necessary, and colour pale green. Put the mixture into small moulds rinsed out in cold water, and leave until set. Turn out and garnish "with small salad.