MORE SPRING DISHES

New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 436, 31 October 1947, Page 22

MORE SPRING DISHES

ERE are some more ideas for Spring Dishes. Salads, of course, are a_ great delight, and a great help, too, in varying our menus and also for making small bits of left-over meats into a real meal without re-heat-ing-a very good thing. Left-over vegetables are all much better served in a salad than if re-heated, although in cold weather we do serve them quite advantageously by just adding them to a hot white sauce. Until tomatoes and cucumbers come in, our ‘salads» are not quite so fascinating, but lettuces are good now, and form a grand foundation. Don’t forget that very finely chopped young mint and parsley give a distinctive touch to all salads. A tin of mixed vegetables in the pantry is a good standby in’ case you want a salad in a hurry; drain these well, and have a tasty mayonnaise to give them more flavour. Separate the different vegetables, and put each kind in its own lettuce leaf, And don’t forget Coleslaw, which is simply finely-shredded, young, raw, white cabbage, seasoned with grated onion and minced parsley (and mint) and a little grated carrot for colour. After all, cabbage is called the Vitamin King of vegetables! But it must be very crisp-as, indeed, all salad-greens have to be. It is wise to have a little variety in your salad dressings, so that practically the same salad-materials can be served without becoming monotonous. f Sweet Dressing Mix together a good teaspoonful each of mustard and salt in a basin, and stir in a tin of sweetened condensed milk. Then add, while stirring, a half-cup of vinegar-a little more or less, according to taste. This dressing will keep in a cold safe, and needs only to be thinned down with a little more vinegar when it gets thicker after a few days. Vary the quantities of mustard and salt: to suit the family taste, This recipe is my own favourite. French Dressing Three tablespoons salad oil; 1 teaspoon salt; 44 teaspoon paprika, a speck of ordinary pepper, 1 tablespoon vinegar. Combine the oil and seasonings; gradually add and beat in the vinegar. Boiled Oil Mayonnaise . This is a "special" from Los Angeles and is described as having the luxurious taste of mayonnaise at half the cost, Blend -together 2 tablespoons of salad oil, 2 tablespoons flour, and 2 tablespoons lemon-juice in a breakfast cup. Fill up the cup with boiling water, transfer to a double-boiler (or stand a basin in a saucepan of boiling water), and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Now beat up 1 egg-yolk, and ~ add to it the first mixture, beating well in. Then gradually beat in 1 cup salad oil, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon per, 14 teaspoon dry. mustard. Lastly, add the egg-white whipped stiff. Cottage Cheese This is very easy to make, and is a nourishing and excellent ingredient to a salad plate. If you can buy the

packaged cream cheese, use it in the same way-a good tablespoonful placed in a crisp lettuce leaf; other lettuce leaves filled with tinned salmon, or sardines, or grated cheese, for a real salad meal; with grated carrot for colour, and left-over green peas, and chopped new potatoes; all with mayonnaise. Into a quart of milk, warmed to blood-heat, stir 1 tablespoon of rennet and % teaspoon salt. Leave to set for a few hours. Then put it into a salt-bag (or something similar) and hang it up to drain over a basin, which will catch the whey. After 12 hours or so, empty the bag into a basin, press it down and put a plate on top with a weight to keep it pressed. Ready to use at once, (Minced chives may be added if desired.) This may also be made with any sour milk you have. Simply tip the curds into a muslin bag, and leave to drain in the same way. Use any odd cup-full of sour milk in this way. Beat it up afterwards with a little salt, Sprinkle chopped parsley over when serving. Use the whey when mixing scones. Beverley Hills Salad Six hard-boiled eggs, rubbed through a sieve; 4 tablespoons mayonnaise; 1% teaspoon grated onion; 1 teaspoon mustard; 4 rashers bacon, fried brown and finely chopped; 1 tablespoon minced parsley; 2 tablespoons chopped green peppers, if available; 1 teaspoon salt; 14 teaspoon white pepper. Blend all well, Form into egg shapes. Roll in mayonnaise, and then in grated cheese. Serve as one ingredient of a salad plate,