SPRINGTIME MEALS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 19, Issue 486, 15 October 1948, Page 26

SPRINGTIME MEALS

SPARAGUS, green peas, new potatoes, young carrots, spring onions, and radishes are all here again to give us-a new interest in meal-time. Meat may be expensive, but with plenty of these spring vegetables and the judicious addition of finely-chopped spring mint and fresh parsley, we can manage grand meals. Asparagus Do not overcook this. or any spring vegetable; the colour and flavour both deteriorate if cooked beyond just tenderness. Pressure saucepans are really good to use for vegetables-no swamping with water, no waste. Asparagus is cooked in two to three minutes, peas in two minutes! Without a pressure cooker, scrape the stalks free from scales and gently wash any sand from the tender tips. Tie in bundles and stand upright in boiling salted watersufficient to come about half-way up the stalks. Cover with lid. The tips will cook in the steam-probably 15 to 20 minutes if young and fresh. Untie the bundles and serve in individual dishes, upon a slice of hot toast, to absorb the moisture. Pour a little melted butter over; or butter the toast lightly and soften it with a little asparagus water. Or-mix together sufficient chopped hard-boiled egg with mayon- naise-dressing, adding a little extra mustard. Lay the asparagus on toast and coat lightly with the sauce. Asparagus Cheese Cook sufficient aspatagus and cut into pieces. Put a thick layer of this in a buttered dish, cover with chopped cream cheese or cottage cheese, then with a layer of slices of hard-boiled egg. Pepper and salt to taste. Repeat the layers at least once-+twice if possible. Pour over it a good white sauce (not very thick) flavoured with chopped chives, or parsley, or both. Bake in a moderate oven about half an hour. Peas, Carrots, Potatoes . This is a Continental recipe: 141d. young, green peas; lib. small new potatoes; %lb. small, young carfrots; castor sugar, parsley, pepper and salt. Boil together the carrots and peas. Boil the potatoes separately. Strain carrots and peas, and, in the saucepan in which they were cooked, melt about 2oz. butter, stir in 1 dessertspoon castor sugar; then add 2 to 3 tablespoons water. Put peas and carrots back. into saucepan, with this sauce, toss them a little, then cover the pan and leave to simmer very gently whilst straining and drying off the potatoes. Now put the potatoes in with the carrots and peas, simmer all together for four or five minutes, then turn all out on a well-heated dish, sprinkle with finely-chopped parsley and serve immediately. For a richer dish, add a little fresh cream. Green Peas (French) This a pre-war French recipe. Two to 3lb. green peas; 30z. butter; a lettuce; a ,tablespoon castor sugar; 2 small onions; parsley. Unless the peas are very young, parboil them first. Cream

2oz. of the butter with the castorsugar and a pinch of salt. Put it into a saucepan with 3 tablespoons water, 2 tiny onions, or a larger one cut in quarters, the heart of the lettuce, a sprig or two of parsley, and the peas. Cover the saucepan, cook very gently, sheke from time to time, always with lid tightly on. When peas are cooked, take out the parsley, add the rest of the butter in little bits, and serve with the sauce in which they were cooked, together with the lettuce apd onions, No waste, you see! Asparagus Grilled Half-cook the asparagus in the usual way. Remove. from saucepan, dust with a little pepper and salt, and coat each stalk with fine breadcrumbs mixed with melted butter. Put them into an

already heated > grilling pan or meatdish, and brown lightly ‘all over under the griller or in the top of a hot oven. Turn them to get an even brown. Sprinkle with a little grated mild cheese, and serve hot with brown bread and butter, or toast. Asparagus Salad In individual salad-plates arrange 2 or 3 small, curled lettuce leaves, crisp arid dry, with about 6,stalks of cold cooked asparagus. Put half a hard-boiled egg on. each side, and a spoonful of cold cooked peas in. between. Serve mayonnaise or French dressing separately. Garnish with red radishes peeled backwards to .look like flowers; or slices of tomato. ; Carrots and Peas Wash the young carrots, leaving them whole, unless largé, when they may be split down lengthwise. Put them into a saucepan with sufficient boiling, salted water to cover well, and allow to cook steadily. When nearly tender, add the. peas, a sprig or two of mint, a dash of sugar, and a walnut of butter, and simmer till both vegetables are cooked. Then strain and thicken the liquid with cornflour mixed with milk, adding chopped parsley before pouring it over the dished carrots and peas. In this way the mineral salts in the water are not wasted. Eaten. with small new potatoes, wholemeal bread and butter and cheese, this is a really delicious meal. Z Pe yer