So Early in the Morning!

New Zealand Listener, Volume 26, Issue 671, 16 May 1952, Page 22

So Early in the Morning!

AT is the best time to gather mushrooms. Like blackberries, mushrooms are for many people a free delicacy, to be had for the gathering; and lucky are those people in towns and cities whose friends, driving their lorries or cars past paddocks studded with mushrooms, creep through a wire fence and pull a good hatful. Many wives thoughtfully place a ‘big billy or basket in the back of the vehicle-just in case. Mushrooms are expensive in cities, but they are light, and a half-pound means quite a lot. They are much better freshly picked. Dried Mushrooms Skin mushrooms and put in a cooling oven, and leave until they look dry and shrivelled. Place in paper bags, tie up and hang in a dry place. These are excellent for flavouring meat pies or puddings and soups. Preserved Mushrooms If possible, cook on day arcade and, in any case, not later than the following day. Peel, and place in layers in pot or preserving pan. Sprinkle each layer lightly with salt. When juice flows, put over gentle heat, stirring occasionally with wooden spoon. Try not to break them up much. When sufficient juice is there, increase heat, and simmer till cooked, Turn into basin, and when ‘cool pack firmly into jars, fill with their own juice to within 42 inch of top. Seal. Put in water bath and sterilise at boiling point for 2 hours. Take out, and store. If there is more juice than is needed for jars, add mace, peppercorns, salt and ginger to taste, boil 4% hour, and make ketchup. Mushroom Pancakes This recipe from Worcestershire makes a very good meal, without any meat. Batter: 4% lb. flour, % pint milk, 2 tablespoons water, 2 oz. grated. cheese, 2 eggs, a little salt and pepper to taste, lard for frying. Filling: % Ib. peeled and chopped mushrooms, 2 oz. grated cheese, 1 small finely-grated onion, 1 teaspoon chopped parsley, 1 egg, butter for frying. Make batter with the flour, eggs, milk and water, and beat until smooth. Leave an hour. Then add the cheese, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Put a little lard into fryng pan and when smoking hot pour in a little batter. Cook on both sides till brown, then spread with a thick layer of the filling, To make filling, mix mushrooms, cheese, onion and parsley, season and fry in butter. When sufficiently cooked stir in the beaten egg to bind mixture. Roll up and serve hot. This quantity is sufficient for 6 pancakes. Buttered Eggs with Mushrooms Half a pound of mushrooms, 2 oz. butter, 4 eggs, 4 tablespoons milk, salt and pepper, slices of buttered toast, Peel mushrooms, melt 1 oz, butter in frying pan, lay in mushrooms (gills uppermost) and fry until tender. Melt other ounce of butter in saucepan, beat eggs to a froth with the milk, \season with. salt and pepper, and add to the butter when it begins to bubble. Stir briskly over slow fire till mixture thickens. Have ready some slices of buttered toast, heap eggs in centre of each, and arrange mushrooms round, Fillets of Sole with Mushrooms Stew about 1% lb. small mushrooms in butter. Fold 4 fillets of sole, and poach

them in the cooking liquor of mushrooms and a piece of butter the size of a walnut. Arrange fillets in an oval dish and garnish centre

of dish with stewed mushrooms. i nicken the liquor with a little flour mixed with cold water. Add 1 oz. of butter. Cook 5 minutes. Coat fillets with it, and garnish each with chopped mushrooms, Serve very hot. Mushroom Ketchup Gather miishrooms freshly in the morning; Put in earthenware basin, sprinkle with salt. Leave overnight, or longer. Bring slowly to boil and simmer 30-40 minutes. Strain through | muslin. Put liquid on again, boil another 30-35 minutes, having added. seasoning of black peppercorns, a little cayenne pepper, cloves, and a little mace. Strain all, and bottle when cold. Should keep about 2 years. Mushrooms with Fried Rice, In a pre-heated heavy 10-inch frying pan place 3 tablespoons oil or fat, 1 teaspoon salt and a dash of pepper. Add 2 eggs and fry until firm; cut. into shreds. Slice and add % lb. mushrooms, and 2 tablespoons finely diced onion. Cook all over a moderate heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, Then add 4 cups cold, cooked (dry) rice, Add 2 tablespoons soy sauce and 4% teaspoon sugar, and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, till rice is hot. Serve immediately. Moo-goo, Ngow That means beef with mushrooms (I think). Notice that nothing is ever strained away or wasted in Chinese dishes. In a pre-heated, heavy 10-inch frying pan place 2 tablespoons oil or fat, 1 teaspoon salt, dash of pepper. Cut 1 Ib. of flank or round steak into ¥% inch thick slices and add 2 tablespoons onion, 1 clove garlic, finely diced. Cook over a moderate heat, stirring constantly until meat is brown. Add 42 cup beef bouillion (or dissolve a meat cube in hot water), and 1 lb, fresh mushrooms sliced. Cover pan tightly and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Blend and add 2 teaspoons cornflour, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, and 4% cup water. Cook a few more minutes, stirring constantly, until juice thickens and mixture is very hot, Serve immediately with hot, boiled rice.