LA BONNE CUISINE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 234, 2 October 1937, Page 3 (Supplement)

LA BONNE CUISINE.

If ays With Mutton And Lamb. (By A FRENCH CHEF.) LAMB may be used soon after it is killed, mutton must hang to ripen. Modern methods of dressing have practically removed the strong, muttony flavour, but some cooks prefer to remove the layer of fat next the skin of mutton before cooking the meat. The characteristic flavour of mutton is also greatly modified by rubbing it with a little vinegar or lemon juice before cooking. A mint jelly will bring out the meat's best flavour. The salad with mutton should be watercress, tomatoes, cucumbers or grape fruit. And with the roast try, for variety's sake, onions,

spinach, spring beans, asparagus, turnips or cauliflower. When lamb is in season, a hind quarter is best for roasting purposes, and if it provides more than is needed for one meal, here are some recipes ror using the rest in our favourite dishes: — Loin Chops in Batter. Two pounds loin lamb chops, one cup milk, one tablespoon melted butter, quarter teaspoon salt, one cup flour, one egg. Method: Remove the bone and excess fat and slice each chop in two, so that they are quite clean. Make a batter of the last five ingredients. Dip the chops in batter and fry in hot deep fat. Lamb Souffles. One and a half cups cold minced lamb, two eggs, 1J cups milk, one tablespoon flour, one tablespoon butter, one teaspoon salt, pepper. Method: Separate eggs. Beat yolks and add milk, flour, salt, pepper and lamb. Cook until rather thick. Cool. Beat the whites until almost stiff, and fold into tlie cooled mixture. Bake about 20 minutes in a well-greased baking dish in a moderate oven. Lamb Croquettes. One and three-quarter cups cooked lamb from neck, two teaspoons fat, one teaspoon chopped onion, one teaspoon catsup, one teaspoonsalt, white sauce, bread crumbs, one egg, fat for frying. Method: Mix ground lamb with lat, onion, catsup and salt. Moisten with enough medium white sauce to make it hold together. Mould in cone-shaped croquettes. Roll in bread crumbs, then egg and bread crumbs again. Fry in hot Jeep fat. ' Now for the mutton recipes. The French love ragout de moufcon. And this is how it is made:—

One and a half pounds neck of mutton, one tablespoon fat, one tablespoon flour, one onion and one carrot, two cups hot water, one teaspoon salt, quarter teaspoon pepper, one bay leat, .parsley, one cup peas, one clove.

Method: Put fat in a heavy frying pail. When melted stir in flour and brown. Add diced carrot and onion. When browned, remove vegetables and add meat cut into small pieces, searing well. Replace vegetables, add hot and seasonings. Cover and simmer for two hours. Add pease 10 minutes before serving and put in a serving dish with farina balls.

Curry of Mutton as Cooked in Saigon. 21b mutton. 1 onion, 1 teaspoonful vinegar, 2 tablespoonfuls flour, 1 teaspoonful curry powder, salt, boiling water. ® Method: This dish may be prepared fiom the neck flank, chop, trimming, or breast of mutton. Cut into pieces Din square and remove portions of fat. Fry out the fat and remove solid portion. Place meat in the fat remaining, and fry a delicate brown. Add sliced onions, and pour on barely enough hot water to co\ei. Cover and cook until meat is tender. Add the curry powder, vinegar and salt, and stir to make certain they are well distributed. Remove the meat, reduce broth to one cup, and thicken with flour mixed with cold water. Add meat to gravy, and reheat. Serve with rice.

Some Omelets Beloved of the French. Omelette a la l^angue.—This is a good way to use up the fragments of a tongue. Cut the tongue up finely and put a little butter in a frying pan. When melted, put in the tongue and leave till hot.

Beat one or two eggs well. Add a tenspoonful of milk and seasoning to taste. Pour over the tongue in the pan and stir gently till the eggs begin to set. Cook over « moderate heat until nicely browned underneath, and set on top. Fold over on to a hot plate and serve at once. This is a delicious dish for breakfast.

Omelette au Jambon.—Beat up three eggs with pepper and salt to taste, a pinch of parsley, and little shallot finely chopped, and the same quantity of ham, half lean, half fat, as will fill a tablespoon. Cook in butter the usual wav.

Fish Omelette.—Two ounces cooked fish, free from skin and bone, Joz margarine, 2 eggs, 1 tablespoonful chopped parsley, pepper and salt. Beat the yolks with pepper and salt, add the fish chopped, and lastly, the whites, whipped very stiffly. Melt the margarine in an omelette pan, and when very hot, pour in the mixture and stir without touching the bottom until it thickens. the omelette over and serve on » dish.