THE RIGHT RECIPE

Evening Star, Issue 22032, 18 May 1935, Page 23

THE RIGHT RECIPE

CASSEROLE COOKERY Time-saving and Appetising. The attractive oven-glass casseroles of to-day have almost superseded the brown earthenware ones of years ago. They are in themselves sufficient encouragement to try new dishes. To so many people time-saving is of such importance that it is a boon to be able to prepare food that can be left to cook with little or no attention. Casserole cookery has this great advantage, and, in addition, there need not be any anxiety about the food becoming overcooked. . It is ready to serve up, piping hot,- at a moment’s notice, and looking attractive in the same dish in which the cooking was carried out. Casseroles tend to hold the heat well, so that a minimum amount of heating is required. A warm place in a ■ moderate oven or on the top of a stove is all that is neecssary‘to keep the contents cooking steadily. An ample time allowance should be made. Generally speaking, at least three hours’ cooking for meat and vegetables is advisable. It is the very moderate cooking that helps to make the food taste so delicious. There is a complete absence of distinctive cooking flavour—as, for instance, in fried food. It is a wise plan to treat all fireproof ware before' use. To “ fire ” the dishes and make them, less vulnerable to heat, place them in a zinc bath or pail with a lining of straw or newspaper at the bottom. Fill up the container with cold Water and bring slowly to boiling point. Leave the dishes in the water until the latter becomes quite A cold. They are then ready for use. One of the most delicious and unusual casserole • dishes is one prepared from vegetables. It makes a welcome change to serve with roast meat, and is particularly suited to lamb, mutton, or veal. Casserole of Vegetables. Jib of prepared carrots. Jib of prepared turnips. Jib of onions sliced finely in rings. Jib pf prepared parsnips or swedes. One teaspoonful of mixed herbs. 2oz of butter or dripping. 2oz of flour or thickening. Pinch of dry mustard. Half a teaspoonful of salt. 'A quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper. Half to three-quarters pint of stock or water. A little tomato sauce. Method: First cut the carrots into neat rings. Trim up the turnips and swedes, and dice them. Cut parsnips lengthwise and then across in two or three places, according to Melt the fat in a frying pan or in the casserole. Add the prepared vegetables and fry them lightly in it for a few minutes. Remove the vegetables from the fat and add the flour or substitute. Gradually add the stock or water and bring to boiling point. Stir all the ingredients together in the casserole. Put on the lid and cook. It will be noticed that the gravy is unusually thick at first, but it thins considerably as a certain amount of liquid exudes from the vegetables during cooking. The contents should be stirred thorongly before the casserole is served, and a little gravy browning added to improve the colour*

Rabbits can bo used for an out-of-thc-ordinary dish in combination with suet orust pastry, it saves a lot of bother if you ask the poulterer to joint the rabbit ready for cooking.

Rabbit Hot Pot. 1 rabbit, ilb of veal, ijoz of dripping, ijoz of flour, ilb of lean ham or bacon, 1 carrot, 1 turnip, 1 onion, Seasoning, ijpt of stock, .I nice of i-lemon, Suet crust pastry (ilb flour, etc.). Method; Cut up all the meat into joints. Melt the dripping and fry the meat lightly in it. Add the onion and flour to the dripping after removing the meat, and fry until golden brown. Add the seasoning and stock, and cook until the gravy thickens. Put layers of meat, gravy, and thijflysliced carrot and turnip in the casse(Tole, finishing with a layer of vegetables. If liked, the suet pastry can be rolled out at this stage tq fit the casserole, and placed on top of the Cover with a greased paper, put on the lid, stand the casserole in a pan of water, and cook on the top of a stove for three houps and a-half. If preferred, the pastry can be put on to the casseyole for the last three-quarters of an hour of cooking and baked in the oven until the pastry is brown and firm. The lid is removed if the pastry is cooked in the oven.

Fish Casserole. Lfiy some fillets of fish flat on a board, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Place a neat flat cake of forcemeat stuffing on each fillet, and roll up from head to tail. Wrap a rasher of bacon around each fillet of fish, and place in layers in the casserole with some thick parsley sauce and some parboiled sliced potatoes. Finish off the casserole with neatly arranged potato, and cook in the usual way until the fish is tender. The top potatoes may be quickly browned before serving, under a hot griller, and they are garnished with lemon and parsley. The casserole method of cooking food is an ideal one for fruit. A syrup should first be prepared l by boiling the sugar and water together for ten minutes; 4oz of loaf 6 or granulated sugar to ipt of water is allowed. The neatly sliced fruit is arranged in the casserole and the fruit syrup js poured over. The fruit must be cooked with the lid on the Casserole until tender, the time varying according to the type of fruit. When the fruit is cold l it can be decorated with -whipped cream, and a few chopped browned almonds sprinkled over the surface will make the fruit taste a little different from usual.