Part 25

=Mashed Potatoes.=--Boil, and dry the potatoes according to directions above; then draw the saucepan to one side and beat the potatoes with a fork, or put them through a masher. Add half a cupful of hot milk, with a piece of butter dissolved in it, and a little white pepper. More or less milk may be used according to the quantity of potatoes; they should be smooth and creamy, but not sticky.

=Browned Potatoes.=--Proceed as for mashed potatoes; heap them up in the centre of a hot vegetable tureen, roughen them with a fork drawn across and across. Then put in the oven to brown for a quarter of an hour or ten minutes, or they may be browned in front of the fire or with a salamander.

=New Potatoes.=--Wash in two or three waters to remove the sand; then if they are freshly dug, the skin may be rubbed off with a gentle movement of your thumb. The eyes will need to be removed afterwards, but this method prepares the potatoes quickly, and with no waste; it also preserves their shape. Drop them into a bowl of cold water as they are finished. All potatoes turn brown if exposed to the air without their skin when raw.

Allow half an hour to cook them, and see that they are all of the same size as nearly as may be. Put them in cold water, enough to quite cover, add a pinch of salt and a sprig of mint, and bring to the boiling point. When tender pour off the water and drain for a minute, then dish very hot, with a piece of fresh butter. Sometimes a sprinkling of chopped parsley is added, but this interferes with the delicate flavour of the potatoes, though it dresses the dish.

=Cold New Potatoes.=--(1) These may be used in various ways--none should ever be wasted; they make a charming addition to a salad, cut in slices, and put in the bottom of the bowl; cover with lettuce torn into shreds, dress with a tiny pinch of salt, a good tablespoonful of oil, toss well, then add half a teaspoonful of sugar, half a tablespoonful of vinegar; mix thoroughly, decorate with sliced tomatoes and hard-boiled eggs, cucumber, cold boiled peas, or young cold, boiled carrots.

=Cold Boiled New Potatoes.=--(2) They may also be sliced and fried in butter or nutter, with a sprinkle of pepper and salt, and a little chopped parsley sprinkled over them.

=Children’s Pudding.=--Beat two ounces of sugar and two ounces of butter together until smooth; beat two eggs together well, then stir into the butter, adding a little juice and the grated rind of a lemon, a little salt, and a little milk; pour this on to six tablespoonfuls of mashed potatoes. Mix the whole thoroughly well together; pour it into a greased pie-dish, and bake for about half an hour in a moderate oven.

=Potato Omelette.=--Press out the floury part of a large baked potato; pass through a fine sieve; mix with it the yolks of three eggs, three tablespoonfuls of milk, a few drops of lemon juice, a pinch of nutmeg, a little salt and pepper; whisk the whites stiff, stir them lightly in, and fry the omelette in one ounce of hot butter, cook very lightly, and roll up very quickly.

=Potato Pie.=--Peel and slice two pounds of potatoes and one stick of celery, shred an onion, and fry it in butter; put the whole into a pie-dish, season with pepper and salt, add a little milk or water, cover with short-crust paste, and bake in a quick oven for an hour.

=Potato Nüdelan.=--Make your nüdelans as the Italian gnocchi (see Miscellaneous Dishes); only instead of flour make them with mashed potatoes. Boil them for six minutes, and sprinkle them with more grated Gruyère or Parmesan cheese, and pour over some brown melted butter flavoured with onion.

=French Potato Pudding.=--Cook and mash some floury potatoes, rub them through a sieve into a large dish, make into a paste by adding two ounces of fresh butter and half a tumbler of cream or milk; beat it into a smooth paste, season with salt and pepper, then add three well-beaten yolks of eggs; butter a mould, and pour in the potato mixture; make a hole in the centre, into which put some cooked and seasoned mushrooms; cover the top with a piece of the paste, and cook in the oven; when finished turn it into a dish, and serve hot.

=Potato Rissoles.=--Wash, peel, and boil ten potatoes, drain and rub them through a wire sieve. Place them in a basin with salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg, and add two yolks of eggs, one tablespoonful of cream, and a dessertspoonful of chopped parsley. Beat up till smooth, make up into rissole shapes, egg and bread-crumb them, and fry in hot fat. Drain on kitchen paper, and dish up on a folded napkin or paper. Garnish with fried parsley, and serve.

=Stuffed Potatoes.=--(1) Cut the tops from each of six potatoes, boiled or baked in their jackets. Scoop out the pulp, and mash to a smooth paste with three tablespoonfuls of butter; add cream, and salt and pepper to season, and a quarter of a cupful of grated cheese, and cook to a smooth paste. Take from the fire, and stir in one well-beaten egg. Fill the skins, and bake.

=Stuffed Potatoes.=--(2) Peel some large potatoes, take out the inside, and put in each one a stuffing made as follows:--One cup of bread-crumbs, one cup of ground nuts, and a little chopped thyme and parsley. Put the potatoes, with two ounces of butter, in a baking tin to bake in a hot oven for an hour and a half. Baste frequently.

=Italian Potato Omelette.=--Mince up two cold boiled potatoes, sprinkle with pepper and salt, and put them into a frying pan in which two ounces of butter have been melted. Spread the potato one-third of an inch deep in the pan, and cook slowly over a moderate fire for a quarter of an hour, then turn over, as you would any other omelette, and cook the other side. Serve hot.

=Stewed Potatoes in a Paper Bag.=--Wash and peel as many potatoes as are wanted. Cut each into four thick slices and put into a greased bag, with a finely chopped peeled onion, one tablespoonful of chopped parsley, half a cupful of dripping, salt and pepper to taste, and half a cupful of water. Bake in the oven for forty minutes or an hour. Turn out on to a hot dish, and serve at once.

=Nut and Potato Croquettes.=--Two cupfuls of hot mashed potatoes and three tablespoonfuls of cream, one teaspoonful of salt, one-eighth of a teaspoonful of pepper, a few grains of cayenne, and a few drops of onion juice. Beat thoroughly, and add the yolk of an egg. Mix with a quarter of a cupful of cream until of the consistency of a thick paste; then add another yolk of an egg, and leave it to cool. Make a mixture of ground nuts and a little cream, with the well-beaten white of an egg, and seasoning. Shape the potato mixture into small nests, fill the nests with nut mixture, cover with potato mixture, and roll into balls. Dip in egg and crumbs, and fry in deep fat, and drain on kitchen paper.

=Potato Puff.=--(1) Beat to a cream two cupfuls of cold mashed potatoes and two tablespoonfuls of melted butter. Add the yolks of two eggs beaten up with a cupful of cream or milk; salt and pepper to season. Fold in the stiffly beaten white of the eggs and pour into a buttered baking dish, and bake until well puffed and brown, about three-quarters of an hour.

=Potato Puff.=--(2) Beat with a fork three cold boiled potatoes; add a pinch of salt, half a cupful of milk, one tablespoonful of minced parsley, two eggs well beaten, and enough flour to make a batter that will drop from a spoon; sift in half a teaspoonful of baking powder with the flour. Drop by spoonfuls into deep fat, and fry brown.

=Escalloped Potatoes and Eggs.=--Slice finely four cold boiled potatoes and six hard-boiled eggs. Put a layer of potatoes into a buttered baking dish, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover with a layer of boiled eggs, and repeat until the dish is full, having potatoes on the top. Pour over two cupfuls of thin cream and some white sauce. Cover with buttered crumbs, and sprinkle with grated cheese if desired. Bake until the crumbs are brown, half to three-quarters of an hour. Freshly boiled potatoes may be used in the same way.

=Potato Timbâles.=--Cook, drain, and rub through a sieve enough boiled potatoes to make one pound. Put into a bowl with three ounces of butter melted, two whole eggs and the yolks of two. Season with salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg, and mix thoroughly. Butter some plain timbâle moulds, sprinkle with crumbs over the inside, fill with the potato mixture. Sprinkle with crumbs and dot with butter, and bake for one hour. Let the moulds stand for a few minutes before turning out.

=Potato with Cheese Sauce.=--Boil and mash one dozen peeled potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and melted butter; add enough milk to make very soft, and beat until very light. Heap into the centre of a baking dish and make a hole in the centre. Brush with the beaten white of egg, and brown in the oven. Melt a cupful of butter, and stir in gradually five heaped tablespoonfuls of grated cheese and the beaten yolks of two eggs. Season with salt and cayenne. Stir until thick and smooth, and fill the hole in the potato mixture. Sprinkle with crumbs, and put into the oven for five minutes longer.

=Deviled Stuffed Potatoes.=--Split lengthways, remove the pulp from six baked potatoes. Mash smoothly, and add one hard-boiled egg chopped finely. Salt, cayenne, and onion juice to season, and a little made mustard. Fill the shells with the mixture, and brown in the oven.

PURSLANE (Portulacea oleracea. Portulacaceæ).

A light soil and a sunny border are best for this plant, which is a half-hardy annual. Successional sowings may be made from May to the beginning of August, in shallow drills; the plants should stand six inches apart. Frequent waterings are necessary during dry weather.

The leaves are gathered as required, and either cooked or used in salads.

The season of this subject may be prolonged by means of successional sowings made in frames.

=Salad.=--Purslane is a kitchen-garden annual which has antiscorbutic properties. There are several varieties of it, the best known being the golden purslane, which, properly dressed, makes a tasty and much appreciated salad. It is prepared like an ordinary salad, with the addition of pimpernel, chervil, and tarragon. The stalks of purslane can be pickled in vinegar, like gherkins.