Sweet potatoes may also be cooked in a casserole in the oven. Uncover the casserole when the potatoes are almost tender, in order to brown them.
MOCK OYSTERS (parsnips with nuts and rice)
4 parsnips 2 eggs 1 cupful nuts, chopped 1/8 teaspoonful pepper 1 cupful cooked rice [Footnote 34: If the rice is cooked by boiling, use the rice water instead of plain water in making Tomato Sauce.]
4 tablespoonfuls flour 1 teaspoonful salt
Boil or steam the parsnips until tender. Press them through a coarse sieve or colander. Add the beaten eggs. Then add the remainder of the ingredients. If the mixture is too thick to drop from the spoon, add a little milk. Drop by tablespoonfuls on to an oiled baking-sheet. Bake until slightly brown. Serve hot with Tomato Sauce. Tomato Catsup or Celery Sauce may also be used in serving Mock Oysters. (Adapted from _Ninety Tested Recipes_, Teachers College.)
TOMATO SAUCE
1/2 can tomatoes 1 cupful water 2 cloves 3 allspice berries 3 peppercorns 2 sprays of parsley 3 tablespoonfuls fat 2 slices onion 1/4 cupful flour 1 teaspoonful salt
Allow tomatoes, water, spices, and herbs to simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Brown the onion in the fat, add flour and salt, then the tomato mixture. Follow the method of making White Sauce (see _Cream Toast_). Strain and serve.
QUESTIONS
From the results of Experiment 30 explain why vegetables should be placed in boiling rather than in cold water for cooking.
Why should the water be drained from boiled vegetables immediately after cooking?
From your grocer, find out in what quantities sweet potatoes are usually purchased. What is the price of them? How do they compare in price with white potatoes?
What is the price per pound of parsnips?
In preparing Tomato Sauce, what is the purpose of cooking the tomatoes and spices together for 15 or 20 minutes?
Why are the tomatoes strained after thickening rather than before?
LESSON XXVIII
ROOT VEGETABLES (C)
Tapioca is a food material prepared from the roots of the cassava plant grown in South America. Like many other foods prepared from the roots of plants, it consists of a large percent of starch. In its preparation, tapioca is heated so that the starch is partially cooked. Tapioca is prepared for the market in two forms,--pearl tapioca, and minute or granulated tapioca. The latter requires a much shorter time to cook. If granulated tapioca is substituted for pearl tapioca, but one half the quantity is required.
APPLE TAPIOCA
3/4 cupful pearl tapioca or 3/4 cupful granulated tapioca 2 1/2 cupfuls boiling water 1/2 teaspoonful salt 6 apples 1/2 cupful sugar
If pearl tapioca is used, cover it generously with cold water and allow it to stand one hour or overnight. While soaking keep the tapioca covered. If any water is unabsorbed, do not discard it,--use less than the given quantity of boiling water.
If granulated tapioca is used, no cold water is needed. For either granulated or pearl tapioca, add the boiling water and salt to the tapioca and cook over the naked flame and then over hot water as in the case of breakfast cereal (see _General Rules for Cooking Cereals_). Cook in the double boiler until transparent. Wash, core, and pare the apples; place them in a buttered baking-dish; fill the cavities with sugar, pour tapioca over them, and bake in a moderate oven until the apples are soft.
Serve with sugar and cream, or with Lemon Sauce.
Other fruits may be substituted for apples. If canned fruits are used, substitute the fruit sirup for part of the water in which the tapioca is cooked.
RHUBARB TAPIOCA
Use the same ingredients for the rhubarb dessert as for Apple Tapioca, substituting for the apples 3 cupfuls of rhubarb, cut into pieces, and using twice the quantity of sugar. Bake until the rhubarb is soft.
LEMON SAUCE
3/4 cupful sugar 2 tablespoonfuls flour 2 cupfuls boiling water 1 lemon,--juice and rind 1 tablespoonful butter
Mix sugar and flour thoroughly; then slowly add the boiling water. Cook 10 minutes. Add the lemon juice and rind, then the butter. Stir until the butter is melted, when the sauce will be ready to serve.
For economy, the butter may be omitted. It adds to the flavor, however.
SWEET SAUCES.--Sweet Sauces usually contain sugar and butter and are thickened with a powdered cereal. It is interesting to consider which of the two materials--sugar or butter--should be used to separate the grains of the flour or corn-starch.
The quantity of fat used with the flour of White Sauces (see below) is a little less than that of the flour. It is difficult to separate starch grains when the quantity of fat equals only one half the quantity of flour. On the other hand, when starch grains are separated by means of sugar, the quantity of the sugar should equal at least the quantity of the starchy material (see _Blanc Mange_). In the recipe for Lemon Sauce above, it will be noted that the quantity of fat is one half that of the flour; the quantity of sugar greatly exceeds that of the flour. Hence the sugar affords a more satisfactory means of separating the starch grains in Lemon Sauce.
PROPORTIONS OF INGREDIENTS FOR SAUCES
Flour Fat Liquid
Thin White Sauce 1 tablespoonful, 3/4 tablespoonful, 1 cup (Toast, sweet sauce, certain cream soups, etc.)
Medium White Sauce 2 tablespoonfuls, 1 1/2 tablespoonfuls, 1 cup
(Vegetables (see page 109), gravy, tomato sauce, etc.)
Thick White Sauce 3 tablespoonfuls, 2 tablespoonfuls, 1 cup (Gravy, tomato sauce, etc.)
Very Thick White Sauce 4 tablespoonfuls, 3 tablespoonfuls, 1 cup (Croquettes, etc.)
(If richer sauces are desired, equal quantities of fat and flour should be used.)
QUESTIONS
What is the purpose of soaking pearl tapioca in water before cooking? Give the reason for covering pearl tapioca while it is soaking. Why is it necessary to cook it in a double boiler?
What is the use of flour in Lemon Sauce? Why is the flour mixed with the sugar before adding the boiling water (see Experiment 24)? How long does it take the flour to thicken? How long a time does the recipe give for cooking the flour mixture? What is the purpose of cooking it for so long a time?
What precautions can be taken to prevent the sauce from scorching?
If, after cooking the required length of time, the sauce is not thick enough, what is the simplest method of thickening it?
For a sauce recipe in which very little fat and no sugar are given, devise a method of preparing _smooth_ sauce.
LESSON XXIX