French Bean Salad
A historical recipe from The best vegetarian dishes I know, by Jeanne Jardine (1910).
A historical recipe
The best vegetarian dishes I know, by Jeanne Jardine (1910). Project Gutenberg eBook #70164.
From an old book: a historical recipe, not current advice. Its methods, additives and storage may be unsafe by today's standards. Its words name: raw egg. Check current food-safety guidance before following this.
- Raw egg. Raw or lightly cooked egg carries a risk, above all for children, older people, anyone pregnant or unwell.
Ingredients 5 ingredients
- 2 tablespoonfuls chopped pickled gherkin
- 1 tablespoonful cream
- an ounce for each egg
- a teaspoonful of tarragon
- a teaspoonful of shallot vinegar
Cook safely
Keep children and pets away from the hob and the oven, and keep oven gloves and a lid within reach.
- Boiling water and steam. Turn pan handles inward, away from the edge of the hob. Lift lids away from you, and pour hot water away from your body: steam burns too.
- Sharp knives. Cut on a board that doesn't slip (a damp cloth under it helps), and curl the fingers of the hand that holds the food.
Method
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- Young French beans, as many hard-boiled eggs as required, tarragon and shallot vinegar, butter, seasoning, chopped parsley, 2 tablespoonfuls chopped pickled gherkin, salad oil, 1 raw yolk, 1 tablespoonful cream, watercress.
- Method.--Boil the beans whole, they should be so small that only the ends require to be pinched off;
- when done, drain them on a cloth and let them get cold.
- Cut the eggs in half, remove the yolks, and pound them with the butter, allowing a quarter of an ounce for each egg;
- season them with celery salt, pepper, curry powder, and a few drops of tarragon vinegar;
- add a small quantity of chopped parsley and fill the whites with the mixture.
- Put the yolk of the raw egg into a basin;
- add some salt, pepper, and a dust of curry powder, and stir well with a spoon, then add some salad oil, drop by drop, while using a patent beater rapidly and steadily until the mixture is as thick as beaten butter;
- then stir in, by degrees, a teaspoonful of tarragon and a teaspoonful of shallot vinegar.
- When this is thoroughly mixed, add the cream, arrange the beans in the middle of a salad bowl and pour the sauce over them, then scatter the chopped gherkin over it and surround the beans with the eggs, putting a little bunch of watercress between, which has been lightly dressed with oil and vinegar.
- Peas can be served in the same way, or well-boiled butter or haricot beans;
- if either of the latter are used, chopped beetroot may be substituted for the pickled gherkin.
Plating
Cookware for this recipe
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Saucepan
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Mixing bowl
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Mortar and pestle
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Chef's knife
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Cutting board
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Wooden spoon
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Colander