LUNCH DISHES

Vichyssois (48)
Polish-Style Pike (94)
Vegetarian Galantine (97)
Veal Dumplings (125)
Watercress Purée (126)
Britannia Pudding (127)

DINNER DISHES

Watercress Soup
Sorrel Omelette
Green Beans with Poulette Sauce (114)
Stewed Pigeon (128)
Flemish-Style Peas (129)
Fruit Tart (130)

125. Veal Dumplings.
300 grams of boneless meat, 125 grams of breadcrumbs soaked in cold water, 30 grams of fresh butter, two egg yolks, salt and pepper, flour, white wine sauce. Scrape 300 grams of boneless meat with a knife. Squeeze out 125 grams of breadcrumbs soaked in cold water and add them to the meat, along with 30 grams of fresh butter, two egg yolks, salt, and pepper.
Using a wooden spoon or pestle, knead this mixture until it is perfectly blended. To ensure the meat has the desired consistency, form a ball and toss it into boiling salted water; if it remains firm, you can prepare the dumplings. To do this, dust the board with flour, add the mixture, and roll it into small balls, about 5 centimeters long. Toss about ten of these dumplings into the boiling salted water; when they rise to the surface, remove the pan for a few minutes, lift them with a slotted spoon, and place them in a dish of hot salted water as they are poached. When they are all cooked, you can serve them in a round dish with a good white wine sauce or in a vol-au-vent shell. The dumplings can be kept for several days, if you take care to keep them chilled in the liquid used to cook them. This delicate dish is perfect for feeding the sick.

126. Watercress Purée.
Four bunches of watercress, half a deciliter of milk, half a deciliter of stock, 30 grams of butter, 15 grams of flour, salt, and pepper.
Peel the watercress and wash it in fresh water; add it to a saucepan of boiling salted water and cook uncovered over high heat for half an hour; refresh, drain, and squeeze. Chop finely and purée; make a roux with the flour and half the butter.
Simmer for four minutes over low heat. Add the watercress and cook gently for three or four minutes. Moisten with the stock and stir for two minutes. Add the milk and let it boil for five minutes. Thicken, off the heat, with the remaining butter and serve immediately.

127. Britannia Pudding.
Crustless white bread slices, apricot marmalade, butter, sultanas or currants, a spoonful of cornflour, half a liter of milk, two egg yolks, fruit sauce.
Lightly butter crustless white bread slices; garnish them with apricot marmalade. Place them in the bottom of a plain, generously buttered timbale mold. Sprinkle them with fine sultanas or currants. Add another layer of crustless white bread, then the currants, and so on until the mold is three-quarters full. Do not use more than 60 grams of currants. Finish filling it with the following cream: a spoonful of cornflour, half a liter of milk, two well-beaten egg yolks. Let the toast soak thoroughly, press down, and dot the surface with small pieces of butter. Bake in the oven, occasionally inserting a knife blade. When it comes out clean, remove from the mold and let cool. Drizzle with a fruit sauce just before serving.

128. Pigeon Stew.
Two pigeons, 125 grams of slightly fatty bacon, two bunches of small spring onions, half a liter of water, 2 deciliters of Bordeaux wine, 10 grams of flour, a pinch of sugar, and a bouquet garni.
Wash the bacon, leaving the rind on, cut it into small pieces, and place them in a skillet to gently melt the fat for half an hour, stirring occasionally. Drain and set aside.
Add the gutted, flambéed, and trussed pigeons to this fat; brown them over moderate heat for twenty minutes. Set aside, next to the bacon. Add the pearl onions to the fat and brown them gently for twenty minutes. As soon as they begin to brown, sprinkle them with a pinch of sugar. Then add the flour, stir over the onions, stir for a minute, and moisten with the water, then the white wine. Season with salt and pepper, and add a bouquet of herbs. Bring to a boil and remove from the heat.
Return the bacon and pigeons, necks, gizzards, and juice to the pan. Place a circle of buttered paper on top, cover tightly, and simmer in the oven, if possible, for three hours.
Remove the pigeons, skim off the fat from the reduced juices, and pour them over the pigeons and onions.

129. Peas Flemish Style.
One liter of peas, 125 grams of smoked ham or bacon, twelve small onions, a bunch of parsley, two deciliters of water, 50 grams of butter, and 10 grams of flour.
Slice the ham or bacon into thin strips. Remove the rind; melt the butter and, when hot, gently fry the ham or bacon for five minutes. Sprinkle with flour and cook for two or three minutes, stirring. Add water and bring to a boil; add the peas and small onions, the bouquet garni, and a little salt. Cover and cook at a steady boil for forty minutes, monitoring the cooking time and adding a spoonful of hot water if necessary. Remove the bouquet garni and serve.

130. Fruit Tart.

500 grams of flour, 200 grams of fat, a spoonful of sugar, one or two eggs, a cup of water, and fruit.
Place the flour on a pastry board or in a bowl; place the fat in the center. Thoroughly mix the flour and fat, rubbing them together with your hands. When the mass resembles coarse semolina, gather it into a heap; make a hollow in the center and add a spoonful of sugar, one or two eggs, and all the water needed, about a glassful. In summer, use cold water, and in winter, lukewarm water. Gradually incorporate the flour, stirring with your fingertips. Then knead until the dough is smooth, firm, and no longer sticks to your fingers. Gather it into a ball and flatten it with a rolling pin.
If time permits, it is best to let the dough rest for an hour before rolling it out. Then roll out the dough to a thickness of half a centimeter; fold it in four to place it more comfortably on the baking sheet; unfold it and flatten it by pressing, with the rolling pin or the palm of your hand, on the edge of the baking sheet. Arrange the fruit tastefully over the entire surface of the dough (pears, cherries, apples in season, plums and apricots, halved and pitted, etc.); pinch the edge with your thumb and forefinger to form a pretty border or, better still, with the pastry tongs.
Knead the dough scraps; cut them into strips and arrange them in diamond shapes on the tart, after sprinkling the fruit with a pinch of sugar. Brush the edge and strips with egg yolk or milk and bake in a hot oven or in a baker's oven for a quarter of an hour after putting the bread in the oven. Let it cook for half an hour, until the pastry is golden brown. Before serving, sprinkle with another handful of sugar.

THE HEARTH CRICKET.