“‘It’s a stew of tripe,’ said the landlord smacking his lips, ‘and cow-heel,’ smacking them again, ‘and bacon,’ smacking them once more, ‘and steak,’ smacking them for the fourth time, ‘and peas, cauliflowers, new potatoes, and sparrow-grass, all working up together in one delicious gravy.’ Having come to the climax, he smacked his lips a great many times, and taking a long hearty sniff of the fragrance that was hovering about, put on the cover again with the air of one whose toils on earth were over.”
A cook of roughly the same moment, setting down the same dish.
Put a quart of pease, a lettuce, an onion, both sliced, a bit of butter, pepper, salt, and no more water than hangs round the lettuce from washing. Stew them two hours very gently. When to be served, beat up an egg, and stir into them, or a bit of flour and butter. Some think a teaspoonful of white powdered sugar is an improvement. Gravy may be added; but there will be less of the flavour of the peas. Chop a bit of mint, and stew in them.
Sources: The passage is from Charles Dickens, The Old Curiosity Shop, free to read in full at Project Gutenberg. The recipe is from Rundell, New system of domestic cookery, formed upon principles of of 1806, also free in full. Both are in the public domain in the United States. The binding above is ours — plum cloth, boar stamp.