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Cauliflower a la Reine Elizabeth
Simmer the cauliflowers till tender. Prepare a mince of veal and pork, and season it well with a little spice. Butter a mold and fill it with alternate layers of mince and of cauliflower broken in small pieces. Fill a large saucepan three-quarters full of boiling water and place the mold in this; let it cook for one hour in this way over the fire; turn it out and pour a spinach sauce over it.
A bain-marie mold of layered forcemeat and cauliflower, in the style of nineteenth-century French charcuterie. As with most entries in this book, no quantities are given, so the proportions are yours to set.
- Suggested quantitiesOne medium cauliflower (about 1.5 lb trimmed) to 1 lb of mince, half veal and half pork, fills a 1-quart mold and serves four to six as a main course. The pork should not be lean; the fat is what keeps the loaf from drying.
- Undercook the cauliflower"Simmer till tender" assumes a further hour of cooking to come. Blanch the florets 5 to 6 minutes only, until a knife just enters the stem, or they will collapse into the mince during the water bath.
- "A little spice"Probably a quatre-epices-type blend: pepper, nutmeg, clove and a little mace or ginger. A scant teaspoon of mixed spice per pound of meat, plus salt, is a reasonable starting point. Fry a small spoonful of the seasoned mince and taste before you build the mold.
- The mold and the water bathAny straight-sided metal or ceramic form works: a charlotte mold, a 1-quart pudding basin, or a small loaf pan. Butter it well, pack the layers firmly to avoid air pockets, and cover tightly with buttered paper or foil so condensation does not run in.
- Water level and heatThe recipe calls for the saucepan three-quarters full of boiling water; keep it at a steady simmer so the mold stands in water to roughly two-thirds of its height, and top up with boiling water as it evaporates. An oven bain-marie at moderate heat is a workable modern substitute, though the book cooks it on the stove.
- DonenessOne hour is about right for a 1-quart mold, but ground veal and pork should reach 160F at the center; check with a thermometer rather than trusting the clock. A larger or deeper mold will need longer.
- UnmoldingLet it stand 10 minutes off the heat before turning out, so the forcemeat sets and holds its shape. Run a thin knife around the edge and invert onto a warm dish.
- Spinach sauceThe book does not say what it means by this; most likely a bechamel finished with cooked, well-drained, sieved or pureed spinach. Roughly equal volumes of sauce and puree, seasoned with nutmeg, works well. Add the spinach at the end and warm it only briefly; long cooking turns the green olive-drab.
The Belgian Cook Book was compiled in 1915 by Mrs. Brian Luck from recipes gathered from Belgian refugees who had fled to England after the German invasion, and it was published in aid of relief work -- which may explain its plain, quantity-free style, since these were dishes dictated from memory by people cooking in other people's kitchens. The Elizabeth of the title is most likely Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, the Bavarian-born consort of King Albert I, who remained with the army on the unoccupied strip of Flanders behind the Yser and worked in the military hospitals; she was among the most recognizable figures of Belgian resistance in those years. The construction itself is older and French: a layered forcemeat pudding steamed in a covered mold in a bain-marie, a technique shared with pain de veau and quenelle molds. Cauliflower is a natural partner in a Belgian book, the market gardens of Flanders and Brabant being long associated with it.