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Savoury Rice Paste
741. Clean and put some rice, with an onion and a little water and milk, or milk only, into a saucepan, and simmer till it swells. Put seasoned chops into a dish, and cover it with the rice; by the addition of an egg the rice will adhere better. ROYAL PASTE, CALLED "AU CHOUX" (Ude). 742. This paste is the basis of many sorts of pastry; it is used to mix an infinite number of second-course dishes of various forms, and of different denominations. Take a stewpan large enough to contain four quarts of water, pour half a pint of water into it, with a quarter of a pound or a little more of fresh butter, two ounces of sugar, a little salt, and the peel of a lemon; let the whole boil till the butter is entirely melted. Then take some very fine dry flour and shake through a sieve. Take the lemon peel out with a ladle, and throw a handful of flour into the preparation while boiling; taking care, however, not to put more flour than the liquor can soak up. Stir with a wooden spoon till the paste can easily be detached from the stewpan, and then take it off the fire. Next break an egg into this paste, and mix it well; then break a second, which also mix; do not put more eggs than the paste can absorb, but you must be careful not to make this preparation too liquid. It is almost certain that about five or six eggs will be wanted for the above quantity; then form them en choux, by which is meant in the shape of a ball, an inch in circumference. As this paste swells very much, you must dress it accordingly, putting the choux on a baking-sheet, at an inch distant from each other, in order that they may undergo a greater effect in the oven. Brush them over as usual with the dorure or egg-wash, to which has been added a little milk. Put them into an oven moderately hot, but do not open the oven till they are quite baked, otherwise they would flatten, and all attempts to make them rise again would be found to be useless; next dry them. Sometimes they may be glazed; at other times they may be sent up without being glazed. To detach them from the bakingsheet, apply the sharp edge of a knife, and take them off gently. Then make a small opening on the side, into which put, with a teaspoon, such sweetmeats as may be thought proper, and send them up dished en buisson.
FRANGIPANE. 743. This is a French paste used for tartlets or entremets. It is made by moistening two ounces of flour with a little milk, and heating the two together in a saucepan; then add three or four eggs, and stir all together till cool enough to make up with the hand. 744. Frangipane de Pomme-de-Terres. - Cook some potatoes by steam, take off the skin, beat them well in a mortar, then put them into a basin, add some eggs, a little butter, salt, rasped citron, some bitter macaroons, sugar or not according to taste, and use it as a paste to all sorts of entremets of pastry.
Four separate entries run together here: a rice-topped chop dish, Ude's choux paste, and two versions of a French pastry paste. The measures are imperial and the oven directions are all by feel.
- The rice topping needs an ovenNo. 741 stops at assembly and gives no cooking direction, but raw seasoned chops under a rice blanket will not cook themselves. A covered dish at around 350F for 45 to 60 minutes is a reasonable modern reading, the book specifying neither; cook lamb to 145F and pork to at least 145F with a rest, then uncover to colour the top.
- Rice quantity and liquidThe recipe gives no measures. Roughly 1 cup of rice to 2 to 2 1/2 cups of milk, or milk and water, would suit a dish for four. The point is to simmer it to a soft, thick porridge, not to leave separate grains; the recipe says only that the added egg makes the rice adhere better.
- Imperial half pintIn No. 742 half a pint is 10 fl oz, not 8. With a quarter pound of butter or a little more and 2 oz sugar, this is a richer, sweeter choux paste than a plain profiterole; the flour is not measured, being added only until the liquid will take no more.
- The hinge: flour by feel, eggs by feelAdd only as much flour as the boiling liquid will absorb into a mass that leaves the pan sides cleanly, and beat the eggs in one at a time. Stop when the paste falls from the spoon in a thick ribbon rather than pouring. Five or six eggs is a guide, not a rule, since egg sizes have grown.
- "An inch in circumference"Read this as an inch across. A ball an inch in true circumference would be smaller than a hazelnut.
- Oven for the chouxThe book says only 'moderately hot' and gives no temperature. Modern choux practice is 400 to 425F for the first 15 minutes to force the steam, then down to about 325F to dry them through. The instruction not to open the door until they are baked is the most important line in the recipe and still holds.
- Frangipane without almondsNo. 743 is a flour-and-egg panade, not the almond frangipane most cooks now expect; the milk quantity is left to judgement, so add just enough to slacken 2 oz flour to a smooth paste before heating. Enrich with butter and ground almonds if you want the familiar tart filling.
- Bitter macaroonsIn No. 744 these are small bitter-almond biscuits, essentially the same thing as Italian amaretti, crushed into the potato paste for flavour. Shop-bought amaretti do the same job; do not substitute bitter almonds or their extract, which are a different matter entirely.
- Serving termsDished en buisson means heaped in a pyramid on the dish. Dorure is simply beaten egg thinned with milk.