Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/207

Rh and boil gently for 15 minutes. Sprinkle in the tapioca and cook for about 10 minutes longer, or until the tapioca becomes transparent, then serve.

Time.—About ½ an hour. Average Cost, 6d. to 7d. Seasonable at any time. Sufficient for 8 persons.

Ingredients.—2 quarts of second stock, 2 calves' tails, 2 ozs. of butter, 1½ ozs. of flour, 1 onion sliced, 1 small carrot sliced, a bouquet-garni (parsley, thyme, bay-leaf), a small blade of mace, 2 cloves, 1 glass of sherry, salt and pepper.

Method.—Wash, blanch and dry the tails, and divide them into sections. Boil the stock, add the prepared tails and vegetables, season to taste, put in the mace and cloves, and cover closely. Simmer very gently from 1¼ to 1½ hours, or until the tails are sufficiently cooked. Meanwhile melt the butter in a stewpan, add the flour, and stir and cook slowly until it acquires a nut-brown colour. Strain the stock and add it to the flour, and stir over the fire until the whole is well blended. Add the pieces of tail, a few shreds of onion and carrot, the sherry, and more seasoning if required. Make thoroughly hot, then serve.

Time.—About 2 hours. Average Cost, 1s. 6d. to 2s., exclusive of the stock. Sufficient for 6 persons. Seasonable at any time.

Ingredients.—2 lb. of lean neck of beef, ¼ of a lb. of streaky bacon, 1 onion, 1 carrot, ½ a turnip, 2 lb. of potatoes, 2 ozs. of dripping, 1 tablespoonful of rice, salt, pepper, and 2 quarts of water.

Method.—Cut the meat into thin slices, the bacon into dice or cubes, and the soup vegetables into thin slices. Melt the fat in a stewpan, fry the bacon, meat and onion until nicely browned, then add the sliced vegetables, the water, salt and pepper, cover closely and simmer for 1 hour. Meanwhile the potatoes should have been prepared, and if very large, cut in two. Add them to the soup, and when they have been cooking ½ an hour sprinkle in the rice. Cook gently for another ½