EEL SOUP

_Ingredients._—3 lbs. of eels, 1 onion, 2 oz. of butter, 3 blades of mace, 1 bunch of sweet herbs, ¼ oz. of peppercorns, salt to taste, 2 tablespoonfuls of flour, ¼ pint of cream, 2 quarts of water. _Mode._—Wash the eels, cut them into thin slices, and put them into the stewpan with the butter; let them simmer for a few minutes, then pour the water to them, and add the onion, cut in thin slices, the herbs, mace, and seasoning. Simmer till the eels are tender, but do not break the fish. Take them out carefully, mix the flour smoothly to a batter with the cream, bring it to a boil, pour over the eels, and serve. _Time._—1 hour or rather more. _Average cost_, 10_d._ per quart. _Seasonable_ from June to March. _Sufficient_ for 8 persons.

_Note._—This soup may be flavoured differently by omitting the cream, and adding a little ketchup or Harvey’s sauce.

EELS, Boiled.

_Ingredients._—4 small eels, sufficient water to cover them; a large bunch of parsley. _Mode._—Choose small eels for boiling; put them into a stewpan with the parsley, and just sufficient water to cover them; simmer till tender. Take them out, pour a little parsley and butter over them, and serve some in a tureen. _Time._—½ hour. _Average cost_, 6_d._ per lb. _Seasonable_ from June to March. _Sufficient_ for 4 persons.

EEL, Collared.

_Ingredients._—1 large eel; pepper and salt to taste; 2 blades of mace, 2 cloves, a little allspice very finely pounded, 6 leaves of sage, and a small bunch of herbs minced very small. _Mode._—Bone the eel and skin it; split it, and sprinkle it over with the ingredients, taking care that the spices are very finely pounded, and the herbs chopped very small. Roll it up and bind with a broad piece of tape, and boil it in water, mixed with a little salt and vinegar, till tender. It may either be served whole or cut in slices; and when cold, the eel should be kept in the liquor it was boiled in, but with a little more vinegar put to it. _Time._—2 hours. _Average cost_, 6_d._ per lb. _Seasonable_ from August to March.

EELS, Fried.

_Ingredients._—1 lb. of eels, 1 egg, a few bread-crumbs, hot lard. _Mode._—Wash the eels, cut them into pieces 3 inches long, trim and wipe them very dry; dredge with flour, rub them over with egg, and cover with bread-crumbs; fry a nice brown in hot lard. If the eels are small, curl them round, instead of cutting them up. Garnish with fried parsley. _Time._—20 minutes or rather less. _Average cost_, 6_d._ per lb. _Seasonable_ from June to March.

EELS, en Matelote.

_Ingredients._—5 or 6 young onions, a few mushrooms, when obtainable; salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste; 1 laurel leaf, ½ pint of port wine, ½ pint of medium stock, butter and flour to thicken; 2 lbs. of eels. _Mode._—Rub the stewpan with butter, dredge in a little flour, add the onions cut very small, slightly brown them, and put in all the other ingredients. Wash, and cut up the eels into pieces 3 inches long; put them in the stewpan, and simmer for ½ hour. Make round the dish a border of croûtons, or pieces of toasted bread; arrange the eels in a pyramid in the centre, and pour over the sauce. Serve very hot. _Time._—¾ hour. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 9_d._ for this quantity. _Seasonable_ from August to March. _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.

EELS, Stewed.

_Ingredients._—2 lbs. of eels, 1 pint of rich strong stock, 1 onion, 3 cloves, a piece of lemon-peel, 1 glass of port or Madeira, 3 tablespoonfuls of cream; thickening of flour; cayenne and lemon-juice to taste. _Mode._—Wash and skin the eels, and cut them into pieces about 3 inches long; pepper and salt them, and lay them in a stewpan; pour over the stock, add the onion stuck with cloves, the lemon-peel, and the wine. Stew gently for ½ hour, or rather more, and lift them carefully on a dish, which keep hot. Strain the gravy, stir the cream, sufficient flour to thicken; mix altogether, boil for 2 minutes, and add the cayenne and lemon-juice; pour over the eels and serve. _Time._—¾ hour. _Average cost_ for this quantity, 2_s._ 3_d._ _Seasonable_ from June to March. _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.

EELS, Stewed.

_Ingredients._—2 lbs. of middling-sized eels, 1 pint of medium stock, ¼ pint of port wine; salt, cayenne, and mace to taste; 1 teaspoonful of essence of anchovy, the juice of ½ a lemon. _Mode._—Skin, wash, and clean the eels, thoroughly; cut them into pieces 3 inches long, and put them into strong salt and water for 1 hour; dry them well with a cloth, and fry them brown. Put the stock on with the heads and tails of the eels, and simmer for ½ hour; strain it, and add all the other ingredients. Put in the eels, and stew gently for ½ hour, when serve. _Time._—2 hours. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 9_d._ _Seasonable_ from June to March. _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.

EELS, à la Tartare.

_Ingredients._—2 lbs. of eels, 1 carrot, 1 onion, a little flour, 1 glass of sherry; salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste; bread-crumbs, 1 egg, 2 tablespoonfuls of vinegar. _Mode._—Rub the butter on the bottom of the stewpan; cut up the carrot and onion, and stir them over the fire for 5 minutes; dredge in a little flour, add the wine and seasoning, and boil for ½ an hour. Skin and wash the eels, cut them into pieces, put them to the other ingredients, and simmer till tender. When they are done, take them out, let them get cold, cover them with egg and bread-crumbs, and fry them of a nice brown. Put them on a dish, pour sauce piquante over, and serve them hot. _Time._—1½ hour. _Average cost_, 1_s._ 8_d._, exclusive of the sauce piquante. _Seasonable_ from August to March. _Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons.

There is only one opinion as to the nutritive properties of eggs, although the qualities of those belonging to different birds vary somewhat. Those of the common hen are most esteemed as delicate food, particularly when “new-laid.” The quality of eggs depends much upon the food given to the hen. Eggs in general are considered most easily digestible when little subjected to the art of cookery. The lightest way of dressing them is by poaching, which is effected by putting them for a minute or two into brisk boiling water: this coagulates the external white, without doing the inner part too much. Eggs are much better when new-laid than a day or two afterwards. The usual time allotted for boiling eggs in the shell is 3 to 3¾ minutes: less time than that in boiling water will not be sufficient to solidify the white, and more will make the yolk hard and less digestible: it is very difficult to _guess_ accurately as to the time. Great care should be employed in putting them into the water, to prevent cracking the shell, which inevitably causes a portion of the white to exude, and lets water into the egg. For the purpose of placing eggs in water, always choose a _large_ spoon in preference to a small one. Eggs are often beaten up raw in nutritive beverages.

The eggs of the _turkey_ are almost as mild as those of the hen; the egg of the _goose_ is large, but well-tasted. _Ducks’ eggs_ have a rich flavour; the albumen is slightly transparent, or bluish, when set or coagulated by boiling, which requires less time than hens’ eggs. _Guinea-fowl eggs_ are smaller and more delicate than those of the hen. Eggs of _wild fowl_ are generally coloured, often spotted; and the taste generally partakes somewhat of the bird they belong to. Those of land birds that are eaten, as the _plover_, _lapwing_, _ruff_, &c., are in general much esteemed; but those of _sea-fowl_ have, more or less, a strong fishy taste. The eggs of the _turtle_ are very numerous: they consist of yolk only, without shell, and are delicious.

When fresh eggs are dropped into a vessel _full_ of boiling water, they crack, because the eggs being well filled, the shells give way to the efforts of the interior fluids, dilated by heat. If the volume of hot water be small, the shells do not crack, because its temperature is reduced by the eggs before the interior dilation can take place. Stale eggs, again, do not crack because the air inside is easily compressed.

EGG BALLS, for Soups and made Dishes.

_Ingredients._—8 eggs, a little flour; seasoning to taste of salt. _Mode._—Boil 6 eggs for 20 minutes, strip off the shells, take the yolks and pound them in a mortar. Beat the yolks of the 2 uncooked eggs; add them, with a little flour and salt, to those pounded; mix all well together, and roll into balls. Boil them before they are put into the soup or other dish they may be intended for.

EGG SAUCE, for Salt Fish.

_Ingredients._—4 eggs, ½ pint of melted butter, when liked, a very little lemon-juice. _Mode._—Boil the eggs until quite hard, which will be in about 20 minutes, and put them into cold water for ½ hour. Strip off the shells, chop the eggs into small pieces, not, however, too fine. Make the melted butter very smooth, and, when boiling, stir in the eggs, and serve very hot. Lemon-juice may be added at pleasure. _Time._—20 minutes to boil the eggs. _Average cost_, 8_d._ _Sufficient._—This quantity for 3 or 4 lbs. of fish.

_Note._—When a thicker sauce is required, use one or two more eggs to the same quantity of melted butter.