Method.—Free the meat from fat and bones, and boil the latter down for gravy. Cut the meat into pieces convenient for serving, place them in a piedish, sprinkling each layer with salt and pepper, and add a few slices of kidney. Half fill the dish with stock or water, cover with paste (see "Veal Pie"), and bake in a moderate oven for about 1½ hours. Strain and season the stock made from the bones, and pour it into the pie just before serving.
Time.—About 1½ hours. Average Cost, 2s. 6d. to 3s. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable from April to October.
973.—LAMB, STEWED. (Fr.—Ragoût d'Agneau.)
Ingredients.—3 or 4 lb. of loin, neck or breast of lamb, 2 ozs. of butter, the juice of ½ a lemon, 6 mint leaves, ¼ of a teaspoonful of pepper, ½ a pint of Soubise sauce (see Sauces).
Method.—Saw the long bones across, and either skewer or bind the meat into a compact form. Heat the butter in a large stewpan, add the pepper, mint, and lemon-juice, put in the meat, cover closely, and cook very gently for about an hour, turning the meat 2 or 3 times, in order to brown the entire surface. Serve the Soubise sauce separately; or, instead of this sauce, add ¼ of a pint of stock mixed with 1 dessertspoonful of flour to the butter, etc., in the stewpan, boil for 2 or 3 minutes, season to taste, improve the colour if necessary by adding a few drops of liquid caramel. Dish up and serve hot.
Time.—About 2 hours. Average Cost, 10d. to 1s. 2d. per lb. Sufficient for 7 or 8 persons.
974.—LAMB, STEWED. (Another Method.)
Ingredients.—2 or 3 lb. of loin, neck or breast of lamb, 2 ozs. of butter, 1 oz. of flour, 1 small onion, 1 small carrot, a bouquet-garni (parsley, thyme, bay-leaf), 6 peppercorns, a sprig of mint, 1 pint of shelled peas, salt and pepper, stock.
Method.—Trim the meat and cut it into pieces convenient for serving. Heat the butter in a stewpan, put in the vegetables (cut into dice), herbs, peppercorns, and mint (tied in muslin), and the meat, cover closely, and cook gently for about 30 minutes, turning the meat 2 or 3 times. When lightly browned, add boiling stock or water to cover the meat, put on the lid, and simmer very gently for about an hour. ½ an hour before serving, boil up and put in the peas a few at a time, so that the temperature is not much reduced below boiling point. About 15 minutes before serving mix the flour smoothly with a very small quantity of cold water, then add to it gradually about ½ a pint of the strained liquor from the stewpan, stirring all the time. Pour the thickened liquor back into the stewpan, and stir gently for a few
