Cucumbers Stuffed Recipe

Take six or eight middling-sized cucumbers, the smoothest you can

procure; pare them, cut a small piece off the end, and scoop out all the

seeds; blanch them for three or four minutes in boiling water on the

fire; then put them into cold water to make the forcemeat. Then take

some veal off the leg, calf's udder, fat bacon, and a piece of suet, and

put it in boiling water about four minutes; take it out, and chop all

together; put some parsley, small green onions, and shalots, all finely

chopped, some salt, pepper, and nutmeg, sufficient for seasoning it,

some crumbs of bread that have been steeped in cream, the whites of two

eggs, and four yolks beaten well in a mortar. Stuff your cucumbers with

this, and put the piece you cut off each upon it again. Lay at the

bottom of your stewpan some thin slices of bacon, with the skin of the

veal, onions in slices, parsley, thyme, some cloves; put your cucumbers

in your stewpan, and cover them with bacon, &c., as at the bottom, and

then add some strong broth, just sufficient to cover them. Set them over

a slow fire covered, and let them stew slowly for an hour. Make some

brown gravy of a good colour, and well tasted; and, when your cucumbers

are stewed, take them out, drain them well from all grease, and put them

in your brown gravy; it must not be thick. Set it over the stove for two

minutes, and squeeze in the juice of a lemon.

To make brown gravy, put into your stewpan a quarter of a pound of

butter; set it over the fire, and, when melted, put in a spoonful of

flour, and keep stirring it till it is as brown as you wish, but be

careful not to let it burn; put some good gravy to it, and let it boil

some time, with parsley, onions, thyme, and spices, and then strain it

to your cucumbers.

Should any of the cucumbers be left at dinner, you may serve them up

another way for supper; cut the cucumbers in two, lengthwise, or, if you

like, in round slices; add yolks of eggs beaten, and dust them all well

over with crumb of bread rubbed very fine; fry them very hot; make them

of a good colour, and serve them in a dish, with fried parsley.