Early Veg Recipes

For a bit of time travel in the kitchen, try these selections from Early Vegetarian Recipes by Anne O’Connell ($17.95; dbbconline.com), reviewed in the March 09 issue of VT. (And if you do, be sure to let us know what you think!)

BRUSSELS SPROUTS SAUSAGES

4 ounces cooked sprouts

2 ounces mashed potatoes

2 ounces bread crumbs

1 ounce butter

1 teaspoon sage

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

1 egg and breadcrumbs

Mix the vegetables, bread crumbs, and flavouring well together, moisten with half the egg, form into sausages, roll in the other half of egg and bread crumbs, and fry in the one ounce of butter or boiling oil.

Mary Pope (1893), Novel Dishes for Vegetarian Households, p. 60

SPINACH WITH PEAS AND TOMATOES

2 pounds spinach

½ pound shelled green peas

1 onion

½ pint tomato juice

A little pepper

3 teaspoons salt

1 ounce butter

½ ounce flour

A little water

Place the peas, the onion sliced, one tablespoonful of salt, and half a pint of water in a stewpan, and boil with the lid off until the peas are tender. Have ready the tomato juice thickened with half ounce each of flour and butter, add to the peas and stir well. In the meantime, cook the spinach (which must have been well washed and picked) in a little water and the remainder of the salt. When tender, strain through a colander, well press out the water, turn the spinach on to a chopping-board, chop very fine, then place it into a stewpan containing half an ounce of butter and stir over a brisk fire for a few minutes, adding pepper to taste. Turn the spinach on to a hot dish, pour over the peas, and serve with snippets of toast.

Mrs. Bowdich (1892), New Vegetarian Dishes, p. 64

LANCASHIRE SPICE NUTS

1 ½ lbs flour

½ lb treacle*

¼ lb butter

¼ raw sugar

1 ½ oz ground ginger

½ oz caraway seeds

½ oz carbonate of soda**

3 oz orange peel

Warm the treacle, add to it the butter melted, the sugar, spices, soda, and orange peel minced fine. Pour the mixture into the flour, knead into a dough, roll it out and cut into rounds with a small cutter. Bake on greased tins in a slow oven for about 10 minutes.

Charles Walter Forward (1891), Practical Vegetarian Recipes, p. 56

*VT Editor’s Note: can substitute dark molasses

**VT Editor’s Note: a.k.a. baking soda