Green Peas Stewed With Lettuce

1 quart of shelled peas 1 large head of lettuce 1 onion, peeled 2 branches of parsley ¼ cup of butter

1 teaspoonful of salt

½ teaspoonful of black pepper

¼ cup of flour

3 tablespoonfuls of butter

Wash and dry the leaves in the head of lettuce; pile them, one above another, and with sharp knife cut into narrow shreds or ribbons. Put the lettuce and peas over the fire in boiling water to cover barely; add the onion and parsley and let cook about twenty-five minutes or until the peas are tender. Remove the onion and parsley. Cream the butter and beat in the salt, pepper and flour; dilute this with a little of the liquid from the peas, then return to the dish of peas and let simmer about eight minutes; add more salt and pepper and stir in the extra butter, in little bits. Turn into a vegetable dish. Garnish the edge with croutons of bread or puff paste. Dip the edges of the croutons in white of egg, slightly beaten, and then in fine-chopped parsley.

Braised Lettuce, With Green Peas

5 heads of tender lettuce

2 tablespoonfuls of salt pork in bits

2 or 3 sprigs of parsley

½ onion with 3 cloves

½ teaspoonful of salt

1 cup of broth

½ cup of tomato juice (no pulp)

5 croutons of bread

1½ cups of peas

Remove imperfect leaves and shorten the root up to the leaves. Soak the lettuce heads downward, in salted water an hour or more. Blanch after cooking five minutes. Sprinkle the salt pork in an agate baking pan (or a casserole); on these lay the blanched heads of lettuce, from which all water possible has been pressed; add the parsley, onion, salt, broth and tomato juice, cover and let cook half an hour in a moderate oven. Prepare five croutons of bread. Dispose the croutons and lettuce, alternately, in crown shape. Pour the peas, cooked and seasoned with salt, black pepper and butter, into the center.

Braised Lettuce On Toast

Prepare and cook the lettuce as above, omitting the tomato; do not omit the onion with the cloves; this combination with the lettuce produces a dish closely resembling asparagus in flavor. Set the heads of cooked lettuce on squares or rounds of buttered toast. Thicken the liquid with two tablespoonfuls of flour, cooked in two tablespoonfuls of butter, and pour over the whole. Other sauces used for asparagus, as Hollandaise, Bearnaise, mousseline, are appropriate with the dish. A pint or more of broth will be needed, for cooking the lettuce. Blanch in water.