Chop up a quarter of a pound of fat pork, put it into a saucepan on the fire, adding half a pound of onions cut in dice, and a pound of lean beef in squares; fry all together, then add six peeled tomatoes cut in two, two pounds of minced young okras, twelve small cooked crabs, suppressing the shells and lungs, wash them thoroughly and split them in four, one clove of garlic, three green peppers minced up fine, six quarts of broth, salt, pepper and a little curry; boil all up till well cooked, then thicken with six tablespoonfuls of arrowroot dissolved in cold water. Serve separately some rice cooked in twice its quantity of water, with salt; fill some buttered molds (No. 5, Fig. 137), with this, set it in a slow oven, unmold and serve at the same time as the soup.

(314). Gumbo Or Okra With Soft Shell Crabs (Gombo Aux Crabes Moux)

Set into a saucepan four ounces of butter to heat, add to it two ounces of shallots, four ounces of lean raw ham, and fry without letting attain a color; pour in four quarts of thickened fish stock, a quarter of a pound of finely cut up green peppers and let the whole simmer for twenty minutes, then add sixteen soft shell crabs cut in two or four, according to their size, and well cleansed; boil again for fifteen minutes and drain off the crabs; pare them nicely and return them to the saucepan with the liquid, and thicken this with eight spoonfuls of ground gumbo or okra, and some good butter. Prepare a separate garnishing of rice cooked with twice its quantity of water, salt and lard, boiling all together for ten minutes ; fill a buttered one quart charlotte mold with this, and set it in a slack oven for fifteen minutes; unmold, and serve the same time as the soup.