ARTICHOKES AU GRATIN
Jerusalem artichokes, white sauce, grated cheese, butter, dried breadcrumbs.
Method.—Peel some artichokes and with a vegetable cutter shape them into little balls (the size of a large marble) and cook them in salted water until they begin to get tender, then drain them at once and put them into a saucepan containing some warm butter (dairy or nut butter may be used), which has been seasoned with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and a few drops of lemon-juice; cover the pan and let them simmer for about ten minutes. Prepare a thick white sauce (see recipe onpage 106) and add a tablespoonful of mild, grated cheese to each half pint; pour a small quantity of the sauce over a buttered gratin dish and arrange the artichokes in it, then cover them with the remainder of the sauce; pour the remains of the butter in which the artichokes were cooked over the top and scatter over it a moderately thick layer of finely sifted, dried bread-crumbs mixed with half the quantity of grated cheese, and bake in a quick oven until evenly browned. If the flavour of onion is not objected to, a small, well-boiled Spanish onion passed through a sieve and added to the sauce is an improvement to the dish.