Chapter Ten

BALL GARNISHES FOR SOUPS

Early eighteenth-century Spaniards in Mexico ornamented their plates and tables with hibiscus. They even used the flower to garnish meats and served a condiment of vinegared hibiscus.

GARNISHES

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IN SERVING MEALS, THE APPEAL TO THE EYE IS FULLY AS IMPORTANT as the appeal to the stomach. Indeed, a finicky or laggard appetite may be stimulated, or a very commonplace dish made appetizing by the use of a garnish which offers the interest of color and design as a relief to the monotony of a plain roast, fish, soup, pudding, or cake. Some garnishes are almost solely decorative, but others, such as dumplings, alimentary paste, tiny food balls, or the like, may constitute a nutritive addition to the menu.

Depending both on the character of the dish and of the materials employed, the garnish may be arranged as a border, in the form of small clusters, in balls, in stripes, or dotted over the entire surface.

The beauty and effectiveness of a garnish is largely dependent on color contrast. A touch of green is always refreshing with meats and fish, used alone or in combination with one or more brilliant-hued vegetables cut in fancy shapes, and there are any number of substitutes for the sadly overworked parsley. A wide variety of pleasing combinations can be selected from the garnish recipes found in this chapter.

COLOR INFLUENCE IN GARNISHES

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Colors have had a part in history and food, for instance:

 

Red. Since the days of ancient Greece and Rome, red has been deemed sacred to Mars, the god of war, and therefore was formerly employed for military uniforms. Red is particularly associated with danger, passion, power, and adventure—danger lights in traffic, warnings, and war itself. In its element of suggesting power, red finds a place on many national flags, and in all mythologies, red is the symbol of passion. It is worthy of notice that after the fall of Constantinople, the last great center of natural purple dye production, Pope Paul II introduced scarlet for cardinals’ robes, and during the Renaissance, Venice was the principal trade center for scarlet dyes.

In garnishes for meat, fish, or poultry, sliced red beets, raw cranberries, currant jelly, pimientos, radishes, red cabbage, tomatoes, and anchovies are very appropriate. As part of the meal and as garnishes, they should always be chosen for flavor, texture, and general appearance.

Green and Gray. These colors were at one time the colors of poverty and at another of richness. Charlemagne decreed green as the color “for the working people and the farmer.” And as food garnishes for meat, fish, game, or poultry, we have asparagus tips, Brussels sprouts, carrot tops, chives, dandelion, dill pickle, midget gherkins, green pepper in slices or rings, lettuce, mint, parsley, chervil, sorrel, spinach, and watercress.

White. This is the color of innocence and immortality, and its association with sanctity was promoted by the early Christians who used rough undyed fabrics to symbolize integrity and virtue. Lady Godiva rode a white horse; Sir Galahad was clad in white armor, and when Undine was given the kiss of immortality, her gown “turned lily white.”

White is also associated with some negative qualities. In China, the “coldness of death” is symbolized by white flowers, and it is sometimes the color of mourning. White, in the legends of Europe and America, is the costume of those ghosts that haunt ancestral homes and lonely graveyards, presaging death. With the Renaissance, white became a “color of elegance and luxury,” and was often embroidered with gold threads.

In food garnishes, we have celery curls, coleslaw, cream cheese balls, egg white, onions, white turnip balls, chicken slices or strips, grated coconut, whipped cream, and cream or white sauce.

Brown. In ancient Rome, brown was sacred to Ceres, the earth goddess, and for many centuries has been the favored color for the clothes of people familiar with the soil. During the Middle Ages, brown was the typical peasant color. Franciscan friars in brown hat and habit walked through Europe in the service of humanity. Even today, brown attire is closely associated with life in the country.

In food garnishes, we have all the fried foods and the brown sauces.

Yellow. The color of the sun rising in the east was the sacred color of imperial China, and was worn for mourning to symbolize the “return of the soul to the sun.” In the West, however, yellow is the sign of spring, bringing primrose, daffodils, and crocuses. In the commercial use of the common crocus lies the story of yellow dyes. Nearly four thousand years ago, the Egyptian saffron crocus was used to dye the bindings of mummies, and the earliest known figure subject in fresco painting is the “Saffron Gatherer,” for in ancient time, the saffron crocus was used as an herb to flavor and as a drug to cure, as well as a dye.

In food garnishes, we have egg yolk, cooked fresh, or hard-cooked, kumquats, lemon, orange peel and slices, apricots, crystallized ginger, tiny tomato plums, and yellow turnip.

A cook today thinks of a dish as an artist does of his oils. His pictures would lack life and interest if he did not use a variety of color to give highlights and lowlights. A poor color combination, for example, would be creamed tuna, mashed potatoes, cauliflower, and white bread.

Flat surfaces are uninteresting. It is the valleys, hills, and mountains, in combination with the meadows, that make scenic beauty even in a dish, which should have color, form, flavor, texture, balance, arrangement, consistency, temperature. This is what is called “eye appeal” in cookery.

Garnishing food is a very commendable habit at any time, but garnishing can be overdone. Keep the garnish simple and edible; never give a dish a worked-over look. Food which appears to have been handled a great deal in preparation is unappetizing. And most people are wary of food which looks too unusual.

ALSATIAN BURGER BALLS

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A delicious way to use a leftover cooked meat. These little balls are appropriate for almost any kind of hot soup, clear or thick.

 

Season highly, with salt, cayenne pepper, a few grains of curry powder, a dash each of nutmeg, sage, and thyme, ¾ cup of leftover cooked meat (any kind). Shape in tiny balls the size of a marble. Roll in seasoned flour, and fry in hot fat until delicately brown on all sides, shaking the pan almost constantly. Serve hot.

CALF’S BRAIN AND EGG BALLS

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Very appropriate for mock turtle, oxtail, and vegetable soups or vegetable chowders.

 

Mash 3 hard-cooked egg yolks to a paste with ½ teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, a dash of Tabasco sauce, and a little salt, pepper, and paprika to taste. Mix in 2 tablespoons of boiled, skinned, and mashed calf’s brain, mixing thoroughly, adding last 1 teaspoon of sherry wine (optional). Shape into tiny balls, the size of a large marble, and roll in seasoned flour. Drop in the soup 5 minutes before serving.

Sweetbread Balls. Substitute cooked sweetbreads for the calf’s brain.

BURGER BALLS WITH MARJORAM

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Appropriate for beef, vegetable, oxtail, or clear soup.

 

To ½ pound of finely ground lean raw meat (beef, lamb, mutton, pork, ham, or veal), add 1 teaspoon of grated onion, ½ teaspoon of grated lemon rind, ¼ teaspoon of dried marjoram, salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste, and sufficient moistened crackers to bind. Mix thoroughly, roll into balls the size of a small walnut, and 10 minutes before serving, drop them into gently boiling soup (clear or otherwise). Cook for 10 minutes, and serve at once.

BURGER CHEESE BEEF BALLS

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Appropriate for beef, vegetable, oxtail, or clear soup.

 

Mix ½ pound of ground fresh lean beef with ½ scant cup of soft bread crumbs, ¼ cup of grated cheese (any desired kind), and 1 tablespoon each of finely chopped parsley and chives, and season to taste with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, mixing thoroughly. Shape into tiny balls, the size of a large marble by rolling in the palm of hands. Drop into the simmering soup, a few at a time, stirring to separate them, and let simmer gently for about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve hot in the soup.

CRACKER SPICY BALLS

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Appropriate for almost any kind of hot soup, clear or thick, including chowders.

 

Sieve enough cracker crumbs to make a half cup. Mix together 2 eggs, 3 tablespoons of butter or margarine, 2 teaspoons each of finely chopped parsley, onion, and chives, and add to the sieved crackers, then season to taste with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and mace. Lastly moisten with enough catsup to make a mixture hard enough to handle. Shape into small balls the size of a large marble, and drop into simmering soup 10 minutes before serving.

CRUMB MARROW BALLS

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Leftover bread can be made into all sorts of tasty dishes. There is no excuse for the wasteful habit of throwing it out. When thoroughly dried, broken up, and rolled into crumbs, then sieved, it can be used for coating croquettes or topping scalloped dishes. Bread not quite so dry can be crumbed and mixed with other ingredients to make delicious meat loaves, filling or stuffing for meat, poultry, or fish, or to make delicious balls for garnishing a soup, clear or thick.

Mix 3 tablespoons of sieved dry bread crumbs, 1½ tablespoons of beef marrow, 1 scant teaspoon of grated lemon rind, salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste, and 1½ teaspoons of finely chopped parsley. Add just enough unbeaten egg white to moisten. Form into tiny balls the size of a marble, drop into hot soup, and cook until the balls rise on the surface of the soup. Serve immediately.

CANADIAN CHICKEN FORCEMEAT BALLS

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Appropriate for chicken consommé or bouillon and any kind of chicken soup.

 

Put through a food chopper 2 raw chicken breasts, then pound, and rub through a fine sieve. This will make about 1 scant cup of raw chicken meat. Season to taste with salt, white pepper, and a few grains of nutmeg. Scald 1 cup of dry white bread crumbs with 1 cup of thin cream, or undiluted evaporated milk, and a pinch of mace. Remove from the heat, and add to the bread crumb mixture 3 tablespoons of butter, then stir in the pounded chicken meat. Lastly, mix in 2 egg whites, stiffly beaten with a few grains of salt to taste, mixing thoroughly. Form into small balls the size of a large marble. Roll the balls in the beaten egg yolks, seasoned to taste with salt and pepper, then in sieved bread crumbs. Fry in hot deep fat until nicely browned. Drain on absorbent paper or a towel, and serve in hot soup.

These balls also may be served as a main dish over mashed potatoes, spinach, macaroni, noodles, spaghetti, or any kind of cooked green vegetable.

EGG BALLS

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Appropriate for consommé and any kind of clear soup.

 

Rub 2 hard-cooked eggs through a fine sieve, season with a few grains each of salt, white pepper, and nutmeg, and mix with ½ teaspoon of melted butter and enough raw egg yolk (about one) to make of handling consistency. Shape into small balls the size of a marble. Roll in seasoned flour, and sauté in butter until delicately brown all over, rocking the pan almost constantly. Add 2 or 3 balls to each serving.

Note. You may plunge the balls in hot deep fat for a short minute, instead of sautéing them in butter. Instead of moistening with raw egg yolk, you may use egg white (raw and unbeaten). Cook the same way.

FRANKFURTER BALLS

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Appropriate for all clear or thick soups, except chowders and fish and cream soups.

 

Mix thoroughly the following ingredients: ¾ cup of sieved bread or cracker crumbs; 3 skinned and ground frankfurters; 1 whole fresh egg and 1 fresh egg yolk; 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon of melted bacon or ham drippings, butter or margarine; and salt, pepper, nutmeg, and paprika to taste. Moisten with enough cold bouillon, tomato juice, or water to hold the mixture together, about 1 generous tablespoonful. Form into tiny balls the size of a marble, and let stand aside for about 30 minutes to mellow and ripen. Drop the balls into boiling soup, and cook about 12 to 15 minutes.

MIGNONNETTE or PUFF BALLS

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Appropriate for any kind of clear soup, including fish.

 

Bring 5 teaspoons of rich milk and 2 teaspoons of butter or margarine to the boiling point. Add ½ cup of flour, sifted with a pinch of salt and a few grains of cayenne and nutmeg, all at once, and stir briskly until the mixture is smooth and leaves the sides of the saucepan. Remove from the fire, and cool to lukewarm; then add 2 unbeaten eggs, one at a time, beating briskly after each addition. Drop small pieces of the dough from the tip of a teaspoon into hot deep fat, and cook until nicely browned. Drain on absorbent paper, and add to the soup, just before serving, or pass them on the side and as hot as possible.

VEAL BALLS

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Very appropriate for any kind of clear or thick soup, except chowders and fish soups.

 

Combine thoroughly ½ cup of cooked ground veal, ¼ cup of soft bread crumbs, and 1 whole unbeaten fresh egg, and season with salt, pepper, and a generous pinch of poultry seasoning. Shape into tiny balls the size of a marble. Roll in seasoned thin cream or undiluted evaporated milk, then in seasoned flour, and brown in 2 or 3 tablespoons of butter or margarine. Serve hot on a side dish.

Note. Any kind of cooked meat, game, or poultry, as well as fish, may be prepared in the same way.