This summer, I went to an art museum that had a “Tak for mad” (thanks for the food) exhibit with food-themed artwork and tableware. The exhibit also had a vegetarian cookbook from 1901. Seeing the cookbook led me to research other old vegetarian cookbooks, and I came across the French cookbook La table du végétarien. I purchased the 8th edition and decided to cook a meal from the cookbook.
What is La table du végétarien?
La table du végétarien is a French vegetarian cookbook first published in 1899 by La Société végétarienne de France. The first edition included 700 vegetarian recipes, while the 8th edition, published in 1934, included 885 recipes. The 8th edition also includes 96 lunch and dinner menus, 2 reception menus, and 1 banquet menu. Furthermore, the 8th edition includes Guide de cuisine végétarienne des gourmets by Louise Smeeckaert with an additional 108 fine cuisine recipes. I took a look through the lunch and dinner menus, and they often included a soup, a main vegetable dish, and a dessert. I then picked 3 recipes in La table du végétarien to try based on the menus.
1930s French Vegetarian Meal
Soupe aux asperges (Asparagus Soup)
The soup is made with asparagus, butter, flour, egg yolks, parsley, salt, and water. You first peel the asparagus and boil the peels with the chopped asparagus in water. Then you make a roux with butter and flour, and add the asparagus, boiled water, and remaining ingredients. I have never made a soup with egg yolks before, and I was unsure what to expect. The egg yolks are used to thicken and enrich the soup. In turn, the soup was light, savory, and had an asparagus-forward flavor. Overall, the soup was quite nice.
Timbale de légumes (Vegetable Timbale)
Timbale is named after a drum, and the recipe is for a round pastry with a vegetable filling. The recipe uses peas and green beans in a sauce made from butter, flour, and egg yolks. I did not have a timbale pastry, so I used a ready-made puff pastry and wrapped it around the peas and green beans. I then baked the timbale in the oven until the dough was cooked. The timbale had a nice flavor. However, I found it a bit lacking because there was no seasoning used with the vegetables. I do think the flavor could be improved by using salt, pepper, and parsley or thyme. That said, I did like the contrast of the pastry with the vegetable filling, and I would like to try other variations of vegetables.
Pouding au chocolat (Chocolate Pudding)
The pouding is a bit more involved as you first have to boil milk and add a flour and water mixture. Then you add the butter, sugar, lemon zest, and grated chocolate. Afterward, you let the mixture cool and add in egg yolks and beaten egg whites. The mixture is then baked in a buttered mold for 45 minutes. I was curious to try the pouding because it is not like a regular pudding. The pouding is thicker, like a porridge, but when it cools completely, you can slice it. It is not cakey either. The pouding did have a good flavor with the chocolate and lemon, and it was a nice way to end the meal.
Overall Thoughts
I thought it was fun trying the recipes and seeing what vegetarian cooking was like in France in the 1930s. However, the recipes themselves were vague at times. For example, the Soupe aux asperges listed exact measurements of asparagus, butter, and flour. On the other hand, the Timbale de légumes did not list any measurements for the vegetables, butter, and flour. The cookbook also often assumes you have certain knowledge, such as that you know how much butter and flour to use to thicken the peas and green beans. The Pouding au chocolat also stated to bake in a “four modéré” (moderate oven) and assumes you know what that is without giving a specific temperature. Due to the vagueness, I did have to do some guesswork on how long to boil the asparagus because there was no time given, and at what temperature to bake the pouding.
The recipes did use old-fashioned techniques, such as adding egg yolks to thicken the soup, but I like that the dishes focused on simple ingredients. Out of 3 recipes, I would make asparagus soup again without any changes. I would also make the vegetable timbale again, but I would add seasoning and try different vegetable combinations, like adding mushrooms and onions. I did like the flavor of the chocolate and lemon in the pouding, but I do not think I would make it again.
interesting post, thanks
Thank you! It was fun trying an old-fashioned vegetarian meal