BECHAMEL MAIGRE, or WITHOUT MEAT

Ingredients

• 2 onions
• 1 blade mace
• mushroom trimmings
• a small bunch of parsley
• 1 oz butter
• flour
• 1/2 pint water
• 1 pint milk
• salt
• the juice of 1 lemon
• 2 eggs

Instructions

1. Put in a stewpan the milk, and 1/2 pint of water, with the onions, mace, mushrooms, parsley, and salt.
2. Let these simmer gently for 20 minutes.
3. In the mean time, rub on a plate 1 oz. of flour and butter;
4. put it to the liquor, and stir it well till it boils up;
5. then place it by the side of the fire, and continue stirring until it is perfectly smooth.
6. Now strain it through a sieve into a basin, after which put it back in the stewpan, and add the lemon-juice.
7. Beat up the yolks of the eggs with about 4 dessertspoonfuls of milk;
8. strain this to the sauce, keep stirring it over the fire, but do not let it boil, lest it curdle.