SOUPS
STOCK FOR ORDINARY SOUP
Put all the bones you have left from any joints, break them up small and put in a large saucepan and fill with cold water till the bones are covered. Put in an onion, carrot, and a small stick of celery. Boil all down till the bones become quite clean. Pour off into a basin, and when wanted remove the fat from the top and flavour it with what vegetable you want your soup made of, such as celery, or pea.
VEGETABLE MARROW SOUP
Peel and cut in quarters a small marrow and remove the seeds. Melt an ounce of butter in a stewpan and put in the marrow with a little pepper and salt, a lump of sugar, and a grate of nutmeg. Toss it over fire for a few minutes, and moisten with as much white stock as will cover it. Let it stew gently till tender, and then pass through a fine hair-sieve. Put then with it as much boiling stock as will make it the thickness of cream. Add half a pint of cream and season with pepper and salt. Put over the fire till very hot. Tomato soup is made the same way.
CREAM OF POTATO
This is one of the best and most delicate soups.
5 freshly boiled potatoes.
1 slice of onion.
1 quart of stock.
1 small teaspoonful of salt.
1 teaspoonful of chopped parsley.
Boil the onion and salt in the stock. It requires no thickening, as if the potatoes are passed through a sieve and added to the stock they will make it thick enough. Add the parsley after the soup is in the tureen, as it will turn brown if put in too soon. The yolk of an egg, beaten, can be added, if required, to make the soup richer.
CREAM OF SPINACH
1 pint of cold cooked spinach.
1 quart of stock.
Heat the spinach, using a little of the quart of stock with it, and press through the sieve; thicken the rest of the stock and the seasoning, and strain again. It is better to use cayenne pepper instead of black with spinach.
CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP, CALLED TOMATO BISQUE
6 large tomatoes, cut up.
2 slices onion.
2 sprigs parsley.
1 teaspoonful sugar.
½ teaspoonful salt.
1 quart stock.
1 tablespoonful butter.
1 tablespoonful flour.
Cook the tomatoes with the onion, parsley, sugar, and salt for twenty minutes, with a little of the stock. Make the stock and flour and butter into white sauce as usual; strain the tomato, mix the two, and strain through a sieve.
Sometimes add a stalk of celery to the other seasoning as it cooks, and a little cream before serving.
OYSTER SOUP
1 pint oysters.
1 quart rich stock.
½ teaspoonful salt.
Drain off the oyster juice, add the stock, boil it for one minute, and skim it well. Then drop in the oysters and cook one minute, or till the edges begin to curl, and it is done. This soup is not thickened at all; but if you like you may add two tablespoonfuls of cream.
MEAT SOUPS
You can make meat soup, or stock, out of almost any kind of meat, cooked or raw, with bones or without. Many cooks never buy fresh meat for it, and others think they must always have it. It is best to learn both ways.
PLAIN MEAT SOUP
5 lbs. of shin of beef.
5 quarts of water.
1 small tablespoonful of salt.
1 head of celery, cut up.
1 onion.
1 carrot.
1 turnip.
1 sprig of parsley.
2 bay-leaves.
6 whole cloves.
Cut the meat off the bone. Put the bone in a clean saucepan first, and then the meat on top, and pour in the water; cover, and let this stand on the back of the stove an hour, then draw it forward and let it cook. This will bring scum on the water in half an hour, and you must carefully pour in a cup of cold water and skim off everything which rises to the top. Cover the saucepan tightly, and cook very slowly indeed for four hours; then put in the cut-up vegetables and cook one hour more, always just simmering, not boiling hard. Then it is done, and you can put in the salt, and strain the soup first through a heavy wire sieve, and then through a flannel bag, and set it away to get cold, and you will have a strong, clear, delicious stock, which you can put many things in to have variety.
CLEAR VEGETABLE SOUP
Slice one carrot, one turnip, and one potato, and cut them either into small, even strips, or into tiny cubes, or take a vegetable cutter and cut out fancy shapes. Simmer them about twenty minutes in a little water. Meanwhile, take two pints of soup stock and heat it. Sprinkle a little salt over the vegetables and drain them; put them in the soup-tureen and pour the hot soup over.
SPLIT PEA SOUP
1 pint of split peas.
1½ quarts of boiling water.
1 quart of soup stock.
1 small teaspoonful of salt.
3 shakes of pepper.
Wash the peas in cold water and throw away those which float, as they are bad. Soak them overnight, and in the morning pour away the water on them and cover them with a quart of the boiling water in the recipe, and cook an hour and a half. Put in the rest of the water and the stock, and press the whole through a sieve, and, after washing and wiping the saucepan, put the soup back to heat, adding the salt and pepper.
TOMATO SOUP
1 tin tomatoes, or 1 quart of fresh stewed ones.
1 pint of stock.
1 tablespoonful of butter.
2 tablespoonfuls of flour.
1 teaspoonful of sugar.
1 small onion, cut up.
1 sprig of parsley.
1 bay-leaf.
1 small teaspoonful of salt.
3 shakes of pepper.
Put the tomatoes into a saucepan with the parsley, onion, bay-leaf, and stock, and cook fifteen minutes, and then strain through a sieve. Wash the saucepan and put the tomatoes back in it, and put on to boil again; melt the butter, rub smooth with the flour, and put into the soup while it boils, and stir till it is perfectly smooth. Then add the sugar, salt and pepper, and soda, and strain into the hot tureen. Serve croûtons with this soup. They are made by cutting tiny little squares of bread and fried in a little butter till they become crisp.
CHICKEN OR TURKEY SOUP
Break up the bones and cover with cold water; add a slice of onion, a bay-leaf, and a sprig of parsley, and cook all day, adding water when necessary, and skimming. Cool, take off the grease, heat again, and strain. Serve with small, even squares of chicken meat in it, or a little cooked rice and salt. Many people like a small pinch of cinnamon in turkey soup.