Soupe Maigre.
- 1 quart of milk.
- 3 pints of water.
- 1 onion.
- 1 turnip.
- 3 stalks of celery.
- 1 potato (large).
- Quarter of a small cabbage, sliced.
- ½ cup of bread-crumbs, very dry.
- 2 eggs, beaten light.
- Parsley, pepper, and salt to taste.
- 4 tablespoonfuls of butter.
Clean, scrape, and mince the vegetables, and put on to cook in cold water, enough to cover them well. When they are scalding hot, drain, and cover them with three pints of boiling water. Stew slowly in this until they are reduced to pulp. Rub through a colander, season, and heat again to boiling. Stir in the bread-crumbs; then the butter, very gradually. Have the milk ready, heated in another vessel, and pour into the soup-kettle at this juncture. Let the soup get very hot, but not boil. Set upon the side of the range, and, dipping out a cupful, add it, a little at a time, to the beaten eggs. When well mixed, return eggs and liquor to the rest of the soup; stir over the fire for an instant, but never to boiling, and serve in a hot tureen.
The eggs should not be allowed to curdle in the liquor; hence the need of carefulness in following the directions above given. A little grated cheese is a pleasant accompaniment to this soup, each person adding it as pleases him.