Potato Soup ‘alla Romana.’
Parboil four large potatoes in one quart of water, when half-cooked strain off the water and pour one pint of boiling water on the potatoes; add one bay leaf, half an onion, one head of celery, and some chopped parsley. Boil over a slow fire in an earthen pan, add two ounces of butter and two tablespoonfuls of flour, and mix well. Rub the potatoes through a sieve into an earthen pot, add boiling milk, a little at a time, and serve hot.
Pumpkin Soup. No. 1.
Cut two or three slices of white pumpkin into small dice. Put them into a sauce-pan with four ounces of butter, and cook till they take a golden colour. Mince up one onion, some parsley, sweet basil, celery, thyme, and (for those who like it) one clove of garlic. Mix well, and add two cloves, one quart of water, and some butter, or pure olive oil, or both. Boil for one hour, serve very hot with croûtons (fried bread).
Pumpkin Soup. No. 2.
Take a slice (about one and a half pounds) of a large yellow pumpkin, peel it and remove the seeds. Cut into small dice and put them into a sauce-pan with one ounce of butter, a pinch of salt, one ounce of sugar, and half a tumblerful of water. Boil for two hours, then drain, and put back into the sauce-pan with one and a half tumblers of well-boiled milk. As soon as it boils pour into the tureen and add croûtons (fried bread).
Onion Soup. No. 1.
Peel and cut three large Spanish onions in slices. Put two ounces of butter into a frying-pan, and add the onions when the butter is hot. Just before they are browned take them off the fire and put them into a sauce-pan with two quarts of good stock. Boil slowly for half an hour, and add a little pepper and salt. Strain through a sieve and serve very hot. Add croûtons (fried bread) to the soup.
Onion Soup ‘Purée alla Soubise.’ No. 2.
Chop up a few onions, warm them in butter, but take care they do not brown. Stir in three tablespoonfuls of purée of white haricot beans, add a pinch of grated nutmeg, and rub through a sieve. If the purée is too thick add a little stock. Serve with croûtons (fried bread) in the soup.