Palestine Soup.
Scrape and slice six or eight large Jerusalem artichokes and put them into cold water. Then place them in boiling water, boil for one hour, and rub through a cullender. Mix them with two ounces of butter and three tablespoonfuls of flour, and pour them into one quart of boiling milk, stirring continually until thick. Season with salt and pepper, and serve with croûtons (fried bread).
Pea Soup.
Shell four pounds of fresh green peas, put them in an earthen pot, cover them with cold water, and boil for twenty minutes. Take out one cupful of peas. Rub the rest through a sieve, and mix in an earthen pot with one quart of milk, four ounces of butter, and two tablespoonfuls of flour. Stir until the soup is thick, add a pinch of salt and of grated nutmeg, and the whole peas, and serve very hot.
Polentina ‘alla Veneziana.’
Put two large tablespoonfuls of fine yellow Indian-corn meal into one quart of boiling milk. Stir continually for twenty minutes to prevent burning, then add one teaspoonful of salt (or more to taste), and four to six ounces of fresh butter. Serve with croûtons (fried bread).
Sorrel Soup.
Wash and dry two bunches of sorrel. Chop it fine, and cook with two ounces of butter until it becomes a pulp. Stir in one spoonful of flour, salt and pepper to taste, and a cupful of water. When it boils add two or more yolks of eggs and a cupful of cream. Serve with croûtons (fried bread).
Spinach Soup ‘alla Modenese.’
Boil two pounds of spinach, mince fine, and put it in a sauce-pan with four ounces of melted butter. Stir well, add salt to taste, then take off the fire and mix in two eggs, a little grated cheese, and a pinch of grated nutmeg. Pour this purée into boiling broth, take it off the fire after a few minutes, and cover with a salamander; this will coagulate the eggs and turn the purée into a soft green paste. Serve very hot with croûtons (fried bread).