TURNIP SOUP
Ingredients.—3 oz. of butter, 9 good-sized turnips, 4 onions, 2 quarts of stock, seasoning to taste. Mode.—Melt the butter in the stewpan, but do not let it boil; wash, drain, and slice the turnips and onions very thin; put them in the butter, with a teacupful of stock, and stew very gently for an hour. Then add the remainder of the stock, and simmer another hour. Rub it through a tammy, put it back into the stewpan, but do not let it boil. Serve very hot. Time.—2½ hours. Average cost, 8d. per quart. Seasonable from October to March. Sufficient for 8 persons.
Note.—By adding a little cream, this soup will be much improved.
TURNIPS, Boiled.
Ingredients.—Turnips; to each ½ gallon of water allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt. Mode.—Pare the turnips, and, should they be very large, divide them into quarters; but, unless this is the case, let them be cooked whole. Put them into a saucepan of boiling water, salted in the above proportion, and let them boil gently until tender. Try them with a fork, and, when done, take them up in a colander; let them thoroughly drain, and serve. Boiled turnips are usually sent to table with boiled mutton, but are infinitely nicer when mashed than served whole: unless nice and young, they are scarcely worth the trouble of dressing plainly as above. Time.—Old turnips, ¾ to 1¼ hour; young ones, about 18 to 20 minutes. Average cost, 4d. per bunch. Sufficient.—Allow a bunch of 12 turnips for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable.—May be had all the year; but in spring only useful for flavouring gravies, &c.
TURNIPS, German Mode of Cooking.
Ingredients.—8 large turnips, 3 oz. of butter, pepper and salt to taste, rather more than ½ pint of weak stock or broth, 1 tablespoonful of flour. Mode.—Make the butter hot in a stewpan, lay in the turnips, after having pared and cut them into dice, and season them with pepper and salt. Toss them over the fire for a few minutes, then add the broth, and simmer the whole gently till the turnips are tender. Brown the above proportion of flour with a little butter; add this to the turnips, let them simmer another 5 minutes, and serve. Boiled mutton is usually sent to table with this vegetable, and may be cooked with the turnips by placing it in the midst of them: the meat would then be very delicious, as, there being so little liquid with the turnips, it would almost be steamed, and, consequently, very tender. Time.—20 minutes. Average cost, 4d. per bunch. Sufficient for 4 persons. Seasonable.—May be had all the year.
TURNIPS, Mashed.
Ingredients.—10 or 12 large turnips; to each ½ gallon of water allow 1 heaped tablespoonful of salt, 2 oz. of butter, cayenne or white paper to taste. Mode.—Pare the turnips, quarter them, and put them into boiling water, salted in the above proportion; boil them until tender; then drain them in a colander, and squeeze them as dry as possible by pressing them with the back of a large plate. When quite free from water, rub the turnips with a wooden spoon through the colander, and put them into a very clean saucepan; add the butter, white pepper, or cayenne, and, if necessary, a little salt. Keep stirring them over the fire until the butter is well mixed with them, and the turnips are thoroughly hot; dish, and serve. A little cream or milk added after the turnips are pressed through the colander, is an improvement to both the colour and flavour of this vegetable. Time.—From ½ to ¾ hour to boil the turnips; 10 minutes to warm them through. Average cost, 4d. per bunch. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable.—May be had all the year; but in early spring only good for flavouring gravies.