Onion Soup Au Gratin
3 cups meat broth. 6 medium-sized onions, chopped. ½ teaspoon salt. 4 tablespoons flour. 2 tablespoons cold water. Pepper. Toast. Parmesan cheese.
Cook the chopped onions in a small amount of water until tender. Add 2 tablespoons of fat from the meat broth or the same quantity of butter and let the onions cook down in this until they are yellow. Mix them with the meat broth and salt and thicken with the flour and cold water which have been blended. Cook for a few minutes. Season with pepper as desired. Pour the soup into bowls or soup plates, place on top a round or slice of toasted bread, and sprinkle grated cheese over the bread and soup. Serve at once.
Milk-Vegetable Soups
Milk-vegetable soups are made from cooked vegetables (chopped or sliced) and milk slightly thickened. The vegetables may be asparagus, peas, beans of various kinds, celery, potatoes, turnips, carrots, spinach, onions, corn, cabbage, or almost any other vegetable. Some of these are good in combination, such as potatoes and onions, potatoes and turnips, turnips and carrots.
2 cups milk. 1 tablespoon flour or less. 1 tablespoon butter. Salt. ⅔ cup cooked vegetables, finely chopped, mashed or strained.
Thicken the milk with the flour as for white sauce. Add the other ingredients. If the vegetable is starchy, use less flour or thin the soup with milk. The vegetables should be finely chopped, mashed, or strained, so that they will blend well with the thickened milk.
Main Dishes
Shepherd’s Pie
Grease a 2-quart baking dish and cover the sides with a thin layer of seasoned mashed potato. Use about 2½ cups potato. Fill the center with about 4½ cups well-seasoned, slightly thickened stew, creamed chicken, or creamed fish. There should be no potatoes in the stew. Cover the top with 1 cup mashed potato and bake in a hot oven (400°F.) until the pie is hot through and slightly browned on top.