English and French cookery

as will make a paste ; stir, and add the broth or soup to the thickness required. Season with pepper, salt, and green or dried mint. A delicious soup may be made instantly with pea-flour, by adding a small quantity of Liebig’s extract of meat flavoured with salt and pepper. 2 ounces of the pea-flour will thicken 1 quart of stock. From the same source may be procured a pea-soup preparation. This contains all the ingredients for a dish of soup, viz., herbs, seasonings, and extract of meat. All that is required is the water and boiling a few minutes. Pot-au-Feu. — Take 3 pounds of fresh beef and about a pound of bones ; tie up the meat neatly with tape or string ; put all into a saucepan holding 2 quarts, fill it up with enough soft water to cover, and set on the fire. Carefully remove the scum as it rises, and do not let the liquid boil. At intervals add small quantities of cold water. When the scum is all removed, -add ½ ounce of salt, 4 saltspoonful of whole pepper and allspice, 1 onion stuck with 3 cloves, 1 leek, 2 carrots cut in 2-inch lengths, 1 turnip cut in 4, and a small bunch of herbs. Skim and simmer gently for 3 or 4 hours. In season : 4 head of celery cut in 2-inch lengths, and a parsnip may be added. When about to serve, strain the broth, add a small teaspoonful of pounded loaf sugar, boil and 'pour it into the soup-tureen over small slices of toasted bread, adding some of the vegetables cut into thin slices. Remove the tape or string, and serve the meat, garnishing with mashed potatoes, spinach, or other vegetables. Potage a la Conde. — Soak a cupful of haricot beans in cold water all night. Slice an onion, put it with the beans, and boil in 3 pints of water for 4 hours. Pass through a hair-sieve, and rub the beans through with a wooden spoon. Put back into the saucepan, season with pepper and salt, stir till the soup boils, and serve. Potage a la Crecy. — Slice 12 large carrots and put into a stewpan, with 2 ounces of butter, a large lump of sugar, 3 good-sized onions, 2 turnips, 12 peppercorns, J pound of lean ham, a head of celery, and 4 leeks. Simmer gently over a gentle fire for 10 minutes. Shake the saucepan to prevent burning. Pour over them a quart of cold stock or water, with a teaspoonful of Liebig’s extract, and simmer until the vegetables are quite tender. Strain off the soup, and press the vegetables with a wooden spoon through a sieve. Mix the pulp again with the stock, season with pepper and salt, put back into the stewpan, and boil. Skim and serve. Send toasted sippets to table in a separate dish. Potato Soup. — Boil a quart of milk with a stalk of celery and an onion. Boil 6 potatoes soft, and mash fine and light. Add the boiling milk, a tablespoonful of butter, and pepper and salt. Rub through a strainer’, and serve immediately. Potato Soup. — Wash, pare, and slice 1 pound of potatoes ; skin and chop ^ pound of onions. Place the potatoes, onions, and 2 ounces of butter in 3 pints of water, and boil until the potatoes and onions can be crushed smooth with a fork or spoon. Add a full teaspoonful of sugar, and let the soup boil up again. If a richer soup is wanted, J pint of milk may be added with the sugar. Season with pepper and salt.