The Ocklye cookery book

Wash, peel, and slice the vegetables into a stewpan, with the bay leaves, a sprig of thyme and parsley, two or three sprigs of tarragon, and a little salt and sugar ; add the butter, put the lid on, and let it stew well for twenty minutes to half an hour; then stir in the flour, add the milk, and let it cook very gently for about an hour ; then rub it through a hair sieve, put it into another stewpan, stir over the fire until it boils, add a gill of cream, and serve with fried croutons. This soup can also be prepared with stock instead of milk. VEGETABLE MARROW SOUP Ingredients One vegetable marrow. One ounce of flour. One quart of white stock. Pepper, salt, nutmeg, and sugar. One ounce and a half of butter. A gill of cream. Peel a moderate sized marrow, remove the seeds, cut it into pieces, and boil it in a quart of white stock; when quite tender pass all through a fine hair sieve. Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and gradually add the pulp and liquor; stir carefully until boiling, season with pepper, salt, a little grated nutmeg, and a small lump of sugar, and lastly add a gill of boiling cream, or a raw egg beaten up in a gill of good milk. Fried croutons to be handed with it. WATER SOUCHET Ingredients Half a pint of water. A carrot. Two flounders. Whole pepper, salt, and sugar. Half a pint of broth. Thirty sprigs of parsley. A piece of horse-radish. Put the water and broth into a sauté-pan, with the horse-radish, carrot, parsley, and a little whole pepper, salt and sugar ; let it boil for one minute. Then take four pieces off each fish, without any bones, and stew them in the liquor for ten minutes. Put them into a deep dish, or soup tureen, and pour the liquor over them, adding a few shreds of the carrot. The trimmings of the fish should be stewed separately, and the broth added to the souchet. Thin bread and butter, brown or white, should be handed with it. Any flat fish may be used, but flounders are the best. WHITE SOUP Ingredients One knuckle of veal. Three onions. Three quarts of water. Half a pound of lean ham. Ground rice. Twelve sweet almonds. A blade of mace. Half a pint of cream. Twelve peppercorns. Two yolks of eggs. Cayenne and salt. Put the knuckle of veal into a saucepan ; add the water, and bring it gently to the boil, taking off the scum as it rises ; then stir in a little ground rice, the onions cut into slices, ham, mace, peppercorns, salt to taste, and a little cayenne ; let it simmer very gently for about six hours, until the meat is done to rags ; strain it off, and set it by till cold ; then take off all the fat, and put it into a clean saucepan ; blanch the almonds, and beat them into a paste in a marble mortar ; add the yolks of eggs boiled hard and pounded; mix them smoothly together, stir in the cream ; then add it to the boiling soup and serve. PUREE OF WHITE LENTILS Ingredients Half a pound of German lentils. Salt. Two sticks of celery. One pint and a half of water. Two sprigs of parsley. One pint and a half of milk. A small blade of mace. Half a pint of cream. One onion. One ounce and a half of butter. Six white peppercorns. One ounce of flour. Wash the lentils well in several waters; put them into a saucepan with the water, celery, mace, parsley, onion, and peppercorns, and let them boil for an hour and a half till they are quite tender. Put them through a hair or fine wire sieve, rubbing the pulp through with the back of a wooden spoon. Put the butter and flour into a clean saucepan, large enough to hold all the soup, mix them together smoothly, stir in the purée, and add the milk gradually; season it with salt; keep it stirred over the fire till it boils, add the cream, and serve with fried croutons. WHITE SAGO SOUP Ingredients Two pints of good stock. A gill of cream.