Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

• one leek
• one small onion
• a pound of potatoes
• half of a small stick of celery
• a pint and a half of stock
• one ounce of butter
• four peppercorns
• a quarter of a pint of cream
• a teaspoonful of parsley leaves

Method

1. 1

   Wash the leek and cut the white part into dice.

2. 2

   Put the leek, sliced potatoes, celery, and peppercorns into a stewpan with butter.

3. 3

   Cover and sweat the vegetables for five minutes.

4. 4

   Pour in the stock and boil until tender.

5. 5

   Use a sieve to strain the mixture, rubbing the vegetables through.

6. 6

   Heat the soup again, add salt, and mix in hot cream before serving.

7. 7

   Garnish with minced parsley.

As published

This recipe was extracted from The girl's own cookery book (1882) by Phillis Browne, page 46. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

vegetables could be made to go through the wire sieve more quickly than through the hair sieve, but the purde would not be quite so smooth in the former case as in the latter. At the same time the wire sieve would last much longer than the hair sieve. Besides the hair sieve we must procure a stewpan with a closely-fitting lid, one leek, or if this is not to be had, one small onion, a pound of potatoes, weighed after being washed and peeled, half of a small stick of celery', and a pint and a half of stock. We wash the leek and cut the white part only into dice ; then put these, the potatoes thinly sliced, the celery, and four peppercorns into the stewpan with one ounce of butter. We cover the stewpan closely and place it on the fire for five minutes to “ sweat ” the vegetables, and we shake the pan now and then to keep the potatoes from sticking and thus acquiring colour. After being steamed in butter in this way vegetables intended for soup give out their flavour better than they would if boiled at once in the stock. We now Dour the nint and a half of white stock over 74 The Girl’s Own Cookery Book. the vegetables, and boil them till they are quite tender. We have a bowl ready, and place the sieve with the deep end downwards (because we shall more easily rub the potatoes at the shallow end) inside the bowl, then pour the contents of the stewpan, liquor, potatoes, leeks, and all through the sieve. Of course the liquid part will at once go through the sieve, and we may put a portion of this back into the stewpan to keep hot because we shall want it to moisten the pulp. The vegetables we rub with the back of a wooden spoon until they pass through the sieve and drop into the liquor in the bowl. Every two or three minutes we may lift up the sieve and scrape the pulp which will be lying thickly on the under part, for by doing this we shall make it easier for the pulp to go through the sieve ; and, by way ol still further facilitating matters, we may every now and then moisten the pulp with the hot liquor we kept for the purpose. Thus far we may prepare the soup some time before it is wanted. About half an hour before it is to be served we put it on the fire in a clean stewpan, and stir it till it boils. We add salt to season it pleasantly. Make a quarter of a pint of cream hot (or milk, if cream is not to be had), in a separate saucepan, and mix this with the soup at the last moment. And now our soup is ready, though, for the sake of appearance, we shall do well to have a teaspoonful of parsley leaves

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.