The Whitehouse Cookbook (1887) Part 6

GREEN TURTLE SOUP.

One turtle, two onions, a bunch of sweet herbs, juice of one lemon, five quarts of water, a gla.s.s of Madeira.

After removing the entrails, cut up the coa.r.s.er parts of the turtle meat and bones. Add four quarts of water, and stew four hours with the herbs, onions, pepper and salt. Stew very slowly, do not let it cease boiling during this time. At the end of four hours strain the soup, and add the finer parts of the turtle and the green fat, which has been simmered one hour in two quarts of water. Thicken with brown flour; return to the soup-pot, and simmer gently for an hour longer.

If there are eggs in the turtle, boil them in a separate vessel for four hours, and throw into the soup before taking up. If not, put in force meat b.a.l.l.s; then the juice of the lemon, and the wine; beat up at once and pour out.

Some cooks add the finer meat before straining, boiling all together five hours; then strain, thicken and put in the green fat, cut into lumps an inch long. This makes a handsomer soup than if the meat is left in.

Green turtle can now be purchased preserved in air-tight cans.

_Force Meat b.a.l.l.s for the Above._--Six tablespoonfuls of turtle meat chopped very fine. Rub to a paste, with the yolk of two hard-boiled eggs, a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, and, if convenient, a little oyster liquor. Season with cayenne, mace, half a teaspoonful of white sugar and a pinch of salt. Bind all with a well-beaten egg; shape into small b.a.l.l.s; dip in egg, then powdered cracker; fry in b.u.t.ter, and drop into the soup when it is served.

MACARONI SOUP.

To a rich beef or other soup, in which there is no seasoning other than pepper or salt, take half a pound of small pipe macaroni, boil it in clear water until it is tender, then drain it and cut it in pieces of an inch length; boil it for fifteen minutes in the soup and serve.

TURKEY SOUP.

Take the turkey bones and boil three-quarters of an hour in water enough to cover them; add a little summer savory and celery chopped fine. Just before serving, thicken with a little flour (browned), and season with pepper, salt and a small piece of b.u.t.ter. This is a cheap but good soup, using the remains of cold turkey which might otherwise be thrown away.

GUMBO OR OKRA SOUP.

Fry out the fat of a slice of bacon or fat ham, drain it off, and in it fry the slices of a large onion brown; scald, peel and cut up two quarts fresh tomatoes, when in season (use canned tomatoes otherwise), and cut thin one quart okra; put them, together with a little chopped parsley, in a stew-kettle with about three quarts of hot broth of any kind; cook slowly for three hours, season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

In chicken broth the same quant.i.ty of okra pods, used for thickening instead of tomatoes, forms a chicken gumbo soup.

TAPIOCA CREAM SOUP.

One quart of white stock; one pint of cream or milk; one onion; two stalks celery; one-third of a cupful of tapioca; two cupfuls of cold water; one tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter; a small piece of mace; salt, pepper. Wash the tapioca and soak over night in cold water. Cook it and the stock together very gently for one hour. Cut the onion and celery into small pieces, and put on to cook for twenty minutes with the milk and mace. Strain on the tapioca and stock. Season with salt and pepper, add b.u.t.ter and serve.

SOUPS WITHOUT MEAT.

ONION SOUP.

One quart of milk, six large onions, yolks of four eggs, three tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter, a large one of flour, one cup full of cream, salt, pepper. Put the b.u.t.ter in a frying pan. Cut the onions into thin slices and drop in the b.u.t.ter. Stir until they begin to cook; then cover tight and set back where they will simmer, but not burn, for half an hour. Now put the milk on to boil, and then add the dry flour to the onions and stir constantly for three minutes over the fire; then turn the mixture into the milk and cook fifteen minutes. Rub the soup through a strainer, return to the fire, season with salt and pepper. Beat the yolks of the eggs well, add the cream to them and stir into the soup. Cook three minutes, stirring constantly. If you have no cream, use milk, in which case add a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter at the same time. Pour over fried croutons in a soup tureen.

This is a refreshing dish when one is fatigued.

WINTER VEGETABLE SOUP.

Sc.r.a.pe and slice three turnips and three carrots and peel three onions, and fry all with a little b.u.t.ter until a light yellow; add a bunch of celery and three or four leeks cut in pieces; stir and fry all the ingredients for six minutes; when fried, add one clove of garlic, two stalks of parsley, two cloves, salt, pepper and a little grated nutmeg; cover with three quarts of water and simmer for three hours, taking off the sc.u.m carefully. Strain and use. Croutons, vermicelli, Italian pastes, or rice may be added.

VERMICELLI SOUP.

Swell quarter of a pound of vermicelli in a quart of warm water, then add it to a good beef, veal, lamb, or chicken soup or broth, with quarter of a pound of sweet b.u.t.ter; let the soup boil for fifteen minutes after it is added.

SWISS WHITE SOUP.

A sufficient quant.i.ty of broth for six people; boil it; beat up three eggs well, two spoonfuls of flour, one cup milk; pour these gradually through a sieve into the boiling soup; salt and pepper.

SPRING VEGETABLE SOUP.

Half pint green peas, two shredded lettuces, one onion, a small bunch of parsley, two ounces b.u.t.ter, the yolks of three eggs, one pint of water, one and a half quarts of soup stock. Put in a stewpan the lettuce, onion, parsley and b.u.t.ter, with one pint of water, and let them simmer till tender. Season with salt and pepper. When done, strain off the vegetables, and put two-thirds of the liquor with the stock. Beat up the yolks of the eggs with the other third, toss it over the fire, and at the moment of serving add this with the vegetables to the strained-off soup.

CELERY SOUP.

Celery soup may be made with _white stock_. Cut down the white of half a dozen heads of celery into little pieces and boil it in four pints of white stock, with a quarter of a pound of lean ham and two ounces of b.u.t.ter. Simmer gently for a full hour, then strain through a sieve, return the liquor to the pan, and stir in a few spoonfuls of cream with great care. Serve with toasted bread, and if liked, thicken with a little flour. Season to taste.

IRISH POTATO SOUP.

Peel and boil eight medium-sized potatoes with a large onion sliced, some herbs, salt and pepper; press all through a colander; then thin it with rich milk and add a lump of b.u.t.ter, more seasoning, if necessary; let it heat well and serve hot.

PEA SOUP.

Put a quart of dried peas into five quarts of water; boil for four hours; then add three or four large onions, two heads of celery, a carrot, two turnips, all cut up rather fine. Season with pepper and salt. Boil two hours longer, and if the soup becomes too thick add more water. Strain through a colander and stir in a tablespoonful of cold b.u.t.ter. Serve hot, with small pieces of toasted bread placed in the bottom of the tureen.

NOODLES FOR SOUP.

Beat up one egg light, add a pinch of salt, and flour enough to make a _very stiff_ dough; roll out very thin, like thin pie crust, dredge with flour to keep from sticking. Let it remain on the bread board to dry for an hour or more; then roll it up into a tight scroll, like a sheet of music. Begin at the end and slice it into slips as thin as straws. After all are cut, mix them lightly together, and to prevent them sticking, keep them floured a little until you are ready to drop them into your soup which should be done shortly before dinner, for if boiled _too long_ they will go to pieces.

FORCE MEAT b.a.l.l.s FOR SOUP.

One cupful of cooked veal or fowl meat, minced; mix with this a handful of fine bread crumbs, the yolks of four hard-boiled eggs rubbed smooth together with a tablespoon of milk; season with pepper and salt; add a half teaspoon of flour, and bind all together with two beaten eggs; the hands to be well floured, and the mixture to be made into little b.a.l.l.s the size of a nutmeg; drop into the soup about twenty minutes before serving.

EGG b.a.l.l.s FOR SOUP.

Take the yolks of six hard-boiled eggs and half a tablespoonful of wheat flour, rub them smooth with the yolks of two raw eggs and a teaspoonful of salt; mix all well together; make it in b.a.l.l.s, and drop them into the boiling soup a few minutes before taking it up.

Used in green turtle soup.