SOUP FOR COLD DAYS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 37, Issue 936, 19 July 1957, Page 22

SOUP FOR COLD DAYS

LL through autumn, winter and spring the bowl of soup at luncheon and dinner is a great start. A real home-made soup, made from meat and bones and vegetables, with a little rice or sago added, is a most satisfactory family dish and can be almost a meal in itself. Some people prefer clear, thin soup..made from shin of beef and cracked bones, a chopped onion added after the first-hour of boiling and then boiled again, seasoned and _ strained. Clear soup is really an appetiser and stimulates the flow of digestive juices. It contains gelatine and calcium from the bones, as well as the meat essences. Cream soups contain the additional nourishment of milk. They are made by straining the meat or vegetable stock through a strainer and then mixing the resultant puree with an equal quantity of milk, thickening with cornflour or arrowroot. Alternatively, the milk may have been already thickened by melting some butter, adding an equal quantity of flour and then adding the warmed milk, making really a sauce. This is less likely to curdle than plain milk when added to the puree. French Potato Soup (Vichyssoise) Mince the white part of 3 medium leeks and 1 medium onion (or 2 onions). Saute for 3 minutes in 2 table-

spoons butter. Peel and slice very fine 4 | medium potatoes and also add 4 cups chicken consomme. (Packet soup could

be used.) Simmer all, covered, for lo minutes or until tender. Put through very fine sieve. Add salt and pepper, 1 or 2 cups of cream, chopped water cress or chives. May omit cream. German Vegetable Soup Knuckle of veal, knuckle of ham, seasoning, soup vegetables, herbs, cream, Vlb. butter. Boil knuckle of veal and knuckle of ham in 8 pints water with onions, carrots, leeks, celery, bunch of sweet herbs. Season with salt and pepper and leave to simmer for 4 to 5 hours. Strain stock. Heat butter; in it cook, till well impregnated with the butter, 2 onions, a leek, Ilb. potatoes, a turnip, 1 or 2 carrots, half a small cabbage, all previously cut up small. Add stock, Y2Ilb. peas and cook till all vegetables are tender. Pass through sieve re-heat and serve with 1. tablespoon cream in each soup plate. Chestnut Soup (Continental) One pound chestnuts, celery, cream, salt, milk, sweet herbs, butter, pepper, vermicelli. Slit chestnuts, put them in cold water and boil for a few minutes till they can be peeled. Put peeled chestnuts in boiling water, add a few

pieces of celery, a bunch of sweet herbs, a bay leaf, salt and pepper. Bring to boil and simmer gently till chestnuts are quite tender, about 1 hour. Put through sieve, return. to saucepan, add enough boiling milk to reduce consistency to that of a nice cream soup. Boil up and stand aside to simmer for about 4% hour. About % hour before serving bring to boil again and sprinkle in a little vermicelli. Just before serving and when soup is off the fire, add a good piece of butter, a little fresh cream and some chopped parsley. Ground Nut Soup (West African) Shell peanuts. Bake them on a tin in a moderate oven for a few minutes till they are well warmed through. Put them in a cloth and shake to peel. Pound or grind them fine. Gradually stir in sufficient good stock. Bring to boil and leave to simmer as for pea soup. Season with salt and pepper and stir in a little arrowroot previously mixed to a ‘smooth paste with cold water. If ready-shelled nuts are used, decrease weight proportionately. Pea Soup Soak 1 cup split peas overnight and next day cook in 2 pints of water until very soft with 2 or 3 sticks of celery cut up, 2 sprigs of parsley and 1 minced onion. Rub through a colander, add 4 cups of milk (skim will do) that has been brought to boil, and let the soup boil up. Thicken slightly with 1 tablespoon each of flour and butter melted together. Season to taste with salt, pepper, a dash of cayene pepper and 1

teaspoon of sugar. If desired, a ham bone may be boiled with the peas, Minestrone Soup Cut into small dice 2 leeks, 1 small onion, 1 small carrot, 3 small turnip, Y2 ‘stick celery, 1 small potato, also loz. lean bacon and %¥20z. fat bacon. Crush one clove garlic and fry all gently in loz. butter. Shred 20z. cabbage and cook with rest of vegetables in 2 pints good stock till soft. Simmer 30 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons cooked green peas, loz. tice or small macaroni and continue to cook slowly for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. Season to taste. Put in bottom of soup tureen 1 teacup of cream or top milk, pour in soup. Sprinkle %oz, grated cheese intod soup. Pumpkin Soup Two pounds pumpkin, small onion, butter and milk. Prepare the pumpkin, cut into small pieces and boil in salted water, with a small onion to flavour, When cooked strain off a little of the water; mash, then add a good tablespoon butter and milk to make up the required quantity. Add pepper and more salt if necessary and thicken with a little cornflour and milk. { Mulligatawny Soup Chop finely,2 onions and 1 apple, and fry to a nice brown in 1'%oz. melted butter. Add 1 tablespoon curry powder, 1 dessertspoon chutney and 2oz. flour. Mix well together, then add gradually 2 pints good stock, stirring well. Add 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 dessertspoon

sugar, 42 teacup rice and salt to taste. Stir till it boils and simmer 20 to 30 minutes. Serve the rice in the soup. Ox Tail Soup One ox-tail, a slice of ham, 1 carrot, 1 turnip, 2 small onions, 1142 quarts of water, loz. butter, 1 leek, 1 head of celery, 1 bunch herbs, 1 bay leaf, 4 cloves, 12 peppercorns, 1 dessertspoon salt, or to taste. Cut the tail into pieces and fry in pot with butter and sliced onion. Shake the pot occasionally to prevent sticking. Then add the sliced vegetables, the herbs, peppercorns and a cup of water. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add rest of cold water and salt. Simmer gently 2 or 3 hours, or until the tail is tender. Take out the tail, strain the soup, thicken with flour and put back some of the pieces of the meat. Re-heat. Kidney Soup One pound of kidney, 2 carrots, 1 turnip, 1 or 2 onions, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, 3 pints stock or water, Y2oz. flour, loz. butter, pepper and salt. Wash and cut the kidney and vegetables into small pieces and fry in the fat for about 5 minutes. Add the liquid, simmer for about an hour, thicken with the flour and add chopped parsley. Cream of Barley Soup A knuckle of veal about 2lbs., 30z. pearl barley, 4 pints cold water. Wash barley and soak overnight. Cut up the meat from knuckle and put it with bone into saucepan with water, 1 teaspoon

salt and the barley. Bring slowly to the boil, skim and simmer slowly 2 or 3 hours. Strain through sieve, rubbing through as much as possible of the meat and barley. Remove this to saucepan and add equal quantity of milk, or sufficient to make desired thickness.

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