Break up a pound of macaroni in three-inch lengths, boil as usual and drain. Put into a stew-pan a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, the macaroni, twelve ounces of Parmesan and Gruyere cheese mixed, and about a quarter of a pint of some good sauce, white sauce. Move the stew-pan and its contents over the fire until the macaroni has absorbed the butter, etc., then turn it out on a dish, which should be garnished with croutons of fried bread. Pile it in the shape of a dome, cover with bread-raspings, a little clarified butter run through a colander, and brown very lightly with a salamander. N.B.--The above two recipes are taken from "Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery."
Take four dozen chestnuts and peel them. This will be a very long process if we attempt to take off the skins while they are raw; but in order to save time and trouble, place the chestnuts in a stew-pan with a couple of ounces of butter. Place them on a slack fire and occasionally give them a stir. Heat them gradually till the husks come off without any difficulty. Having removed all the husks, add sufficient stock or water to the chestnuts, and let them boil gently till they are tender. Then pound them in a mortar and rub them through a wire sieve. Add a very little brown roux, if the soup is to be brown, and a few drops of Parisian essence (burnt sugar), or a little white roux and a little cream if the soup is to be white. Add also a little pepper and salt, sufficient butter to make the puree taste soft, and a little powdered sugar. Fried and toasted bread should be served with the soup.
1-1/2 pints of milk, 1 egg, 1 tablespoonful of Allinson fine wheatmeal, 1-1/2 oz. of sultanas, sugar to taste. Boil 1-1/4 pints of milk, add the sugar, beat up the egg with the rest of the milk and mix the wheatmeal smooth with it; stir this into the boiling milk, add the sultanas, and let the soup simmer for 10 minutes.
Boil a quart of ordinary broad-beans in some stock or water with an onion, carrot and celery. Remove the skins when the beans are tender and rub the beans through a wire sieve. Colour the soup with a little spinach extract--(vegetable colouring, sold in bottles)--add a little piece of butter, a little powdered sugar, pepper and salt. The amount of stock or water must depend upon whether it is wished to have the puree thick or thin. Some purees are made as thick as bread sauce, while some persons prefer them much thinner. This is purely a matter of taste.
Put a quart of red haricot beans into soak overnight, and put a little piece of soda in the water to soften it. The next morning put the beans on to boil in three quarts of water, with some carrot, celery and onion, or the beans can be boiled in some stock made from these vegetables. After the beans are tender, pound them in a mortar, and then rub the whole through a wire sieve, after first removing the carrot, celery and onion. Add a teaspoonful of pounded sugar and about two ounces of butter. Fried or toasted bread should be served with the soup. If the soup is liked thin, of course more water can be added.
1 medium-sized cabbage, 1 lb. of potatoes, 1 oz. of butter, 3 pints of milk and water equal parts, pepper and salt to taste, 1 dessertspoonful of finely chopped parsley, and 2 blades of mace, and 1 dessertspoonful of Allinson fine wheatmeal. Wash the cabbage and shred it finely, peel the potatoes and cut them into small dice; boil the vegetables in the milk and water until quite tender, adding the mace, butter, and seasoning. When quite soft, rub the wheatmeal smooth with a little water, let it simmer with the soup for 5 minutes, add the parsley, and serve.
2 oz. of rice, 1 breakfastcupful of shelled green peas, 1 pint of milk, 1 quart of water, 1 oz. of butter. Boil the rice in the water for 10 minutes, add the peas, the butter and pepper and salt to taste. Let it cook until the rice and peas are tender, add the milk and boil the soup up before serving.
1/2 lb. of sorrel, 1-1/2 lbs. of potatoes, 1 oz. of butter, pepper and salt, 3 pints of water. Pick, wash, and chop fine the sorrel, peel and cut up in slices the potatoes, and set both over the fire with the water, butter, and seasoning to taste; when the potatoes are quite tender, pass the soup through a sieve. Serve with sippets of toast.
1 large cabbage, 1 pint of mashed potatoes, 2 oz. of grated cheese, 2 eggs, 1 oz. of butter, 1/2 saltspoonful of nutmeg, pepper and salt to taste. Boil the cabbage in 1 pint of water until quite tender, drain the water off to keep for stock, chop the cabbage up fine; mix it with the mashed potatoes, the butter and seasoning and the grated cheese; beat up the eggs, and mix these well with the rest; press the mixture into a greased mould, heat all well through in the oven or in a steamer, turn out and serve with a white sauce. This can be made from cold potatoes and cold cabbage.
Take half a dozen or more fine large leeks, and after trimming off the green part, throw them into boiling water for five minutes, then drain them off and dry them. Cut them into pieces about half an inch long, and stew them gently in a little butter till they are tender. Add three pints of milk, and let two bay-leaves boil in the milk, flavour with pepper and salt, and add a suspicion of grated nutmeg. Thicken the soup with a little white roux and take the crust of a French roll. Cut this up into small pieces or rings. The rings can be made by simply scooping out the crumb, and cutting the roll across. When the leeks have boiled in the milk till they are quite tender, pour the soup over the crusts placed at the bottom of the soup-tureen. Some cooks add blanched parsley. Of course, cream would be a great improvement.
