The Skilful Cook Part 79

Stir and cook well.

Add the milk or cream and boil it in the soup.

Season with pepper and salt to taste, and serve with fried or toasted bread.

It is an improvement to this soup to cook a ham-bone with the rabbit, or a slice of lean pork.

Hare Soup.

_Ingredients_--1 hare.

1 lb. of gravy beef.

1 carrot, 1 turnip, and 1 onion.

1 sprig of parsley, thyme, and marjoram.

1 bay leaf.

1 dozen peppercorns.

1 blade of mace and 5 cloves.

2 or 3 oz. of b.u.t.ter or dripping.

7 pints of water.

_Method._--Cut the hare into joints, and the meat into pieces, and fry them in a stewpan in the b.u.t.ter or dripping.

Afterwards fry the vegetables in the same fat.

Then pour in the water, add the mace and pepper-corns, and simmer gently from four to five hours.

Strain the stock and let it get cold.

Remove the fat perfectly, and put it into a clean stewpan on the fire.

When it boils stir in a thickening of flour, using one ounce of flour to every pint of soup.

Cook the flour well, and add a little colouring if necessary.

Season to taste, and, just before serving, pour in two gla.s.ses of port wine.

Some forcemeat b.a.l.l.s should be served in the soup.

Make them with veal forcemeat, mixed with the liver of the hare finely chopped, and bake them in the oven.

Mulligatawny Soup.

_Ingredients_--1 rabbit or chicken.

2 quarts of second stock.

1 onion.

1 apple.

2 tablespoonfuls of curry powder.

pint of cream.

2 oz. of b.u.t.ter or dripping.

A few drops of lemon juice.

_Method._--Cut the rabbit, or chicken, into joints, and fry them in the b.u.t.ter or dripping.

Remove them when nicely browned, and fry the apple and onion.

Then put the apple, onion, and meat into a stewpan, with the stock, which should be mixed with the curry powder.

Simmer very gently for an hour and a half, until the meat is tender.

Then remove the meat from the stock, and cut it into neat pieces, convenient for serving in the soup, removing all the bone.

Thicken the soup with flour, using about one ounce to every pint of stock.

Boil the flour well in the stock, and then rub the soup through a wire sieve.

Put it into a stewpan, add the cream, and let it boil in the soup.

Put in the pieces of meat; and, just before serving, add a squeeze of lemon juice.

Serve nicely boiled rice with this soup (_see_ Rice for Curry).

Parsnip Soup.

_Ingredients_--2 quarts of stock.

2 lb. of parsnips.

If possible, pint of cream.

Pepper and salt to taste.

_Method._--Slice the parsnips and put them into boiling stock.

Simmer them for one hour, or more, until quite tender.

Then rub the soup through a wire sieve.

Add the cream to it, and pepper and salt to taste.

Put it into a clean stewpan.

Boil up once more and it is ready.

Serve with fried _croutons_ of bread.

Red Lentil Soup.

_Ingredients_--1 pint of Egyptian lentils.