VEGETARIAN COOKERY

Sorrel Soup.^ — Take some sorrel and wash it very thoroughly. Like spinach, it requires a great deal of cleansing. Drain it off and place the sorrel in a stew-pan, and keep stirring it with a wooden spoon. When it has dissolved and boiled for two or three minutes, let it drain on a sieve till the water has run off. Next cut up a large onion and fry it in a little butter, but do not brown the onion. Add a tablespoonful of flour to every two ounces of butter used, also a teaspoonful of sugar, a little grated nutmeg, also a little pepper and salt ; add the sorrel to this, with a small quantity of stock or water, then rub the whole through a wire sieve, and serve. In some parts of the Continent vinegar is added, but it is not adapted to English taste.

Sag^O Soup. — Take two ounces of sago, and having washed it very thoroughly, put it on to boil in a quart of stock strongly flavoured with onion, celory, and carrot, but which has been strained off. The sago must boil until it becomes quite trans- parent and tender. Flavour the soup with a little pepper and salt, a quarter of a nutmeg, grated, about half a teaspoonful of powdered sugar, and a teaspoonful of lemon juice from a hard lemon.

Sea-kale Soup. — This makes a very delicious soup, but it is somewhat rare. Take a bundle of sea-kale, the whiter the better. Throw it into boiling water, and let it boil for a few minutes, then take it out and drain it ; cut it up into small pieces and place it in a stew-pan with about two ounces of butter, add a little pepper and salt and grated nutmeg ; stir it up until the butter is thoroughly melted, but do not let it turn colour in the slightest degree. Add some milk, and let it simmer very gently for about half an hour. Rub the whole through a wire sieve, and add a small quantity of cream. Serve with toasted or fried bread.

Scotch Broth. — Take two or three ounces of pearl barley, wash it, and throw it into boiling water, and let it boil for five or ten minutes. Then drain it off and throw away the water. This is the only way to get pearl barley perfectly clean. Then put on the barley in some stock or water, and let it boil for four hours, till it is tender. Then add to it every kind of vegetable that is in season, such as onion, celery, carrot,

turnip, peas, French beans, cut up into small pieces, hearts of lettuces cut up. Flavour with pepper and salt and serve altogether. If possible add leeks to this soup instead of onion, and just before serving the soup throw in a brimming dessert- spoonful of chopped blanched parsley to every quart of soup. A pinch of thyme can also be added.

Spinach Soup. — Wash some young, freshly gathered spinach, cut it up with a lettuce, and, if possible, a few leaves of sorrel, and throw them into boiling water. Let them boil for five minutes, drain them off, and throw them into coid water in order to keep their colour. Next take them out of the water and squeeze all the moisture from them ; then melt two ounces of butter in a stew-pan, and add two tablespoonf uls of flour. "When this is thoroughly mixed together, and begins to frizzle, add the spinach, lettuce, &c., and stir them round and round in the stew-pan till all is well mixed together. Then add sufficient water or vegetable stock to moisten the vegetables (add also a pinch of thyme), and let it boil. When it has boiled for about twenty minutes add a quart of milk that has been boiled separately, flavour with pepper and salt, and serve.

Tapioca Soup. — Clear tapioca soup is made by thickening some ordinary clear soup (see Clear Soup) with tapioca, allow- ing about two ounces of tapioca to every quart. The tapioca should be put into the soup when it is cold, and it is then far less likely to get lumpy. Tapiooa can also be boiled iii a little strongly flavoured stock that has not been coloured, and then add some boiling milk. Tapioca should be allowed to simmer for an hour and a half. Of course, a little cream is a great improvement when the soup is made with milk.

Tomato Soup.— This is a very delicate soup, and the endeavour should be to try and retain the flavour of the tomato. Slice up an onion, or better still two shallots, and fry them in a little butter, to which can be added a broken-up, dried bay-leaf, a saltspoonful of thyme, and a very small quantity of grated nutmeg, Fry these in a little butter till the onion begins to turn colour, and then add a dozen ripe toma- toes from which the pips have been squeezed. Moisten with a very little stock or water, and let them stew till they