PARSNIP SOUP

141. INGREDIENTS.--1 lb. of sliced parsnips, 2 oz. of butter, salt and cayenne to taste, 1 quart of stock No. 106.

_Mode_.--Put the parsnips into the stewpan with the butter, which has been previously melted, and simmer them till quite tender. Then add nearly a pint of stock, and boil together for half an hour. Pass all through a fine strainer, and put to it the remainder of the stock. Season, boil, and serve immediately.

_Time_.--2 hours. _Average cost_, 6d. per quart.

_Seasonable_ from October to April.

_Sufficient_ for 4 persons.

THE PARSNIP.--This is a biennial plant, with a root like a carrot, which, in nutritive and saccharine matter, it nearly equals. It is a native of Britain, and, in its wild state, may be found, in many parts, growing by the road-sides. It is also to be found, generally distributed over Europe; and, in Catholic countries, is mostly used with salt fish, in Lent. In Scotland it forms an excellent dish, when beat up with butter and potatoes; it is, also, excellent when fried. In Ireland it is found to yield, in conjunction with the hop, a pleasant beverage; and it contains as much spirit as the carrot, and makes an excellent wine. Its proportion of nutritive matter is 99 parts in 1,000; 9 being mucilage and 90 sugar.

PEA SOUP (GREEN).

142. INGREDIENTS.--3 pints of green peas, 1/4 lb. of butter, 2 or three thin slices of ham, 6 onions sliced, 4 shredded lettuces, the crumb of 2 French rolls, 2 handfuls of spinach, 1 lump of sugar, 2 quarts of common stock.

_Mode_.--Put the butter, ham, 1 quart of the peas, onions, and lettuces, to a pint of stock, and simmer for an hour; then add the remainder of the stock, with the crumb of the French rolls, and boil for another hour. Now boil the spinach, and squeeze it very dry. Rub the soup through a sieve, and the spinach with it, to colour it. Have ready a pint of _young_ peas boiled; add them to the soup, put in the sugar, give one boil, and serve. If necessary, add salt.

_Time_.--2-1/2 hours. _Average cost_, 1s. 9d. per quart.

_Seasonable_ from June to the end of August.

_Sufficient_ for 10 persons.

_Note_.--It will be well to add, if the peas are not quite young, a little sugar. Where economy is essential, water may be used instead of stock for this soup, boiling in it likewise the pea-shells; but use a double quantity of vegetables.

WINTER PEA SOUP (YELLOW).

143. INGREDIENTS.--1 quart of split peas, 2 lbs. of shin of beef, trimmings of meat or poultry, a slice of bacon, 2 large carrots, 2 turnips, 5 large onions, 1 head of celery, seasoning to taste, 2 quarts of soft water, any bones left from roast meat, 2 quarts of common stock, or liquor in which a joint of meat has been boiled.

_Mode_.--Put the peas to soak over-night in soft water, and float off such as rise to the top. Boil them in the water till tender enough to pulp; then add the ingredients mentioned above, and simmer for 2 hours, stirring it occasionally. Pass the whole through a sieve, skim well, season, and serve with toasted bread cut in dice.

_Time_.--4 hours. _Average cost_, 6d. per quart. _Seasonable_ all the year round, but more suitable for cold weather. _Sufficient_ for 12 persons.

THE PEA.--It is supposed that the common gray pea, found wild in Greece, and other parts of the Levant, is the original of the common garden pea, and of all the domestic varieties belonging to it. The gray, or field pea, called _bisallie_ by the French, is less subject to run into varieties than the garden kinds, and is considered by some, perhaps on that account, to be the wild plant, retaining still a large proportion of its original habit. From the tendency of all other varieties "to run away" and become different to what they originally were, it is very difficult to determine the races to which they belong. The pea was well known to the Romans, and, probably, was introduced to Britain at an early period; for we find peas mentioned by Lydgate, a poet of the 15th century, as being hawked in London. They seem, however, for a considerable time, to have fallen out of use; for, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Fuller tells us they were brought from Holland, and were accounted "fit dainties for ladies, they came so far and cost so dear." There are some varieties of peas which have no lining in their pods, which are eaten cooked in the same way as kidney-beans. They are called _sugar_ peas, and the best variety is the large crooked sugar, which is also very good, used in the common way, as a culinary vegetable. There is also a white sort, which readily splits when subjected to the action of millstones set wide apart, so as not to grind them. These are used largely for soups, and especially for sea-stores. From the quantity of farinaceous and saccharine matter contained in the pea, it is highly nutritious as an article of food.

PEA SOUP (inexpensive).

144. INGREDIENTS.--1/4 lb. of onions, 1/4 lb. of carrots, 2 oz. of celery, 3/4 lb. of split peas, a little mint, shred fine; 1 tablespoonful of coarse brown sugar, salt and pepper to taste, 4 quarts of water, or liquor in which a joint of meat has been boiled.

_Mode_.--Fry the vegetables for 10 minutes in a little butter or dripping, previously cutting them up in small pieces; pour the water on them, and when boiling add the peas. Let them simmer for nearly 3 hours, or until the peas are thoroughly done. Add the sugar, seasoning, and mint; boil for 1/4 of an hour, and serve.

_Time_.--3-1/2 hours. _Average cost_, 1-1/2d. per quart.

_Seasonable_ in winter.

_Sufficient_ for 12 persons.