Image from the Smithsonian's collection of seed company catalogs.
I went looking for a cream of lettuce soup recipe for last week and came across this one from 1900 on Click Americana. Miss Crowley seems to be confident that her readers are experienced cooks and don't need any further instructions:
CREAM OF LETTUCE SOUP
2 heads lettuce
2 onions
Milk
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 tablespoonful white pepper
Grating nutmeg
Pinch of soda
A little parsley
1 beaten egg
Put on and boil twenty minutes; also put on boiler half full of milk and boil.
Strain lettuce, etc. and put in a half tablespoonful of white pepper and a grating of nutmeg. Cream a one inch slice of butter (off the square) with two tablespoonfuls flour. Put half in the milk and half in soup. Mix all together, and just before serving add a pinch of soda. Salt to taste, and add a beaten egg.
Well, that certainly leaves a lot to the imagination, doesn't it? I count dirtying three pots - one for the lettuce, onion and water, one to heat the milk, and one to make the roux. I'd think something other than iceberg lettuce would be preferable. That stuff is OK on sandwiches, but it certainly doesn't have much flavor. (BTW, I never did find a recipe for cucumber soup.)
ReplyDeleteWhy the pinch of soda?
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of my grandma's recipes which say things like: take a knob of butter the size of a walnut and a teacup of flour.