3. SOUP OF THE EVENING

Few people, it seems, eat soup any longer. In our diet-conscious lives, many diners save their calorie-allowance for the main dish—but a clever gourmet chef never overlooks the possibilities in soup.

Of all the packaged foods available today, soup is probably the easiest to trick up into a replica of grandmother's stock-pot. Almost anything can be used for soup—and almost any of these things is available either in tins or powders.

Hot soups replace an appetizer on a cold night; chilled soups, flanked by a chefs salad, are just right on a warm evening. Hearty soups, full of meat and vegetables and accompanied by plenty of garlic bread, are superb for Sun­day nights, and for the lucky people within reach of a country garden, fresh vegetable soups are memorable for a quick supper after a day at the beach.

1. For richness of taste in cream soups, use milk in place of water—or cream in place of milk—in the amounts directed.
   
   
2. An authentic petite marmite takes time—but onion soup makes a good substitute.
   
   
3. Fresh vegetable soups require only cream and milk, plenty of butter, and almost any lightly cooked fresh vege­table . . .
   
   
4. For emergencies, combine two cans of almost any con­ceivable condensed soup, dilute with milk or water-and-wine, and create a satisfying dish.

For a fancy effect, hot soup should be served from a tureen at table—and the buffet dishes warmed by a candle are so impressive that people who thought they didn't like soup will eat two plates full!

FRESH VEGETABLE SOUPS

In any section of our country, according to season, there will be local fresh vegetables—and all will make delicious gourmet soups very simply. For instance . . .

FRESH CRAM OF TOMATO

6-8 sun-ripened tomatoes, peeled and quartered

4 tsp sugar

2 finely minced white onions

salt, pepper, butter, fresh minced parsley

2 T butter

½ cup heavy cream

Saute onions in butter until soft but not brown, add toma­toes and simmer 15 minutes. Add sugar, salt, pepper, and milk, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Prepare soup bowls with a teaspoon of butter and 2 table­spoons of cream in each. Pour hot soup into bowls, and garnish with minced parsley.

The same general process works equally well with almost any local sun-ripened vegetables: fresh green peas, asparagus tips, tiny Brussels sprouts, little carrots or lima beans, fresh corn kernels or tiny string beans. . . .

SQUASH SOUP

1 package frozen squash(or 2 slices peeled pumpkin, steamed soft and pureed)

2 cups milk

2 cups heavy cream

1 grated white onion

½ cup vermicelli(optional)

2 T butter

salt, pepper, minced parsley

Place squash, milk, cream and onion in the top of a double boiler, and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring to mix occasion­ally.

Meanwhile boil the vermicelli for 15 minutes in water to cover. When tender, drain thoroughly and add to the squash puree, together with 2 T butter, season to taste with a little salt and pepper, and serve with a garnish of minced parsley.

MUSHROOM SOUP

1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced thinly

2 cups milk

3 shallots, minced

2 T butter

1 cup heavy cream

4 egg yolks

½ cup sweet sherry

salt, pepper, and butter

Marinate the mushrooms in the milk, while you saute the shallots in butter (for 5 minutes). Combine in a deep sauce-pot, add the cream, salt and pepper to taste, and hold it at a slow boil for 25 minutes.

Prepare 4 soup bowls with an egg yolk and 2 tablespoons of sherry in each. Pour the hot soup into each bowl, stirring rapidly to distribute the egg yolk and sherry into the soup. Garnish with fresh minced parsley if you wish.

OYSTER STEW

4 minced shallots(or scallions) 4 T butter

1½ dozen oysters with their liquor(or 2 tins drained oysters)

2 cups milk

2 cups heavy cream

pepper, salt

2 glasses dry sherry

4 teaspoons butter

Simmer shallots in 4 tablespoons of butter for 5 minutes, add oysters and liquor. Bring to a boil, add milk and cream, salt and pepper. Simmer 2 minutes, add sherry, and again bring to the boil.

Place a teaspoon of butter in each serving bowl, pour soup over, and serve with Parmesan cheese toast.

PEA SOUP

2 packages frozen peas  

4 T butter

1 large minced onion 

2 tsp cornstarch, dissolved in 2 T milk

1 cup milk  

1 cup heavy cream 30

Boil the peas and onion together until soft; drain and puree. Add milk, cream and butter, place in a double boiler and let come to a boil. Thicken with the cornstarch mixture, and cook gently for 5 minutes, stirring smoothly. Season with salt, pepper and paprika to taste.

CRAB SPECIALITE

A very special richly delicious soup, to be followed by a chef’s salad, fresh fruit and coffee.

½ pound fresh crab meat – or 1 can cleaned Geisha crab meat

½ cup dry sherry

½ can condensed pea soup

½ can condensed tomato soup

1 cup heavy cream

Mix the crabmeat with sherry and let it stand. Combine soups and cream and bring to a boil very slowly.

Reduce heat sharply, add the crabmeat and sherry, and simmer for 10 minutes, adding a little extra milk or cream if the soup is too thick.

Serve in soup bowls with a tablespoon of dry sherry added to each.

AVGOLEMONO

A Greek chicken-lemon soup, extremely simple to make.

5 cups chicken bouillon(dissolve soup packets in 5 cups of water, or use tinned consommé)

¼ cup plain rice

2 eggs

juice of a lemon

seasonings(salt, pepper, paprika)

Bring the bouillon to a boil, add rice and simmer 20 min­utes. Meanwhile, beat eggs with lemon juice; add 1/4cup of the hot bouillon and blend, stirring constantly.

Remove the soup pot from heat and combine with egg-lemon mixture, season with salt, pepper and paprika, and serve very hot.

This soup may be kept hot for a few minutes, but should never be allowed to boil again after the egg mixture has been added.

SOUR CREAM SOUP – A typically Russian dish

6 cups chicken stock(or 6 packs MBT chicken Consomme powder dissolved in 6 cups hot water)

1 teaspoon cumin seed

3 boiled potatoes, peeled and diced

1 cup sour cream

1 cup sweet heavy cream

1 T flour

salt, pepper

Combine stock, seasonings and cumin seed in a saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer 10 minutes. Make a smooth paste of the flour and sour cream; pour a cup of hot stock onto it, beating until smooth, and add this mixture to the pot of stock. Stir thoroughly, add the sweet cream and potatoes, and simmer 10 minutes over very low heat. Do not allow the soup to boil after adding the sweet cream. Serve hot.

BEER SOUP

This is a hearty soup from Middle Europe, to be served with pumpernickel.

1 quart beer

1 quart water

1 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons sugar

3 egg yolks

Combine beer and water, bring to a boil, and add sugar and butter. Simmer for 25 minutes. Beat egg yolks thor­oughly; add cream and beat again very thoroughly. Finally add a little of the hot beer to cream and egg mixture—very slowly, stirring constantly to prevent curdling. Return the mixture to the saucepan, and heat for 5 minutes, but do not allow the soup to boil.

SNOWPEA SOUP

1 pound of snowpeas(or very young fresh peas in pods)

1 small Boston lettuce

2 small white onions

1 handful of fresh spinach(about a cup)

1 T flour

2 T butter

2 cups boiling water

2 cups thin cream

salt, pepper, sugar

1 sprig of fresh mint(½ tsp dried mint)

Coarsely chop all the vegetables and fresh mint—use peas without shelling.

Melt butter, add vegetables and stir occasionally for about 5 minutes over low heat. Sprinkle flour over vegetables and stir gently until all is absorbed and smooth.

Add boiling water very gradually, stirring constantly to prevent flour lumps. Add the milk, stir smooth, and season to taste with salt, pepper, and a generous pinch of sugar.

Simmer 20 minutes, strain into soup cups, and top with a dusting of paprika.

AVOCADO SOUP

½ dried chili pepper

3 large avocados

2 cups chicken consommé

1 cup heavy cream

½ tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

Mix the crumbled chili pepper with the meat of 2 avocados, and crush to a pulp with a potato masher. Force this mixture through a sieve into the top of a double boiler, and add the chicken broth (either a can of consomme or dissolved packets of MBT). Heat over direct heat until the soup boils, then place over hot water; add the cream, mix thoroughly, cover and again heat to boiling point. Skin and seed the third avo­cado and cut into small chunks. At the last moment before serving, add these chunks to the soup, plus salt and pepper.

CLAM BROTH

12 Cherrystone clams

3 shallots

2 cups water

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

1 cup heavy whipped cream

Place scrubbed clams in a deep sauce pot, sprinkle with olive oil, add water, parsley and minced shallots. Steam the clams open over a medium flame (10-15 minutes), while whipping the cream. Then strain the clam broth into 4 cups, add three shelled clams to each serving, top with a generous tablespoon of the whipped cream, dusted with paprika.

COLD SOUPS are for warm evenings, to be followed by an omelet, salad, fresh fruit and coffee.

All cold soups are two-step cookery, of course, since they require time to chill.

GAZPACHO

There are many methods of making this famous Spanish cold cucumber soup; all are good.

Gazpacho de Malaga

4 cups chicken consommé(soup packets dissolved in water)

2 cloves of garlic, pressed

1 small white onion, grated

1 large ripe tomato, peeled and seed removed

1 cucumber, peeled and seeded

½ sweet red pepper, seeds removed

4 T cooked rice

2 T olive oil

Dice tomato, cucumber and red pepper; combine all the ingredients, mix thoroughly and chill overnight.

Gazpacho de Cordoba

2 peeled seeded cucumbers, finely cubed

2 cloves pressed garlic

2 T olive oil

2 cups water

2 cups heavy cream

2 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp salt

Mix garlic, cucumbers and olive oil; let stand.

Bring water to a boil, add salt, and cornstarch mixed to a smooth paste with 3 tablespoons of cold water. Stir until thick and smooth.

Pour cornstarch mixture over cucumbers. Cool, and slowly add the cream, stirring constantly. Chill overnight and serve ice-cold.

TARATA

A Levantine version of Gazpacho, substituting eggplant for the cucumbers.

2 green peppers, skinned and seeded

2 small eggplants, skinned and seeded

6 T olive oil

3 cups yoghurt

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

2 cloves of garlic, pressed

a pinch each of Cayenne and powdered mint

Cooked minced peppers and eggplants in oil very gently for about 15 minutes; do not brown. When soft, mash finely, and mix with all other ingredients. Chill overnight and serve ice-cold.

COLD FRUIT SOUP—typically Scandinavian

1 medium-sized tin each: prunes, apricots, pears

1 cinnamon stick

2 T cornstarch, mixed to a paste with a little cold and chopped water

3 tart apples, peeled, cored

Combine fruits (with their juices), apple and cinnamon, and add 1 cup water. Simmer very gently until the fruit is extremely mushy (about 10 minutes). Force through a sieve into a saucepan, add the cornstarch mixed with water, bring to a boil and stir smoothly, cooking for 2 minutes. Cool over­night before serving.

NOTE: Almost any fruit can be used for the cold Scandina­vian fruit soups: cherries, strawberries, raspberries—even peaches or nectarines . . . but the basic theory is always the same: Reduce the fruit to a mush with enough water to aid in extracting the natural juice; sweeten to taste (if you are using fresh fruit); spice with a cinnamon stick or 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg; thicken with cornstarch and water. Chill overnight, and serve with a few bits of fresh fruit.

ICED SHRIMP SOUP

1 pound cooked shrimp

3 cups water

3 tablespoons bread crumbs

1 tablespoon grated lemon rind

1 cup white wine

1 egg yolk

½ cup heavy cream

1 tsp fresh minced chives

2 tsp fresh minced parsley

⅓cup cucumber

salt and pepper

Reserve 8 shrimp for garnishing; grind the remainder or pound in a mortar. Combine ground shrimps with water, wine, bread crumbs, lemon rind, and generous pinch of ground nutmeg in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, and cook for 7 min­utes, stirring constantly. Strain through a fine sieve and re­turn to low heat.

Beat together the egg yolk and cream and add, stirring gently. Heat until shrimp soup thickens slightly but do not allow to boil. Finally, remove from fire; cool, add the chives, parsley and peeled diced cucumber. Chill overnight in the refrigerator, and serve with a garnish of the remaining shrimps, coarse-chopped, plus a large tablespoon of sour cream or yoghurt.

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