Home › The Principles of Cookery › Eel Soup, White

Eel Soup, White

Set a saucepan of water on the fire; season with salt, whole pepper, a blade of mace, a strip of lemon-peel, and a bunch of the most fragrant sweet herbs at command. When it boils, throw in the eels. As soon as they are done enough (and they are spoiled if done too much)--just enough to let the flesh come away from the bone-take them out, split them in two, and remove the bone. Each length of eel will thus make two pieces, which should be left entire. Set them aside. Chop finely three or four white onions. Roll a lump of butter in flour; put it into a stewpan with the onions; moisten gradually with a little of the eel broth. When the onions are tender, add the rest of the liquor (removing the herbs and the lemon-peel), stirring it in gradually, with a tea-cupful of fresh milk. Throw in the eel meats, and set the soup aside until they are hot through. While they are so heating, you may further thicken with a couple of egg-yolks well worked into a little of the liquor. Taste if it is sufficiently seasoned. You will find an almost imperceptible dust of sugar an improvement. In fact, most white soups, even when seasoned with salt, are the better for a sprinkling with sugar.