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POTAGE (a la Crecy)

A superlative carrot soup. Slice off the red part of a dozen large carrots, and put them into a stewpan, with two ounces of butter, a large lump of sugar, three good-sized onions, two turnips, a dozen peppercorns, a quarter of a pound of uncooked lean ham, the outer sticks of two heads of celery, and four leeks. Cover, then sweat the vegetables over a gentle fire for ten minutes. Shake the saucepan to keep the contents from burning. Pour over them a quart of cold stock or water, and let them simmer gently for two hours, or until the vegetables are quite tender. Strain off the soup, and with a wooden spoon press the vegetables through a sieve. Mix the pulp again with the stock, season with pepper and salt, put it back into the stewpan, and let it boil. Draw it to the side of the fire for a few minutes, and skim off the fat as it rises to the surface. Add pepper and salt, and serve. Send toasted sippets to table in a separate dish. If there is no stock at hand, and water has to be used for the soup, a table-spoonful of Bovril should be added to it. Time, three hours and a half. Probable cost, 8d. per pint. Sufficient for six persons.