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Winter Soup

Break into small pieces the bones of a joint of roast beef which weighed six or seven pounds before it was roasted. Put these into a stewpan, pour over them four quarts of cold water, or the liquor in which fresh beef or mutton has been boiled, and add two large onions sliced, a tea-spoonful of whole pepper, and a dessert-spoonful of salt. Bring the liquor to the boil, skim it carefully, draw it back, and let it simmer gently till the bones are quite clean. Strain the liquor, let it get cold, and free it entirely from fat. Wash and scrape eight large carrots. Slice the red part only very thinly. Put the slices into a stewpan with three or four sticks of celery cut up small and a turnip cut into dice. Place a large lump of dripping or fresh butter upon the vegetables, cover the saucepan closely, and steam the vegetables for a quarter of an hour or more. Shake the saucepan occasionally to keep them from burning. Pour over them as much of the stock from the bones as will cover them, and let them simmer till quite tender. Rub them through a hair sieve. Add to the pulp as much stock as will make the soup of the consistency of thick cream; let it boil again, add salt and pepper to taste, and serve very hot. Very small suet dumplings, lightly made and boiled separately in water, are sometimes served in winter soups. Time, four hours to simmer the bones. Probable cost, exclusive of the bones, 10d. Sufficient for ten or twelve persons.