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Cream of Potato
3 medium-sized potatoes; 11/2 pints milk; 1 egg; 1 tablespoon butter. Salt and pepper and finely minced parsley.
Pare the potatoes and , if the time is very limited, cut them in quarters to boil more quickly. As soon as done, pour off the water and mash, and put through a sieve or potato ricer. Have the milk hot, add the potato, bring to a boil, and add the seasoning; beat the egg until very foamy, and add at the last moment, stirring quickly to prevent any lumpiness. Garnish with the parsley, about a teaspoonful. Serve with hot saltines or any thin wafer. All crackers or toast should be crisp when served with soups; the crispness means only a few minutes in a hot oven, and is one of the little points that should not be overlooked. A little celery salt may be added, or a few drops of onion juice, or both.
A plain milk-and-potato soup thickened at the end with beaten egg. The hinge is the egg: it goes in off the heat and must not be allowed to boil, or it will scramble into threads instead of enriching the soup.
- The milk quantityThe original reads 1 1/2 pints, which is 3 cups. Whole milk gives the intended body; skim will taste thin against the potato.
- PotatoesThree medium potatoes is roughly 1 to 1 1/4 lb. Use a starchy variety such as russet, which rices dry and fluffy; waxy potatoes turn gluey when pushed through a sieve.
- Sieve or ricerA ricer or food mill is what the recipe intends. Do not use a blender or food processor on cooked potato, which bursts the starch cells and produces a gummy paste.
- Adding the eggPull the pan off the heat first, then whisk a ladle of the hot soup into the beaten egg to temper it before returning the mixture to the pot. Stir constantly and do not let it return to a boil.
- Holding and reheatingOnce the egg is in, keep the soup below a simmer, around 180F. It will not reheat well the next day without curdling; make what will be eaten.
- Onion juiceAn old shortcut for onion flavour without pieces: grate half an onion and press the pulp in a sieve, using only the liquid. A teaspoon is plenty for this quantity.
- Crisping the crackersThe recipe asks only for 'a few minutes in a hot oven'. Spread them in a single layer and watch them, as they colour suddenly.
- YieldThree cups of milk plus the potato gives a quart or rather more, which is four to five small first-course servings or two to three generous bowls.