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Leek Soup
Into a quart of boiling broth sift gradually 2 tablespoonfuls of oatmeal, stirring briskly, as if making mush. Add as many leeks as required for the number to be served, and boil until they are tender; stirring occasionally from the bottom until the oatmeal ceases to settle. It should be of a creamy consistency. Take it from the fire and stir in the yolks of 2 eggs, well beaten, and mix with a little of the soup and serve at once.
A thin leek soup thickened twice over: first with oatmeal, then with egg yolks off the heat. The second thickening is where it succeeds or curdles.
- The hinge: yolks off the fireBeat the yolks, slacken them with a few spoonfuls of the hot soup, then stir that back into the pot after it has come off the burner. If the soup returns to a boil at any point after the yolks go in, it will scramble into threads and cannot be recovered.
- What "oatmeal" meantIn a book of this period oatmeal most likely means pinhead or medium-cut oats rather than rolled flakes, though rolled oats were on sale by the turn of the century; the instruction to sift it in gradually, as if making mush, points to a cut or ground meal. Cut oats will need roughly 20-30 minutes to soften and thicken; rolled oats will do the job in about 10 but give a softer, less nutty body. Two tablespoons to a quart is a light thickening, not a porridge.
- "As many leeks as required"Reckon one medium leek per person, white and pale green only, sliced thin. For a quart of broth that means two or three leeks, which is also about the most the liquid will carry.
- Wash the leeks properlySlice first, then swish the rings in a bowl of cold water and lift them out, leaving the grit behind. Grit trapped between the layers is the usual fault in leek soup and no amount of simmering removes it.
- TimingSliced leeks are tender in 15-20 minutes of gentle simmering. Beyond that they lose their sweetness and go grey; if the oatmeal needs longer, start it first and add the leeks part way through.
- Stirring from the bottomThe instruction is literal. Oatmeal sinks and scorches on a thin pan, and a scorched patch flavours the whole quart. A heavy-bottomed pan and a flat wooden spoon or spatula are worth more here than frequent stirring.
- SeasoningThe recipe assumes a well-seasoned broth and adds nothing. Taste before the yolks go in and correct with salt and white pepper; a scrape of nutmeg suits the oatmeal.
- YieldA quart with two or three leeks serves three as a first course, two as a light supper.