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Sago Soup without Meat
Wash a teacupful of sago and then boil for an hour in a quart of water, with a pinch of salt and a little cinnamon or lemon rind. At the end of the hour the water should be reduced to one-half. Add a pint of red wine, and some slices of lemon, and 5 tablespoonfuls of sugar. Let it all come to a boil, and when ready to serve, sprinkle the surface with powdered cinnamon or nutmeg. A Chowder differs from soup in being thicker,--more of the consistency of a stew,--though sometimes served as a soup course, and crackers are either added to the chowder while cooking or are put in when it is dished, instead of being served separately. For fish chowders, cod or haddock is best, though bass is also used; it should be a firm-fleshed fish, of a kind from which the bones may be easily removed--not one with many small bones.
A sweet wine soup of the Central European type, thickened with sago rather than flour. The one thing to watch is the sago itself: modern pearls swell far faster than the coarse older grades, and an hour of hard boiling turns the pot to glue.
- Sago and its substitutesSago is starch from the pith of the sago palm, sold as small white pearls. Pearl tapioca of the same size behaves almost identically and is easier to find; do not substitute instant or minute tapioca, which dissolves to paste.
- The hour of boilingProbably written for a coarser, harder sago than is generally sold now. Small modern pearls are usually translucent and tender in 20 to 30 minutes at a bare simmer. Judge by the pearls turning clear all the way through and the liquid reducing by half, not by the clock.
- Stir, and keep the heat lowSago settles and scorches. A heavy pan and an occasional stir from the bottom matter more here than anything else in the method.
- A teacupfulRoughly 6 fluid ounces by the usual reckoning, though teacup measures varied; about 3/4 cup dry. That is a generous amount of starch for a quart of water plus a pint of wine; use the smaller side of the measure if you want a soup rather than a pudding.
- The wineA dry red of no great distinction is right. It goes in after the starch is cooked, so it is only brought to a boil, and a fair amount of the alcohol remains. This is not a dish for children despite its sweetness.
- Sugar and lemonFive tablespoons in the roughly two pints the recipe finishes at (a pint of reduced water plus a pint of wine) is moderately sweet by modern taste. Add three, taste after the wine goes in, and adjust. Slice the lemon thin and remove the slices before serving so the pith does not turn things bitter.
- Whole spice in the first boilA cinnamon stick or a strip of pared lemon zest, added at the start and fished out later, gives cleaner flavour than ground cinnamon stirred in early, which clouds the soup.
- Yield and serviceAbout four to six cups, serving four. Traditionally served hot as a first course, but it is also good chilled, when the sago sets it to the thickness of a loose pudding.