Soup Without Meat
Take four or five cucumbers, according to their size, pare and cut them in small square pieces; three cupfuls of lettuce cut in shreds, two sprigs of mint, a little parsley, two or three small onions (all shredded), with a pint of young peas. Put all these herbs into a stewpan, with nearly a quarter of a pound of butter, some salt, and a little cayenne pepper. They must stew gently for an hour. Boil a pint of old peas in a full quart of water. When quite soft run them through a sieve, with a wooden spoon, then add them, together with the water they have been boiled in, to your stewed herbs, and let them all stew together a full half hour. This soup is all the better if it does not stand long before it is served up.
A green, garden-driven vegetable soup for meatless days — built cleverly on a base of puréed dried peas so it satisfies without any meat.
- “Old peas” vs. young peas“A pint of old peas” means mature/dried peas, boiled and puréed to make a hearty base; the “young peas” are fresh spring peas added for sweetness. Split peas work perfectly for the base.
- A whole herb gardenCucumber, lettuce, mint, parsley, and onion stew gently in butter — keep the heat low so they stay bright.
- Naturally vegetarianNo stock required; the pea purée carries it. Season assertively with salt and a little cayenne, since there’s no meat for depth.
- TextureLeave it slightly chunky, or blend smooth — either suits it.
“Soup without meat” is a plain name for an old necessity: meatless cooking for fast days and lean times. In a heavily Catholic city like New Orleans, Fridays and the weeks of Lent called for dishes exactly like this, and thrift called for them the rest of the year. The trick on display — building body from a purée of dried peas — is centuries old, the same logic that gives us pease pudding and split-pea soup.
From page 8 of the 1904 edition.
Original page from the book
