Winter Vegetable Soup ORIGINAL RECIPE To every gallon of water allow, when cut down small, a quart of the following vegetables, equal quantities of turnip, carrots, and potatoes, three onions, two heads of celery, and a bunch of sweet herbs; fry them brown in one-quarter of a pound of butter, add the water with the salt & pepper, and boil it till reduced to three quarts and serve it with fried toasted bread. SOURCE The Practice of Cookery: Adapted to the Business of Every Day Life MODERN ADAPTATION 3 large onions 2-3 turnips 3-4 large carrots 2-3 potatoes (the waxier ones hold their texture better) 1 head of celery water sweet herbs: parsley, sage, savory, thyme… salt & pepper 1/2 to 1 stick of butter water Chop all veggies into even, bitesized pieces—for a nicer soup peel and cut the veggies small, for a more “rustic” family soup leave larger, unpeeled pieces. Melt butter in a soup pot over medium-high heat—a stick of butter makes for the tastiest soup but you can make due with less. Add onions and celery and cook until slightly soft, this will provide much of the flavor for your soup stock. Salt to taste. Add remaining veggies and cook, stirring for 8-10 minutes letting the veggies brown a bit. Add enough water to cover, reduce heat to medium and let simmer until veggies are fork-tender. Season to taste with salt, pepper and sweet herbs and serve with fried bread* *Fried bread — much like croutons, can be easily made by browning buttered bread in a hot skillet. Seasoned with salt and pepper these little morsels are a nice addition to many soups. Note from Victoria, Coordinator of Households and Foodways: I love Winter Veggie Soup! We make it in the households at Old Sturbridge Village, I make it at home; it’s a simple, easy and pleases almost everyone. Though the receipt calls for specific vegetables, most root vegetables could be easily added or substituted based on what you like or have on hand. I personally love adding parsnips and Jerusalem artichokes to mine, particularly in the spring when we can start digging up the ones we let overwinter in the garden and add them to the vegetables stored in the root cellar. What will make in into yours? Happy cooking! INGREDIENTS - 3 large onions - 2-3 turnips - 3-4 large carrots - 2-3 potatoes (the waxier ones hold their texture better) - 1 head of celery - water - sweet herbs: parsley, sage, savory, thyme… - salt & pepper - 1/2 to 1 stick of butter - water - *Fried bread — much like croutons, can be easily made by browning buttered bread in a hot skillet. Seasoned with salt and pepper these little morsels are a nice addition to many soups. - Note from Victoria, Coordinator of Households and Foodways: - I love Winter Veggie Soup! We make it in the households at Old Sturbridge Village, I make it at home; it’s a simple, easy and pleases almost everyone. Though the receipt calls for specific vegetables, most root vegetables could be easily added or substituted based on what you like or have on hand. I personally love adding parsnips and Jerusalem artichokes to mine, particularly in the spring when we can start digging up the ones we let overwinter in the garden and add them to the vegetables stored in the root cellar. What will make in into yours? Happy cooking! INSTRUCTIONS 1. Chop all veggies into even, bitesized pieces—for a nicer soup peel and cut the veggies small, for a more “rustic” family soup leave larger, unpeeled pieces. 2. Melt butter in a soup pot over medium-high heat—a stick of butter makes for the tastiest soup but you can make due with less. 3. Add onions and celery and cook until slightly soft, this will provide much of the flavor for your soup stock. Salt to taste. 4. Add remaining veggies and cook, stirring for 8-10 minutes letting the veggies brown a bit. 5. Add enough water to cover, reduce heat to medium and let simmer until veggies are fork-tender. 6. Season to taste with salt, pepper and sweet herbs and serve with fried bread* Non-personal archive pmurad August 11, 2009 at 10:26 AM