Cassell's Vegetarian Cookery: A Manual of Cheap and Wholesome Diet

small pieces, hearts of lettuces cut up. Flavour with pepper and salt and serve altogether. If possible add leeks to this soup instead of onion, and just before serving the soup throw in a brimming dessertspoonful of chopped blanched parsley to every quart of soup. A pinch of thyme can also be added. SPINACH SOUP.--Wash some young, freshly gathered spinach, cut it up with a lettuce, and, if possible, a few leaves of sorrel, and throw them into boiling water. Let them boil for five minutes, drain them off, and throw them into cold water in order to keep their colour. Next take them out of the water and squeeze all the moisture from them; then melt two ounces of butter in a stew-pan, and add two tablespoonfuls of flour. When this is thoroughly mixed together, and begins to frizzle, add the spinach, lettuce, &c., and stir them round and round in the stew-pan till all is well mixed together. Then add sufficient water or vegetable stock to moisten the vegetables (add also a pinch of thyme), and let it boil. When it has boiled for about twenty minutes add a quart of milk that has been boiled separately, flavour with pepper and salt, and serve. TAPIOCA SOUP.--Clear tapioca soup is made by thickening some ordinary clear soup (_see_ CLEAR SOUP) with tapioca, allowing about two ounces of tapioca to every quart. The tapioca should be put into the soup when it is cold, and it is then far less likely to get lumpy. Tapioca can also be boiled in a little strongly flavoured stock that has not been coloured, and then add some boiling milk. Tapioca should be allowed to simmer for an hour and a half. Of course, a little cream is a great improvement when the soup is made with milk. TOMATO SOUP.--This is a very delicate soup, and the endeavour should be to try and retain the flavour of the tomato. Slice up an onion, or better still two shallots, and fry them in a little butter, to which can be added a broken-up, dried bay-leaf,