Category — Soups

2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 cup milk
1 quart buttermilk
2  egg yolks,beaten
1  brown sugar to taste

Mix flour with 1 cup of the milk to a smooth paste. Bring remaining milk to boil. Stir in flour mixture. Cook stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth. Gradually stir in buttermilk. Bring to boil, remove from heat.

Place egg yolks in soup tureen. Gradually stir hot soup into the egg yolks. Serve hot with brown sugar on the side. Makes about 2 quarts.

1 kg – 2,2 lb pumpkin
500 g – 1,1 lb potatoes
1 l – 4 cups water
1/2 l – 2 cups milk
Bouquet garni (sprig thyme, bay leaf, 2 cloves garlic, parsley stalk)
50 g – 1,75 oz vermicelli
30 g – 1 oz butter
salt
Fresh-ground pepper

Peel and cut into small cubes the pumpkin and potatoes. Place them in a large saucepan and cover with the water. The water should just cover the pumpkin and potatoes, so add or subtract from the liter suggested.

Add the bouquet garni and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to the boil and simmer for 1 hour. Add the milk and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Liquidize.

Add the cooked vermicelli and simmer for a further 2 minutes to heat the vermicelli through.

Just before serving, stir in 30 g of butter cut into small pieces, and check seasoning; add a few twists of freshly ground pepper.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: A Taste of the Belgian Provinces, Enid Gordon and Midge Shirley (published by The Tuesday Group, rue Frans Merjay, 1060 Brussels).

1 l – 4 cups sweet brown ale (Stout)
1/2 l – 2 cups milk
2 egg yolks
1/2 stick cinnamon
1 ts powdered ginger
1 tb cornflour
3 tb cold water
Salt
Rind of 1 lemon

Simmer the beer with the lemon rind, cinnamon and ginger for 10 minutes. Mix the cornflour and cold water together to a smooth paste. Add a few spoonfuls of the hot beer and then add the cornflour mixture to the beer in the saucepan. Cook the soup gently for a further 10 minutes.

Mix the egg yolks and milk together and, away from the heat, add to the soup in the saucepan. Heat through thoroughly without boiling and serve with slices of fried bread.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: A Taste of the Belgian Provinces, Enid Gordon and Midge Shirley (published by The Tuesday Group, rue Frans Merjay, 1060 Brussels).

1 onion, finely chopped
1 stick celery, finely chopped
1 leek, finely chopped
3 large tomatoes, peeled and seeded
2 dl – 6,6 fl. oz. cream
1 egg yolk
1 l – 4 cups water
2 glasses dry white wine
1 small glass brandy
Bouquet garni (thyme, bayleaf, 2 stalks parsley, clove of garlic)
60 g – 2 oz. butter
30 g – 1 oz. flour

Melt 30 g (1 oz.) of butter in a large saucepan and gently cook the finely chopped vegetables over a low heat, without browning, for about 10 minutes. Shell the shrimps, reserving the shells and heads. Add the shells and heads of shrimps to the vegetables, pour a liter of hot water into the saucepan, add the bouquet garni and tomatoes. Season with pepper, but no salt at this stage, as the shrimp heads and shells may be salty enough. Cover and simmer gently for one hour.

Pour the stock through a sieve, pressing the vegetables and shells with a wooden spoon to extract all the juice. Melt the rest of the butter in the saucepan, add the flour and make a roux. Stirring constantly, add the vegetable and shrimp stock in a steady stream and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for 15 minutes.

Beat the egg yolk and cream together. Away from the heat, stir in the egg and cream mixture. Add the shrimps and brandy. Return the saucepan to a *very* low heat, stir gently until the soup thickens slightly and the shrimps are cooked (this should take just 2-3 minutes). DON’T let the soup boil, or it may curdle.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: A Taste of the Belgian Provinces, Enid Gordon and Midge Shirley (published by The Tuesday Group, rue Frans Merjay, 1060 Brussels).

2 bunches watercress
1 large onion
1 leek
500 g – 1,1 lb potatoes
1 1/2 l – 6 cups chicken stock
1 dl – 3,3 fl. oz. cream
30 g – 1 oz. butter
Salt, pepper to taste

Chop the onion and the white of the leek and saute in butter in a large saucepan for 2-3 minutes. Peel and chop the potatoes. Roughly chop the leaves and tender stalks of the watercress. Add watercress, potatoes, and the stock to the saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes.

When done, liquidize, return the soup to the saucepan, season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the cream and cook for a further three minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: A Taste of the Belgian Provinces, Enid Gordon and Midge Shirley (published by The Tuesday Group, rue Frans Merjay, 1060 Brussels).

1 lb chicory (Belgian endive)
2 leeks – white part only
1/4 c butter
2 small potatoes – peeled, diced
2 1/2 c milk
Salt
pepper, white
2 egg yolks
1/3 c half and half
2 tb chives – chopped fine

Remove and discard core from each chicory head – cut remainder into 1/4 inch slices. Cut leeks in 1/4 inch pieces. Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add sliced chicory and leeks – saute 2-3 minutes. Add potatoes and milk. Season to taste with salt, white pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cover and simmer 45 minutes – until potatoes are tender.

In a small bowl, baat egg yolks with half and half. Stir in 1/4 cup hot milk mixture. Stir egg-yolk mixture into remain milk mixture. Stirring constantly, cook until slightly thickened. Pour into a tureen – or serve in individual bowls. Garnish with chives. Serve immediately.

A variation is to add 1/4 pound ham, cooked and julienned before heating and serving.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: my collection

2 large red onions; sliced
6 tablespoon butter
3 cup chicken stock
1 bottle beer
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 thick slices french bread
1 grated parmesan cheese

In a large saucepan, saute onion in butter until soft. Add chicken stock, beer, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer about 30 minutes. Adjust seasonings. Broil bread on one side about 3 inches from heat. Turn, sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese, and broil 1-2 minutes more, until lightly browned. Pour soup into bowls. Add cheese-covered bread. Makes 4 servings.

Source: Lon Hall’s “Cooking With Beer”.

500 g – 1,1 lb bacon – in 1 chunk
thyme
bay leaf
4 big carrots, cut in slices
1 bunch of green celery, chopped
2 leeks, in rings
3 turnips, cut in slices
1 small green cabbage, chopped
pepper

Put the bacon in a pan. Add 6 cups of water, pepper, salt (not too much), thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, turn the fire low and let simmer for 1 hour.

Add the vegetables, bring again to a boil, turn the fire low gain and let simmer for 2 hours.

Take the bacon out of the pan and cut it in slices, or cubes. Put it in a soup tureen. Add the hot soup, season with pepper and salt and serve immediately.

Remarks: 4 servings.

Source: my collection