Potato Soup Recipe
Boston Cooking School, 1880s
3 potatoes
1 pint milk
1 teaspoon chopped onion
1 stalk celery
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon butter
Wash and pare the potatoes, and let them soak in cold water for half an hour. Put them into boiling water, and cook until very soft. Cook the onion and celery with the milk in a double boiler. When the potatoes are soft, drain the water and mash them. Add the boiling milk and seasoning. Rub through a strainer, and put it on to boil again. Put the butter in a small sauce pan, and when melted and bubbling, add the flour. When well mixed, stir into the boiling soup; let it boil five minutes, and serve very hot. The flour thickening keeps the potato and milk from separating, and gives a smoothness and consistency quite unlike the granular effect which is often noticed. If the soup is too thick, add more hot milk.
The celery salt may be omitted if you have fresh celery, or if you like, put one tablespoon of fine chopped parsley into the soup just before serving.
When you wish a richer soup, use a quart of milk, making it much thinner, and add two well beaten eggs after you take it from the heat, or you can put them into the tureen (bowl) and stir rapidly as you pour in the boiling soup. New raw potatoes, cut into small dice or balls and cooked until tender but not broken, are sometimes served in potato soup.
