Soup Meagre

Learn about this recipe from our Historic Foodways staff, then try it at home.

Almost as thick as a chowder, this wholesome dish is wonderfully aromatic and pleasing to the eye in any season.

Learn how we make this recipe in our kitchens based on the 18th-century description below, then use our 21st-century translation to try the recipe at home!

18th Century

21st Century

Ingredients

• ½ lb. butter
• 5 to 6 small onions chopped fine
• 5 medium celery stalks cut into 1 to 2 inch lengths
• A good handful of spinach leaves with stems removed
• A small head of lettuce, such as Romaine, chopped fine
• 1 heaping tablespoon of finely chopped fresh parsley
• ¼ cup flour
• 2 quarts of boiling water
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp. ground mace
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tbsp. white vinegar

Instructions

1. Put your butter into a large stew pan over medium high heat to melt it. It will start to cook and sizzle. Do not burn it.
2. After a couple minutes of this, add your onions to the butter and stir them, reduce heat to medium, and start cooking them for another two to three minutes.
3. Add the celery, spinach, lettuce and parsley to the butter and onions. Stir them and let them cook for about 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Shake in the flour and stir it in well. Add the 2 quarts of boiling water and stir well to blend the ingredients.
5. Add the bread crumbs, pepper and mace, and stir well again.
6. Let the soup slowly cook over medium heat for close to half an hour, then remove from heat.
7. In a small bowl, whip the egg yolks with the vinegar. Slowly, not too fast, drizzle this into the soup as you stir. Keep stirring all the while until the yolks are all added in. Stir for a little while longer to blend well.
8. Pour into a soup tureen and serve.