In early summer, green okra pods are abundant and
cheap, selling in the large markets at about thirty cents a
hundred. Okra is very nutritious, and deserves the attention
of housewives who wish to combine variety with economy
in serving their tables.
To make four quarts of soup, peel and slice two onions,
and fry them brown in two tablespoonfuls of sweet drippings
or butter ; fry with the onions a thin slice of ham, weighing
about a quarter of a pound, and a knuckle of veal chopped,
or about two pounds of any cheap cut of veal containing
plenty of bone ; while these ingredients are frying, wash two
dozen pods of okra in cold water, and slice them thin,
throwing away the stems ; when the onions and meat are
brown, add the okra to them, with four quarts of boiling
water, a small fresh green or red pepper chopped fine, and
a palatable seasoning of salt, and simmer the soup slowly
for two hours, keeping the pot covered. Meanwhile pick
all the meat from six boiled hard-shell crabs, and fry it
brown, with a small onion sliced, and a tablespoonful of
1 84 PRACTICAL AMERICAN COOKERY.
butter, and i^eel and slice one dozen medium-sized toma-
toes. Four soft-shell crabs✪ Okra Soup with Crabs, fried in quarters, may be used
in place of the hard-shell crabs : add the fried crab-meat
and the sliced tomatoes to the soup at the end of two
hours, and let the soup simmer slowly for two hours longer,
keeping it closely covered to prevent evaporation. If, when
the time for cooking the soup has expired, it has boiled
away, add sufficient boiling water to increase it to four
quarts ; remove the bones and any pieces of meat which
have not boiled to shreds ; see if the seasoning is palatable,
and serve the soup hot.
OKRA SOUP WITH BEEF.
Make this soup according to the directions given in the
recipe for okra soup with crabs, substituting four pounds of
soup-beef for the veal and ham, and leaving out the crabs.
The beef must be taken out of the soup before serving it.
Sometimes two dozen fried oysters are added to the soup
just before sending it to the table. When green corn is
plentiful, a pint of it, cut from the cob, and half a pint of ^
Lima beans, may be added to the soup half an hour before
it has finished cooking.
DRIED OKRA SOUP.
Pick over a quart of dried okra, wash it in cold water,
and soak it over night in two quarts of cold water : be sure
that the okra is tender, for if it is tough and full of woody
fibre it will be exceedingly unpalatable. The next morning,
pluck and singe a tender fowl weighing about three pounds,
draw it without breaking the intestines, wipe it with a wet
towel, cut it in small joints as for fricassee, and roll the pieces
in flour seasoned with pepper and salt. Put a saucepan
over the fire with half a cupful of lard, and when the fat is
hot put in the chicken, and fry it light-brown : when the
SOUPS {potage). 185 ✪ Dried Okra Soup
Page 106 · 3 recipe records on this page
Presented as published in 1885. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
In early summer, green okra pods are abundant and cheap, selling in the large markets at about thirty cents a hundred. Okra is very nutritious, and deserves the attention of housewives who wish to combine variety with economy in serving their tables.
To make four quarts of soup, peel and slice two onions, and fry them brown in two tablespoonfuls of sweet drippings or butter ; fry with the onions a thin slice of ham, weighing about a quarter of a pound, and a knuckle of veal chopped, or about two pounds of any cheap cut of veal containing plenty of bone ; while these ingredients are frying, wash two dozen pods of okra in cold water, and slice them thin, throwing away the stems ; when the onions and meat are brown, add the okra to them, with four quarts of boiling water, a small fresh green or red pepper chopped fine, and a palatable seasoning of salt, and simmer the soup slowly for two hours, keeping the pot covered. Meanwhile pick all the meat from six boiled hard-shell crabs, and fry it brown, with a small onion sliced, and a tablespoonful of
butter, and peel and slice one dozen medium-sized tomatoes. Four soft-shell crabs, fried in quarters, may be used in place of the hard-shell crabs : add the fried crab-meat and the sliced tomatoes to the soup at the end of two hours, and let the soup simmer slowly for two hours longer, keeping it closely covered to prevent evaporation. If, when the time for cooking the soup has expired, it has boiled away, add sufficient boiling water to increase it to four quarts ; remove the bones and any pieces of meat which have not boiled to shreds ; see if the seasoning is palatable, and serve the soup hot.
OKRA SOUP WITH BEEF.
Make this soup according to the directions given in the recipe for okra soup with crabs, substituting four pounds of soup-beef for the veal and ham, and leaving out the crabs. The beef must be taken out of the soup before serving it. Sometimes two dozen fried oysters are added to the soup just before sending it to the table. When green corn is plentiful, a pint of it, cut from the cob, and half a pint of ^ Lima beans, may be added to the soup half an hour before it has finished cooking.
DRIED OKRA SOUP.
Pick over a quart of dried okra, wash it in cold water, and soak it over night in two quarts of cold water : be sure that the okra is tender, for if it is tough and full of woody fibre it will be exceedingly unpalatable. The next morning, pluck and singe a tender fowl weighing about three pounds, draw it without breaking the intestines, wipe it with a wet towel, cut it in small joints as for fricassee, and roll the pieces in flour seasoned with pepper and salt. Put a saucepan over the fire with half a cupful of lard, and when the fat is hot put in the chicken, and fry it light-brown : when the
SOUPS {potage). 185
Records on this page
Okra Soup with CrabsOkra Soup with BeefDried Okra Soup