White Soup

Delicate but rich flavors meld to make white soup an elegant dinner course.

Put six pounds of lean gravy beef into a saucepan with one-half gallon of water and stew it gently until all the goodness is extracted, then take the beef out. Put into the saucepan with the liquor six pounds of knuckle of veal, one-fourth pound of ham, four onions and four heads of celery, all cut into pieces, a few peppercorns and a bunch of sweet herbs. Stew all these gently for seven or eight hours, skimming off all the fat as it rises to the top. Mix with the crumb of two French rolls two ounces of blanched and pounded sweet almonds, put them into a saucepan with one pint of cream and a little stock, boil for ten minutes, then pass them through a silk sieve, using a wooden spoon in the process. Mix the cream and almonds with the soup, then turn it into a tureen and serve.