Vegetable Puree

Celery, carrots, leeks and ham mixed with consomme meld together in a rich, savory soup.

Wash well a couple of bunches of young carrots, scrape them thoroughly and rasp off the red parts into a saucepan, add a small quantity of butter and a slice of lean ham, also a few leeks and sticks of celery tied up in a bundle, and stir well over the fire until the vegetables are slightly colored, then pour in the required quantity of fowl or other consomme, and boil slowly for two hours. Take out the roots and ham and strain the soup into another saucepan, rub the carrots through a sieve and add them to the soup, and bring it once more to the boil. Remove the saucepan to the side of the fire, skim the soup carefully, add a small pinch of sugar, pour it into a tureen and serve.