I found The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, originally published in 1896, in an antique store. Fannie Farmer’s name is still well-known today.

Stock, water enriched by the food cooked in it, is an important ingredient in numerous soups. Homemade stock brings full-bodied flavor to recipes. The recipe for the chicken stock used in this recipe is found  here.

To make this soup, finely chop enough onion to give 3 tablespoons and set aside.

Peel 3 large cucumbers. Remove the seeds and then slice them.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir in onion and cucumber. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Stir in 3 tablespoons of flour. Cook about 1 ½ minutes.

Add 3 cups of chicken stock or chicken broth. (I had run out of stock so I used broth instead.) Stir in 1 cup of milk. Turn burner to a medium high heat until soup boils.

Remove from heat. Puree the soup in a blender or food processor. Strain the broth. Rinse the saucepan before returning the strained soup to it.

Beat 2 egg yolks. Stir these into the soup. Add ½ cup light or heavy cream (I used heavy cream) and ½ teaspoon salt or salt to taste. Reheat the soup until hot, stirring frequently. Do not boil.

This is the first time I’ve made this type of soup. There is a light, refreshing taste of cucumber. I thought it tasted delicious and will make it again.

This recipe makes 7 one-cup servings.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Revised by Cunningham, Marion and Laber, Jeri. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, Alfred A Knopf Inc., 1983.