_Mode_.--Beat the eggs, put them into a stewpan, and add the cream, butter, and seasoning; stir in as much flour as will bring it to the consistency of dough; make it into balls, either round or egg-shaped, and fry them in butter; put them in the tureen, and pour the boiling bouillon over them.
_Time_.--1 hour. _Average cost_, 1s. 3d. per quart.
_Note_.--This recipe was communicated to the Editress by an English gentleman, who was present at the battle of Solferino, on June 24, 1859, and who was requested by some of Victor Emmanuel's troops, on the day before the battle, to partake of a portion of their _potage_. He willingly enough consented, and found that these clever campaigners had made a most palatable dish from very easily-procured materials. In sending the recipe for insertion in this work, he has, however, Anglicised, and somewhat, he thinks, improved it.
155. INGREDIENTS.--As much spinach as, when boiled, will half fill a vegetable-dish, 2 quarts of very clear medium stock, No. 105.
_Mode_.--Make the cooked spinach into balls the size of an egg, and slip them into the soup-tureen. This is a very elegant soup, the green of the spinach forming a pretty contrast to the brown gravy.
_Time_.--1 hour. _Average cost_,1s. per quart.
SPINACH.--This plant was unknown by the ancients, although it was cultivated in the monastic gardens of the continent in the middle of the 14th century. Some say, that it was originally brought from Spain; but there is a wild species growing in England, and cultivated in Lincolnshire, in preference to the other. There are three varieties in use; the round-leaved, the triangular-leaved, and Flanders spinach, known by its large leaves. They all form a useful ingredient in soup; but the leaves are sometimes boiled alone, mashed, and eaten as greens.
156. INGREDIENTS.--5 oz. of tapioca, 2 quarts of stock No. 105 or 106.
_Mode_.--Put the tapioca into cold stock, and bring it gradually to a boil. Simmer gently till tender, and serve.
_Time_.--Rather more than 1 hour. Average cost. 1s. or 6d. per quart.
TAPIOCA.--This excellent farinaceous food is the produce of the pith of the cassava-tree, and is made in the East Indies, and also in Brazil. It is, by washing, procured as a starch from the tree, then dried, either in the sun or on plates of hot iron, and afterwards broken into grains, in which form it is imported into this country. Its nutritive properties are large, and as a food for persons of delicate digestion, or for children, it is in great estimation. "No amylaceous substance," says Dr. Christison, "is so much relished by infants about the time of weaning; and in them it is less apt to become sour during digestion than any other farinaceous food, even arrowroot not excepted."