Purée of String-beans.
Make a strong stock as follows: Add to a knuckle of veal three quarts of water, a generous slice of salt pork, and two or three slices of onion. Let it simmer for five hours, then pour it through a sieve or colander into a jar. It is better to make this stock the day before it is served, as then every particle of fat may be easily scraped off the jelly.
Ten minutes before dinner, put into a saucepan two ounces of butter, and when it bubbles sprinkle in four ounces of flour (two heaping table-spoonfuls); let it cook without taking color; then add a cupful of hot cream, a pint of the heated stock, and about a pint of green string-bean pulp, i. e., either fresh or canned string-beans boiled tender with a little pork, then pressed through a colander, and freed from juice. After mixing all together, do not let the soup boil, or it will curdle and spoil. Stir it constantly while it is on the fire.
Just before it is sent to table, sprinkle over the top a handful of little fried fritter-beans. They are made by dropping drops of fritter batter into boiling lard. They will resemble navy-beans, and give a very pleasant flavor and appearance to the soup.
If this pretty addition be considered too much trouble, little dice of fried bread (croûtons) may be added instead. The soup should be rather thick, and served quite hot.