Take a pint of split peas; soak them over-night. Then boil them in three pints of Stock No. 3 or Stock No. 4 (see No. 10), leaving in whatever vegetables were used for the stock. A greasy stock is best for pea soup. When the peas are tender, rub them, with the vegetables, through a wire sieve. (See No. 21.) Serve fried bread (see No. 7) and powdered dried mint with the soup.

N.B. - If you have a piece of boiled pickled pork and peas pudding one day, you can make some pea soup out of the liquor and remains of the peas pudding. The remains of cold potatoes can be used up by being rubbed through the sieve with the peas.

Green Pea Soup

Green pea soup can be made from dried green peas exactly the same way, only a good handful of spinach should be boiled with the soup and rubbed through the sieve (see No. 21), to assist in making the soup a good colour.

Fresh Green Pea Soup

Take half a peck of fairly young peas, shell them, and throw the peas into water, Put all the shells into a quart of No. 3 Stock to boil, with a handful of spinach, three or four sprigs of parsley, a dozen mint-leaves, and, if possible, a few small, green, fresh onions. Boil for an hour, and then rub the whole through a wire sieve. (See No. 21.) The shells are very troublesome, but with patience a great deal can be got through. Pour back the soup and pulp into the saucepan, let it boil, throw in the peas, and boil till tender. Thicken the soup with a little white thickening, if not sufficiently thick already. Season with pepper and salt, and a teaspoonful of extract of meat can be added if the soup is wished good. Serve the peas whole in the soup. Some boil the peas with the shells, and send all through the sieve.

Fresh Green Peas

Have the peas as fresh picked as possible. Throw them into boiling water, slightly salted, and boil three or four fresh leaves of mint with them. (See No. 9.) Serve directly they are done, and very hot. Time for young peas, about twenty minutes.

Tinned Green Peas

Open the tin, and warm the contents up in a small stewpan, with four or five fresh mint-leaves. Add half a saltspoonful of salt and half a saltspoonful of powdered sugar. Serve the peas as soon as they are hot; they are already cooked. Of course the liquor must be strained off.