Ingredients

• 1 pound Herbs *
• 4 tablespoons Butter
• 1 large Onion, chopped
• 1 quart Water or vegetable stock
• 1 large Potato, peeled and chopped into small cubes

Directions

• Serves 4.
• salt and pepper bread cubes for croutons * at least 3 of these: chervil, watercress, spinach, sorrel (dandelion and pimpernel for brave souls) Bitter herbs are traditionally eaten at Easter in Christian countries as a sign of penitence.
• This Bavarian soup is served on Easter Thursday, known as Maundy Thursday.
• Fresh chervil, easily available in any German market, is usually the dominating flavor.
• This is a delicate fresh-tasting soup for any time of the year.
• You will need a large saucepan.
• Pick over and wash the herbs, stripping the leaves from those stalks which are too woody.
• Chop the rest.
• Melt the butter in a deep pan and fry the onion gently until transparent.
• Add the herbs and sweat them for a moment before you pour in the water or broth.
• Add the potato to the soup.
• Bring the soup to a boil, and then turn down the heat.
• Simmer for 20 minutes.
• Mash the potato in the soup to thicken it a little.
• Taste, and add salt and freshly milled pepper.
• Serve with bread croutons fried in butter or bacon fat (goose fat is even better).
• They should be so hot that they sizzle when they are added to the hot soup at the table.
• From: THE OLD WORLD KITCHEN – THE RICH TRADITION OF EUROPEAN PEASANT COOKING” by Elisabeth Luard, ISBN 0-553-05219-5 Posted by: Karin Brewer, Cooking Echo, 7/92 From Gemini’s MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini