Purée Of Dried Beans

Wash and soak one pint of soup beans over night. In the morning, cover them with fresh boiling water, boil five minutes; drain and throw the water away. Cover with two quarts of boiling water and cook until the beans are tender. Press through a colander. Return the soup to the kettle and add a teaspoonful of salt, a dash of pepper and a tablespoonful of either ordinary dairy butter or nut butter. Serve with croûtons.

Puree Of Dried Peas

Make the same as purée of dried beans.

Purée Of Lentils

Make precisely the same as purée of dried beans. Lentils cook more quickly than beans. If either of these purées settle, they are too thin; add a little thickening of flour, reheat and serve.

Black Bean Soup

1 pint black turtle beans

2 quarts stock

2 hard-boiled eggs

1 lemon

1 teaspoonful salt

1 saltspoonful pepper

Wash the beans and soak them over night. In the morning drain, cover with boiling water and boil thirty minutes; drain, throwing the water away. Add the stock and cook slowly for two hours. Press the whole through a colander and then through a sieve. Rinse the kettle and return the soup to it; add salt and pepper. Slice the eggs and the lemon; put them into the tureen, pour over the boiling thick soup and serve.

Mexican Bean Soup

Make precisely the same as black bean soup, using red kidney beans. Add, after the soup is strained and ready to serve, a Spanish sweet pepper, cut into strips.