Great-Grandmother Lillie’s Turnip Soup

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

Gently but thoroughly scrub the turnips under cold running water. Trim
off the root ends and the green tops.  Young turnips do not need to be
peeled, but they may be peeled.
Cut turnips into slices a little thicker than a quarter of an inch,
set aside.
Rinse the salt pork and put it in a 3-quart soup kettle with the
water.  Turn heat to medium-low and bring the water slowly to just below
the boiling point carefully skimming off the scum as it rises. Lower the
heat to a bare simmer and cook the pork gently for about an hour.
Raise the heat to medium-high and add the sliced turnips.  Let the
liquid come back to a boil, skim it again and then reduce the heat to low.
Simmer until the turnips are tender, about 20 to 30 minutes. Discard the
pork and skim off any excess fat floating on top of the broth.
Remove turnips with a slotted spoon.  Cut a cup of them into cubes and
rub the remainder through a colander or food mill.  Add both of them back
to the broth.  Let the soup come back to a simmer, taste, correct the salt
and add a liberal grinding of black pepper.
Take the cornmeal or polenta meal in your hand, and stirring the soup
constantly, let the meal fall into the soup in a thin stream between your
fingers.  Never stop stirring or the meal will lump up. Let simmer,
stirring constantly, until thickened.  Leave it to simmer for about five
minutes more, then if you like, stir in the optional cream. Heat through
about two minutes more, then serve at once.
Submitted by John Hartman Indianapolis, IN 1996
Posted to MM-Recipes Digest V4 #175 by cro-magnon@juno.com on Jul 8, 1997

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