ONION SOUP

From Mrs. Beeton's Dictionary of Every-day Cookery 1865

"ONION SOUP Cheap
Ingredients: 8 middling sized onions, 3 oz of butter, a tablespoonful of rice flour, salt and pepper to taste, 1 tea spoonful of powdered sugar, thickening of butter and flour, 2 quarts of water.
Mode: Cut the onions small, put them into the stewpan with the butter and fry them well, mix the rice flour smoothly with the water, add the onions, seasoning, and sugar and simmer till tender. Thicken with butter and flour and serve.
Time: 2 hours 
Sufficient for 8 persons"

This recipe was very simple. The only change that I made was in using top setting onions that were in my garden. They were fresh and green, no having been dried for storage. These onions have a smaller bulb than regular onions, so many times more onions were used.

As a side note about the onions: I researched my top setting onions and they were mentioned in a book on growing onions as Top Onions. The modern name would be Egyptian, Walking, Tree or Topsetting onions. I am so glad that they were used in Mid-Century as I have an abundance of them.