Mehl Suppe

by Connie
(Prince Edward Island, Canada)

When I was a child I didn't dread getting sick with a cold or a flu. I always knew that was the time when my Mutti would give me extra attention and of course, my favourite lunch...mehl suppe!

I always asked for that when I was sick. Some people like it smooth but I liked it lumpy so I always asked Mutti 'make it extra lumpy'. It was a simple dish that was creamy and sweet so it always felt like a treat when I was feeling not so good.

You start with about 450 ml of milk in a pot with a heaping tablespoon of sugar (or less, it's your choice). You bring the milk up to a boil over medium heat.

When you are almost there you take about 50 ml of cold milk in a cup and add a heaping 1/3 C of flour. Now this is where you decide if you want your mehl suppe smooth or lumpy. If smooth you stir until well blended but if you like it lumpy just give it a couple stirs, enough to eliminate any dry flour. Leave it lumpy with clumps of flour in it.

Than you add this all at once to your hot milk and stir until it's nice and thick. Don't stir too vigorously if you want to preserve the lumps which cook up as chewy, doughy pieces.

To serve you pour into bowl and then you float a nice big pat of butter in the middle and let it slowly melt into the soup as you eat it. I always liked when I had a spoonful that had a little melted butter in it and a chewy lump or two.

Whenever I'm sick and feeling poorly, I crave this soup. Even though Mutti is gone now, it feels like she is standing there watching me eat like she used to do, and suddenly I feel like a child again.