Cream of Lettuce

Wash well three good-sized heads of lettuce, drain, chop, place them in a saucepan
with about one-fourth pound of butter and cook for five minutes, stirring
lightly. Moisten with two quarts of broth, and season with one tablespoonful of
salt, one teaspoonful of pepper, and one-half teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, add a
garnished bunch of parsley and four or five ounces of well cleaned raw rice ; cover
the saucepan and cook for forty-five minutes ; then remove the parsley, and strain
through a fine sieve. Clean the saucepan well, pour the soup mto it again, and let
it come nearly to the boil, stirring meanwhile with a spatula. Pour in one pint of
sweet cream, stir it a little more, and turn it into a hot tureen. Serve with sippets of
toast or croutons of fried bread.