must be broken), and 2 lb. veal, prepare about 8 large onions, 6
carrots, thyme, parsley, cloves, and bay leaves, head or stick of
celery, 6 peppercorns. Order your meat, &c., the day before, so that
you have it in the house early. First cut up the meat, dividing
it from the bones, and casting away all gristle, veins, and fat,
then well wash the whole in a basin of cold water. Put aside 1 lb.
of the best of the beef, and the whole of the veal; keep them for
clearing the soup. Put a little butter, size of a walnut, into a
large saucepan to fry the onions in, cutting up and casting in, when
the butter has melted, 8 small or 1 large onion. Let them fry till
quite brown. While this is doing take out the meat from the basin of
water (which beforehand must be washed well with the hand, so as to
remove all grease and impurity), take a clean cloth and dry the meat
carefully piece by piece; separate it from the bones. First, put the
bits of meat (without any water) in, and let them stew for ½ hour,
then add to them the bones, and let them stew for ½ hour; remember
every few minutes to stir with a wooden spoon, or it will burn at
the bottom of the saucepan. Then put the water, 16 tumblers, 1 pint
water to 1 lb. meat. This for the best soup, for a dinner party, or
for strengthening an invalid. Skim as long as the scum rises; do not
keep the lid on. After it is thoroughly skimmed, put in a bunch made
of a little thyme, parsley, and bay leaves, a stick of celery (or,
if out of season, a muslin bag of seed), also throw in 4 good-sized
onions, one of which stick with 4 cloves; then for eleven hours let
it simmer, then take it off the fire (a good bright fire must be kept
up all day), and strain it through a hair sieve, letting it remain
all night. Next morning remove all fat from the surface with a spoon;
if, as sometimes happens in hot weather, small bits of fat stick to
the surface, take kitchen paper and quickly press it on the places;
the fat in this way is easily removed. After this take a clean cloth
dipped in boiling water, and wipe the top of the stock over, and
the sides of the basin. When all the fat is removed put it into a
saucepan (there is always a dark sediment at the bottom of the basin,
which must be cast away; care must therefore be taken when spooning
out the stock not to disturb this). Put the saucepan on the fire and
let it get nearly to a boil; it must never boil till the very last;
then put in the raw beef and veal, which must be prepared carefully,
as much depends on how this is done. In hot weather keep the clearing
meat till wanted in a cool place in salt and water, so as to keep
fresh overnight. Take 3 eggs and break them (putting away the yolks,
of which soup custard can be made afterwards), and mix the whites in
a basin with the shells, and if possible collect beforehand other
eggshells. Wash the shells in hot water, mash them, and put them
into the basin. Chop up finely 1 large onion, 2 carrots, and with a
tablespoonful of water mix all these together in the basin with the
hands till all are well mixed; when it comes to a froth move the soup
close to the fire, and when just on the boil watch it carefully, so
that it does not boil too rapidly; take a whisk, and gradually pour
in all that is in the basin with one hand, while whisking the soup
briskly with the other, as if not whisked all the time the whites
of egg set, and it does not clear. Remove it again, so as only to
simmer. Put in 2 drops of colouring; go on whisking till it just
comes to the boil after putting in the raw beef, &c.; remove it now
off the fire, and let it simmer gently for an hour. Take the soup now
off the fire altogether, and bring in a large basin. Take a clean
napkin (the finer the better; it is always better than a tammy, as
it is much finer), and be careful before using to wash it well in
hot water, thereby removing all starch and soap, as often a small
neglect in these details, after no end of previous trouble, is the
cause of the soup not being perfectly clear. Lay the napkin over the
top of the basin, and bring the saucepan to its side, and ladle out
with a cup the soup into the basin, keeping the napkin from sinking;
some one must hold it while the soup is being put in. Take care
not to ladle out too fast, as it then does not give full time to
strain gradually. When all is strained through, raise the napkin--in
which, of course, there is still a quantity of stock--tie the ends
on a hook, placing the basin below, and for several hours, till
all is removed, let it drop in.--Hints: Time for making, 24 hours.
First, say, begin at 11 A.M., and remove at 10 at night; strain all
night. Next day at 11 put on soup, preparing beforehand the raw beef
and veal, &c.; take it off at 1 o’clock. No salt or turnip while
making; turnips always turn the stock sour. Put salt in just before
serving, and so also macaroni and vegetables. They must be boiled
by themselves in a small saucepan; when done plunge them into cold
water to remove all scum, and have ready a basin of clear boiling
water in which to put them again; after which, the last thing, take
them out and lay them at the bottom of the tureen, pouring the soup
on the top and adding the salt. From the meat and bones of the first
day’s straining, excellent thin soup can be made called seconds,
and, though not half so strong, it is very good. With the yolks of
the eggs before mentioned, soup custard can be made as follows: Take
the yolks of 3 eggs, mix them with a little stock, pepper and salt,
and put the whole into a mould, cover it over with a piece of paper,
and let it steam for about five minutes; then take it out and let
it cool. Then cut it into small squares evenly, and, the last thing
after the soup is hotted, drop them in.
_Clear Soup with Custard (Royale)._--Mix the yolks of 6 eggs with
rather less than 1 gill cold water and a pinch of salt; strain the
mixture, and divide it into 3 equal parts; colour one with some
cochineal, the other with spinach greening, and leave the third
plain. Put them into 3 small plain moulds, previously buttered, and
set these in a pan of hot water, which place on the fire to boil
just long enough to set the mixture. When the water in the saucepan
has become quite cold, turn out the contents of each mould on to
a wet napkin, and you will have 3 small cakes of firm custard,
respectively green, red, and yellow. Cut them into small dice, and,
handling them in the gentlest possible manner, spread them out on a
plate to be kept till wanted. At the time of serving put a clear and
well-flavoured consommé into the soup tureen; slip in carefully the
custard dice, and serve at once.
_Clear Soup with Poached Eggs (aux œufs pochés)._--Cut up in small
pieces 1 lb. lean veal, put it into a saucepan with a couple of
onions, 2 or 3 carrots, a head of celery, all cut in small pieces,
and a large piece of butter. Shake the saucepan on the fire until
the contents have taken a colour, moisten with ½ pint common stock
(hot) and keep on stirring over the fire for some time longer, adding
during the process ½ lb. of ham cut up small. Then take the saucepan
off the fire, and when the contents are cold pile up on them a small
knuckle of veal chopped up, bones and all, into small pieces; fill up
the saucepan with common stock (cold), and add parsley, sweet herbs,
spices, pepper and salt, in due proportions. Set the saucepan to
simmer gently by the side of the fire for about 3 hours, then strain
the liquor. When cold free it absolutely from fat, and to every quart
of liquor add the white of an egg whisked to froth, keep on beating
the liquor on the fire at intervals, and as soon as it boils strain
it through a fine tammy or a napkin. Put into a shallow sauté pan
some water salted to taste, a little vinegar, a few peppercorns, and
a few leaves of parsley. As soon as the water approaches boiling
point (it should never be allowed to boil), poach some eggs (one
for each person and one over) in it, just long enough to set the
yolk slightly. Take out each egg with a slice, brush it clean with
a paste brush, and cut it with a round fluted paste cutter, about
2 in. in diameter, so as to get all the eggs a uniform shape, and
leave neither too much nor too little white round them. Turn the egg
over carefully, brush it clean, and lay it in the soup tureen ready
filled with boiling-hot clear soup. Add a few leaves of tarragon and
chervil, and serve.
_Clear Soup with Quenelles._--Put into a saucepan 1 gill water, a
pinch of salt, and a small piece of butter; when the water boils stir
in as much flour as will form a paste, put the mixture away to get
cold. Take ½ lb. lean veal, cut it into small pieces, and pound it in
a mortar; add 3 oz. butter and 2 oz. the paste, and thoroughly mix
the whole in the mortar, adding during the process the yolks of 2 and
the white of 1 egg, salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg to taste; pass
the mixture through a sieve, work a little cream into it, and, by
means of 2 teaspoons, shape it in pieces the size of pigeons’ eggs;
lay these carefully in a saucepan, pour in at the side sufficient
boiling stock to cover them, and let them cook gently for a few
minutes. Have the tureen ready filled with well-flavoured clear
stock, boiling hot; slip the quenelles into it (with or without the
stock they are boiled in), and serve.
_Cock-a-Leekie Soup._--Wash well 2 or 3 bunches of leeks (if old
scald them in boiling water), take off the roots and part of the
heads, and cut them into lengths of about 1 in. Put half the quantity
into a pot with 5 qt. stock, and a fowl trussed for boiling, and
allow them to simmer gently. In ½ hour add the remaining leeks, and
let all simmer for 3 or 4 hours longer. It must be carefully skimmed
and seasoned to taste. To serve the fowl carve neatly, placing
the pieces in the tureen, and pouring over them the soup. This is
sufficient for 10 persons.
_Cockle Soup (de clovisses)._--Cockles require a good deal of care
in cleansing. They must be well scrubbed in 2 or 3 waters until the
shells are quite clean, and must then soak for some hours in salt
and water. After this put a little hot water at the bottom of a
large saucepan, place the cockles in it, and cover them over with a
clean cloth; set it on a moderate fire, or rather, hold the saucepan
over the fire, for it must be kept moving constantly or the cockles
will burn. Keep looking at them, and as each shell opens remove it
from the pan. When all are open, remove the fish from the shells,
straining the liquor from them. Having trimmed the cockles, put the
delicate parts into the soup tureen. Put the trimmings into the
liquor. Put into another stewpan a ¼ lb. butter, let it melt over
the fire, add 6 oz. flour, stirring it in, still holding it over
the fire, but taking care to keep the mixture quite white; let this
stand until cool, then add the liquor and trimmings of the cockles,
1 qt. milk, and 2 qt. white stock. Stir this over the fire until it
boils, then add a tablespoonful of Harvey sauce, a dessertspoonful of
essence of anchovy, a blade of mace, 6 peppercorns, and a teaspoonful
of salt. Let this boil quickly for 10 minutes, skim well, and just
before serving add 1 gill cream; strain through a hair sieve over the
cockles, and serve. About 4 dozen cockles will be required or 6 if
very small.
_Coconut Soup._--This is a favourite soup in India, and might be more
frequently tasted in England than it is, especially by vegetarians.
It is made thus: Scrape or grate fine the inside of 2 well-ripened
coconuts, put the scrapings into a saucepan with 2 qt. milk, add
a blade of mace; let it simmer very gently for about ½ hour, then
strain it through a fine sieve; have ready beaten the yolks of 4 eggs
with a little milk and sufficient ground rice to thicken the soup;
mix into a very smooth batter, which add by degrees to the soup;
allow to simmer, and stir carefully until ready; season with salt and
white pepper. Do not allow to boil, or it will curdle and be spoilt.
If eggs are scarce, cream (½ pint) can be used instead. This soup is
made in India with white stock instead of milk, but is equally good
as a white soup if made as above. Boiled rice, the grains dry and
quite distinct, should be served with it. (Eliot-James.)
_Crayfish Soup (d’écrevisses)._--20-50 crayfish, according to the
quantity of soup required, should be thrown into boiling water and
left to boil ¼ hour. Pick out the tails and rest of the fish, cover
the meat, and set it aside. Pound the shells and small claws, adding,
by degrees, 3 or 4 oz. butter. Put this mass into a small stewpan,
and stir over the fire until the butter is red. Add then 1 pint clear
white soup and let it stew slowly ½ hour; then strain it off and add
to it sufficient well-seasoned white soup, which, however, must have
no strong or prominent flavour. Put in the tails and the pickings of
the fish, make the soup quite hot; beat up the yolks of 2 or 3 eggs
in the tureen, pour in the scalding soup, and serve with toasted roll.
_Conger-eel Soup._--Boil 2 lb. conger-eel in 3 pints water, with a
little salt, for 1 hour over a slow fire. Then strain it, and put
again upon a slow fire with ½ pint young peas. When they have boiled
a short time add some parsley, thyme, borage, leek, and chives
chopped fine, and marigold flowers (the petals of the flower). Let it
boil again for 5 minutes; then mix together 2 spoonfuls flour, and
1 tablespoonful butter, with a little of the broth. When well mixed
add 1 pint new milk, doing it with care so as not to curdle it. Let
boil 5 minutes, and serve it up with a slice or two of bread cut very
thin, in the tureen. When peas are not in season, cabbage shred very
fine, or vegetable marrow chopped small, or asparagus heads, are each
good as a substitute. It can be greatly enriched by increasing the
quantity of butter and milk.
_Crust Soup (Croûte au pot)._--Cut off the bottom crust of a quartern
loaf, leaving the same thickness of crumb as there is crust. Cut
it out in rounds the size of a sixpence. Soak the rounds in broth;
put them (in a tin with some butter) into the oven, and let them be
until they are quite dried up (_gratinés_). Then lay them in the soup
tureen with rounds of carrots, turnips, leeks, or cabbages boiled in
stock, and cut the same size, pour some well-flavoured clear stock
over, and after the lapse of 3 or 4 minutes serve. (The G. C.)
_Custard Soup._--See Clear soup with custard.
_Flemish Soup._--Boil equal parts of potatoes and turnips in water,
with one onion and a head of celery, adding pepper and salt to taste.
When the vegetables are quite done, pass the whole through a hair
sieve. Put the soup in a saucepan on the fire, and as soon as it
boils, add a pat of fresh butter, and plenty of chervil, a pinch of
parsley, and a few tarragon leaves, all finely minced; then pour it
over slices of toast, and serve.
_French Soup._--Take one sheep’s head, remove the brains, and steep
it. Put it into a saucepan with 3 qt. water, one teacupful pearl
barley, 6 onions, 1 turnip, 1 carrot, a bunch of sweet herbs, and a
few cloves. Let it simmer gently for about 5 hours, then remove the
head; strain and rub the vegetables through a sieve, or leave them
whole, according to taste. Let it stand all night, and when cold take
off every particle of fat; cut up the meat from the head into small
pieces, and warm it up in the soup. Season to taste, add a wineglass
of white wine, a little mushroom ketchup, and thicken with butter and
flour. Very little inferior to mock turtle soup.
_Fried Soup._--3 potatoes, 3 turnips, 3 parsnips, 3 onions, 3 heads
of celery, thinly sliced and fried; stew for some hours in weak
stock. When quite tender, keep some pieces of each vegetable to put
in the soup; pass all the rest through the sieve, and add a good
cupful of pea soup, or soaked and boiled peas, to thicken the purée.
Season to taste; warm it up; add the fried pieces to it at the last.
_Game Soup (de Gibier)._--Take the remnants of any kind of game not
high, put them in a saucepan with an onion or carrot, 2 or 3 cloves,
a small piece of mace, a bay leaf, some parsley, whole pepper and
salt to taste. Cover the whole with veal or poultry stock, and set
the saucepan to boil gently for 2 hours. Strain off the soup and set
it to boil again, then throw in 1 oz. raw beef or liver coarsely
chopped, let it give one boil, and strain the soup through a napkin.
If not quite clear, the clarifying process must be repeated. A very
small quantity of sherry may be put in before clarifying.
_Giblet Soup (gibelette)._--This is generally a favourite soup, is
very nutritious, and if flavoured simply, need not be unwholesome.
Prepare the giblets as usual. Brown a slice of lean ham in a pan,
adding a little water occasionally to collect the brown gravy from
it; put this with the ham, giblets, and a teaspoonful of pearl
barley, into a stewpan with enough cold water to cover them well;
simmer gently until the gizzards are perfectly tender. Take them out,
and stew the remainder of the giblets, with a clove or two, celery
leaves, and any flavourings considered suitable, until the meat is
quite done to rags. If necessary, add a little hot water now and then
to keep the giblets covered. Strain off the stock, and allow it to
become cold, when every particle of fat must be removed. To ensure
this, not only skim, but wipe the surface with a soft cloth dipped
into hot water. Mix with this an equal quantity of stock; flavour
with a little wine and mushroom ketchup, or the latter only; cut up
the gizzards into convenient pieces, and simmer them in the soup for
a few minutes. Serve with this a slice of French roll or whole-meal
bread as preferred. If salt meat be objected to, brown the soup with
a little Liebig instead of the ham. To avoid richness, the gizzards
are the only part of the giblets that should be served in the soup,
and these are said to be particularly nourishing.
_Gniocchi Soup._--Put 1 oz. butter into a saucepan with 1 pint water
and a pinch of salt; when the water boils, stir with a spoon (and
throw in gradually with the other hand) as much flour as will make a
stiff paste that will not stick to the spoon; then add 2 oz. grated
Parmesan cheese, mix well, and, removing the saucepan from the fire,
work into it 2 or 3 eggs. Next put the paste into a biscuit forcer,
and as it is forced out cut it off in even lengths of 1 in., letting
them drop into some well-flavoured stock boiling on the fire. A
few minutes’ poaching will cook the gniocchi, but expedition is
necessary, so that the first that is cut off may not be overdone by
the time the last is cut off. The knife used should be dipped now and
then in hot water, else the paste will stick to it.
_Gravy Soup (Consommé)._--Place a layer of slices of onions in a
saucepan holding a gallon, over this a layer of fat bacon, and
over all about 2 lb. shin of beef chopped up in small pieces; 1
pint common stock, or even water, being poured on the whole, set
the saucepan on the fire for 1 hour, or until the liquor is almost
evaporated--what is called reduced to a “glaze”; then add sufficient
cold common stock or cold water to cover the contents of the
saucepan, and 2 or 3 carrots cut in slices, 1 leek, a head of celery
(when in season), or some celery seed, a handful of parsley, have a
clove of garlic, a sprig of marjoram and one of thyme, a bay leaf, 4
or 5 cloves, white pepper and salt to taste. After boiling about 3
hours strain off the liquor, and, being absolutely freed from fat, it
is ready for use.
_Green Corn Soup._--Boil unripe green corn in broth or water till
quite soft; pass it through a sieve, in the manner of peas. Add it to
some good broth, in which celery or parsley-roots have been boiled,
or any flavouring herbs. Give a quick boil, and serve with sippets of
toast. The broth or soup should be clear and colourless, not to alter
the green tint of the corn. A few spinach leaves may be boiled with
it, to give a deeper green.
_Green-pea Soup (de pois verts)._--(_a_) Take 1½ pint green peas,
boil them in salt and water with a little mint; when thoroughly
cooked pound them and pass them through a hair sieve. Put a piece of
butter into a stewpan; when melted put in an onion and a carrot cut
in thin slices, fry until they begin to colour; add 1 qt. stock, a
little salt, pepper, and a pinch of white sugar. Leave it to boil for
¼ hour, stir in the purée of peas, let it come to the boil, strain,
and serve with small dice of bread fried in butter.
(_b_) When shelling the peas, divide the youngest from the oldest
ones; 1 pint of young peas, and 3 pints of the oldest ones will be
required. In 2 qt. water boil, until the whole will mash through a
sieve, 3 pints old peas, a lettuce, a faggot of thyme and knotted
marjoram, 2 blades of mace, 8 cloves, and 4 cayenne pods. After being
mashed and rubbed through a sieve, put it in a china-lined saucepan,
add the heart of a large lettuce shred, and ¼ lb. butter rolled in
about 3 tablespoonfuls of flour; set the saucepan on the stove and
stir till it boils, then add the young peas; when these are nearly
boiled enough, add a very little green mint, finely chopped, a
tablespoonful of juice of spinach, and salt to taste.
_Grouse Soup._--Chop up the remains of 2 roast grouse; put them into
a saucepan with an onion and a carrot cut in pieces, a faggot of
sweet herbs, and pepper and salt to taste. Fill up the saucepan with
sufficient common stock to cover the contents; let the whole boil
till the meat comes off easily from the bones; strain off the liquor;
pick all the meat from the bones; pound it in a mortar, pass through
a wire sieve, and add the liquor. Amalgamate in a saucepan a piece of
butter with a tablespoonful of flour, add the soup to it, let it come
to boiling point, then stir in (off the fire) the yolks of a couple
of eggs with or without lemon juice, according to taste. Serve on
very small dice of bread fried in butter.
_Hare Soup (de levraut)._--Take a hare, skin, draw, and reserve the
blood: cut it up and put it into a saucepan with an onion, 2 cloves,
a faggot of herbs (parsley, thyme and basil), pepper, salt, and mace,
2 qt. stock and half bottle of red wine; simmer gently till the meat
be quite tender; strain it from the soup, soak the crumb of some
bread in the soup, and, removing the meat from the bones, chop it up
with the soaked bread, and pound it quite smooth in a mortar; add the
soup gradually to it, pass through a tammy, hot it up, but do not let
it boil. Just before serving add the blood, very gradually stirring
it in off the fire, pour the soup into the soup tureen over small
dice of fried bread.
_Haricot Bean Soup (Condé)._--Soak 1 pint Haricots de Soissons in
cold water for 12 hours, throw away that water, and put them into a
saucepan with 3 pints cold water, a head of celery, a small onion
stuck with 3 cloves, a bay leaf, a sprig of parsley, some whole
pepper, and salt to taste. Let them boil till the beans are quite
tender, then strain off the water, and pass them through a sieve. Put
the purée in a saucepan, and work into it, on the fire, 1 oz. or more
of butter, moistening if necessary with a little of the liquor in
which the beans were boiled.
_Herb Soup._--A handful each of chervil, sorrel, spinach, and a few
sprigs of parsley must be washed, drained, and chopped small. Put
them in a stewpan with a piece of butter to steam until soft. Stir in
with them 2 tablespoonfuls of flour. Pour in sufficient clear soup,
and simmer 10 minutes. Add salt and a grate of nutmeg. Eggs may be
added.
_Herring Soup._--Wash well 1½ pint good split peas, and float off
such as remain upon the surface of the water. Leave them to soak for
one night, and the next morning boil them in 5 pints cold soft water;
add a couple of onions, with a clove stuck in each end of them; 2
carrots grated, 3 anchovies, one red herring, a bunch of savoury
herbs, one teaspoonful of black pepper, and one teaspoonful of salt,
if required. Let all these ingredients simmer gently together until
the vegetables are quite tender, when pass the whole through a fine
sieve into a clean saucepan. Slice in the white part of a head of
celery, add 2 oz. butter, a little more seasoning if required, and a
dessertspoonful of mushroom ketchup, if liked. Boil again gently for
20 minutes, and serve with a plate of fried bread, and another of
shred mint. If convenient, the liquor that pork, ham, or bacon have
been boiled in gives a nice flavouring, instead of the herring or
anchovies; but, if this liquor be too salt, as is generally the case,
it must be diluted with water, and the teaspoonful of salt omitted.
_Hotchpotch (de mouton à l’écossaise)._--Hotchpotch is a strong kail
soup, the chief difference between it and common Scotch broth being
its extra richness resulting from the meat being almost boiled away
in it, what remains coming to table in the tureen, and in its being
quite thick with the quantities of fresh green peas, onions and leeks
(both the latter shredded), grated carrots, beans from which white
skin has been removed, and a carefully limited quantity of turnips
and other vegetables of the more watery kinds. Scotch barley is, of
course, also an important ingredient.
_Hunter’s Soup._--Slice thin a large carrot, or 2 or 3 small ones,
a large onion, a head of celery, and some rather lean ham or bacon.
Fry these, with some parsley, in butter. When done yellow, dredge in
plenty of flour, and let it colour, but not a dark brown. Then add
some good beef broth, give it an active stir, and turn it into the
soup cauldron; add the requisite quantity of broth, and a pint of
red wine. Leave it to simmer slowly. In the meantime roast 3 or 4
partridges, basted with butter. Cut off the breasts in neat slices,
and the other meat from the bones. Bruise the bones in a mortar, and
throw them into the soup. Boil it well, strain, season with salt
and cayenne pepper, and make it hot again; but do not let it boil a
second time. Add the meat, to be served in the soup.
_Imperial Soup._--Beat 5 eggs well. Add 1 pint rich clear soup, some
salt, and a grate of nutmeg. Pour it into a well-buttered pudding
mould or basin; set this in boiling water, and let it boil 1 hour.
Be sure that water does not flow into the mould. When done, cut the
mass into thin slices or little pieces, and serve in clear soup; 2 or
3 fresh yolks may be beaten in the tureen if approved.
_Italian Soup._--(_a_) Take the flesh left from the cowheel or
calves’ feet that jelly has been made from; cut it into dice. Boil
2 tablespoonfuls of sago, well washed, until it is clear, either in
water or inferior stock, and warm just to boiling point some soup
stock. Just before dinner, put the pieces of meat into some boiling
stock until warmed through, then put them at the bottom of the
tureen, also the sago and a large tablespoonful of grated Parmesan
cheese, and pour the boiling stock upon these and send to table.