GAMEKEEPER’S BROTH.—Strain off clear about a quart of stock obtained
by stewing the bones of game, poultry or rabbits with any meat bones
available. Brown scraps and trimmings of meat will have made this stock
richer and deeper in colour. Fry till brown a few small onions and
carrots, and in the same fat any scraps of game or meat that seem good.
Add these to the strained stock and mix with the rest of the fat in the
frying-pan a little flour, some pepper and salt, stir up well and thin
with a few spoonfuls of the stock, then add all to the remainder and
boil up once. A little red wine would, of course, make this richer, but
is not necessary.
OX-TAIL SOUP.—Joint the tail and place the pieces in a deep stone jar
with peeled onions, say three or four, as many carrots, and some salt
and pepper. Fill up the jar with water. One tail should make three or
four pints of strong soup. Stew in a corner of the hearth or oven for
four or five hours, and serve a few pieces of meat with the liquor. It
is not necessary to thicken the soup, but if it is preferred so, it can
have a little flour and dissolved butter rolled together and stirred
into the hot liquor gradually, and boiled up once.
SHEEP’S HEAD BROTH.—Wash the head well and put on in a pan with cold
water, a good spoonful of salt, a large cupful of well-washed barley,
some onions and turnips, carrots and leeks if to be had, and a piece
of celery likewise, and boil very gently for at least three hours. Add
cold water always, say two quarts to one head. A little fresh parsley
chopped small will give a very nice flavour to the broth, put in when
cooked.
SCOTCH BROTH.—The neck and other lean parts of mutton make the best
broth, and should be cut small enough to serve a little meat in each
plate. Turnips and onions are cut into small pieces and put in with
the meat in liberal quantity. A little salt and pepper, and some fresh
green peas when in season are added when the rest of the broth has
boiled, and pearl barley, previously washed and soaked in cold water,
is put in with the first vegetables as it takes long to cook. Boil two
hours.
GRAVY SOUP.—Parts of lean beef, such as the shin and tougher pieces of
the leg, with any large bones broken in pieces, make the best gravy
soup. The meat should be cut into pieces and put into a deep jar with
the bones, and just enough water to cover well. Put in a spoonful of
salt and a few peppercorns and leaves of any sweet herbs available, but
no vegetables save one or two onions. Cook very slowly indeed, never
allowing it to boil hard. After cooking about six hours, strain off,
let it get cold to enable any fat to be skimmed off, then warm up as
wanted. It should be a rather deep colour and very strong and clear.
RABBIT OR HARE SOUP.—The bones and larger joints, heads, and so on,
without any blood, of course, are put on to cook in cold water, and
with them put onions and carrots. Cook a long time, then strain and
pick off any nice bits of meat to return to the stock. Mix a large
spoonful of flour with cold water, also a teaspoonful of salt and half
one of pepper, and same of sharp sauce if available. Stir into the hot
liquor and boil up for five minutes.
BEEF BOUILLON.—Take a nice piece of fresh beef, say two or three pounds
weight; put it on in a pan with warm water rather more than enough to
cover it. Bring it up to the boil quickly, and as soon as it boils add
pared carrots and parsnips—no turnips—onions, leeks and celery, as many
as the pan will hold, then let all boil _very gently_ for three hours
or so. The beef and vegetables can be eaten as a dish after the soup
has been taken off clear. The latter is most reviving and appetising as
well as wholesome. The point is not to let it boil hard, and to keep
the broth clear and well-flavoured.
FISH SOUP.—The water in which a large fish has been boiled will make
a foundation for good fish soup, straining it clear then returning to
it flakes of fish carefully picked from skin and bone, and a little
minced onion and parsley. Melt a small pat of butter and stir into
it some white flour till quite smooth, then a little cold milk, and
pour into the stock. Add pepper and salt at discretion, and bring to
boiling-point. Small fresh white fish are sometimes boiled in the
stock till quite soft and the whole strained through a colander, then
finished off as indicated.
POTATO SOUP.—Boil three or four large potatoes after peeling, and when
done mash them down to a pulp; chop finely a large onion and fry it in
butter or lard, but do not let it brown. Dredge a little flour on to
this, then add a teaspoonful of salt and a little pepper and stir up
with the mashed potato, and thin down with milk to make it like cream,
stir well till it boils and serve.
Soak white haricot beans for twelve hours, and then boil them until
they will mash down smoothly, and treat exactly as above, and an
excellent white soup will result.
ONION BROTH.—Peel, slice thinly and boil, several white onions, using
a deep saucepan and enough water to cover them well. When quite tender
and soft stir in half as much milk, and a large spoonful of cornflour
or barley meal, with butter, pepper and salt enough to season well, let
it boil up a minute or two and serve.
Or bone stock can be used instead of water, leaving out the milk.
The water in which ham or bacon has been boiled will make excellent
foundation for peas or lentil soup. Pea flour is less trouble and quite
as satisfactory as using dried peas, but if the latter are preferred
let them soak at least twelve hours before boiling in this liquor. Boil
till soft, then crush through a colander with wooden spoon and season
the puree well, adding a little butter also. If too thick, thin down
with either milk or water, put in a spoonful of fresh mint chopped or
of dried and sifted herbs.
Treat lentils in just the same way, except that they will not need the
previous soaking that dried peas do.
If pea flour is used, mix it well with cold water first, boil the
stock and stir in the paste when it is hot and boil well, stirring
frequently; season and add the herbs or mint as before.
If fresh green peas are used, they need no soaking, only boiling till
very soft, mashing and thinning down with stock.
PUMPKIN OR VEGETABLE MARROW SOUP.—Pare, split down and take out the
seeds from large marrows or from portions of ripe pumpkin. Boil in
enough water to cover well until quite tender, then rub through a
colander. Melt some butter and mix with it a large spoonful of flour,
and stir this into the marrow, thinning down with a little boiling
milk, adding salt and pepper and a spoonful of sugar, a little spice if
liked, and boil till all is smooth as a custard.
TOMATO SOUP.—Cook half a dozen large tomatoes in a little butter, after
cutting them in slices and some slices of peeled onion. Cook till
tender, and rub down with wooden spoon or pass through a colander. Add
enough clear bone stock to make the required quantity of soup, and salt
and pepper, with a teaspoonful of sugar also. Then finally stir in some
butter and flour mixed together to a smooth paste, boil well and serve.
Mixtures of vegetables like turnips, parsnips, artichokes and potatoes,
with onion to make a savoury flavour, make an excellent white soup.
Carrots and tomatoes and onion go well together for a soup that is made
up with bone stock.
It is an improvement in all these soups to use _baked_ flour where
flour is mentioned, as this gives the soup a richer flavour. To make
it, spread a little white flour on a sheet of paper and bake very
slowly in a cool oven, then keep in a tin.