Cut a knuckle of veal, or a neck of mutton into small pieces, and put
them, with the bones broken up, into a large stew-pan. Add the meat
sliced from a hock or shank of ham, a quarter of a pound of butter, two
large onions sliced, a bunch of sweet herbs, and a head of celery cut
small. Cover the pan closely, and set it without any water over a slow
fire for an hour or more, to extract the essence from the meat. Then
skim it well, and pour in four quarts of boiling water, and let it boil
gently till all the meat is reduced to rags. Strain it, set it again on
the fire, and add a quarter of a pound of vermicelli, which has first
been scalded in boiling water. Season it to your taste with a little
cayenne pepper, and let it boil five minutes. Lay a large slice of
bread in the bottom of your tureen, and pour the soup upon it.
For the veal or mutton you may substitute a pair of large fowls cut
into pieces; always adding the ham or a few slices of bacon, without
which it will be insipid. Old fowls that are fit for no other purpose
will do very well for soup.