Carrot Soup (Crécy, Nivernaise).—Fry a large onion a nice brown colour without burning it, scrape, wash, and well dry 2 or 3 large carrots, cutting out all specks; cut them into thin slices and put them into a stewpan with about 3 pints of stock, let them cook gently over the fire until quite tender, then strain them from the soup, rub them through a tammy with the fried onion back into the soup, warm it again, and season with a very little pepper and salt. Serve with fried croutons on a napkin in a plate to hand round with it. This soup should be made the day before or early in the day on which it is to be used; this gives the fat in which the onions have been fried time to rise to the top, and it can easily be removed when cold. If a very nice colour is wished, only the red parts of the carrots should be used, of course more carrots will then be required; it should be of about the consistency of pea soup. Almost any other vegetable suitable for a purée may be used in the same way, such as turnip, parsnip, vegetable marrow, or potato; or if the stock chance not to be particularly good, it may be thickened either with semolina, tapioca, or sago in the proportion of about three ounces to a quart of stock. For semolina, drop it into the stock when boiling, keep stirring it, and let it simmer gently for about ½ hour. Sago should be washed in boiling water, and added gradually to the boiling stock, stirring and simmering until perfectly softand transparent. Tapioca must be put into the stock while cold, and must be allowed to boil gradually, it must then be simmered gently till quite soft as for sago; but even greater care will be necessary to keep stirring, or the tapioca will cling together and be lumpy. Should there not be likely to be any sufficiently good stock for next day’s dinner, an excellent soup, as well as a most useful cold dish for family use, may be made by stewing a piece of the thick brisket of beef the day before the soup is wanted. To 6 lb. of beef allow 3 large onions, 2 medium-sized carrots, 12 cloves, a sprig or two of parsley, and a tiny bunch of sweet herbs tied in muslin. Fry one of the onions a dark brown, without burning it, slice up one of the carrots and the remaining onions into a large stewpan, adding the second carrot, merely cut into 2 or 3 pieces, add a small piece of sweet dripping, and set the stewpan on the fire, stirring the vegetables until they are about half cooked, and are slightly browned; then take out half the vegetables; to those remaining in the stewpan add half the fried onion, 6 of the cloves, the bunch of herbs, and the parsley; slightly rub the beef with a small quantity of salt, place it above the vegetables, adding those that were taken from the stewpan, the other half of the fried onion, and 6 cloves, to rest on the top of the beef. Pour in as much of any stock you may happen to have as will well cover the beef, or, if you have no stock, use cold water; set it on the fire, which should not be a very fierce one, and let it remain till it begins to bubble; then remove it to the side, and let it remain simmering for 4-5 hours, or until done enough to be able to draw out the bones; it will require watching to ascertain this, as, when once tender enough for this, it should not cook any more. When the bones are removed, set the beef in a cool place between 2 dishes, with a heavy weight on the top; the next day it will be ready to trim and glaze, and serve as pressed beef. The soup and vegetables should be poured into a basin to stand all night; in the morning remove the fat which has risen to the top, warm the soup, and strain the vegetables from it. Trim off the outer discoloured parts of the larger pieces of carrot and cut them into thin slips, putting them back into the soup to be served in it; the rest of the vegetables may go into the stockpot, as there will still be much goodness in them. A slight shake of pepper will complete the soup, which should be a dark brown gravy soup of excellent flavour. If preferred to the carrots, a small quantity of Naples macaroni may be served in it; boil it in water till tender, then strain it and cut it into fine rings and add it to the soup.
Cauliflower Soup.—Make a clear white soup of mutton, or veal, properly seasoned with salt and white pepper. Mix 2 or 3 spoonfuls of flour in milk to thicken the soup to the consistence of cream. Break up a cauliflower into small tufts; boil them in salted water; drain carefully, and add them unbroken to the soup when about to serve. If extra richness is desired, add the yolks of 2 or 3 eggs, with a little cream beaten up.
Celery Soup.—Put into a saucepan the carcase and other remnants of a roast fowl, with a piece of ham or bacon, and a couple of heads of celery (reserving a few of the best pieces to be sliced finely, boiled in stock, and served in the soup). Fill up with stock and let it simmer 2-3 hours, then strain, clarify with white of egg or a little raw meat, and serve with celery.
Cheap Soups.—These are given more especially for the benefit of those who have charge of soup kitchens for the poor in winter. Many hints, however, may be gained from them, and some are well adapted for households with small means.
(a) Take the liquor of meat boiled the day before, with the bones of leg and shin of beef, add to the liquor as much water as will make it 130 qt. and also the meat of 10 stone of leg and shin of beef and 2 ox heads cut into pieces, add 2 bunches of carrots, 4 bunches of turnips, 2 bunches of leeks, ½ peck of onions, a bunch of celery, ½ lb. pepper, and some salt. To be boiled for 6 hours. Either oatmeal, barley, or peas may be put in to thicken it if necessary.
(b) Wash 1 qt. Scotch barley or split peas, put them into a large saucepan or fish-kettlewith 3 gal. water, add 3 large Portugal or Spanish onions cut into quarters, 6 large carrots, 6 or 8 turnips, herbs, pepper, salt, and allspice according to taste, one ox heel well divided, 7 lb. shin of beef; boil all together for 8-10 hours. It can be made cheaper and equally good by substituting for the shin of beef a 4 lb. tin of Australian beef or mutton, but this must be added only so as to mix in at the last with the other ingredients. Being thoroughly cooked in Australia, and free from bone, skin, and gristle, it is spoiled if it is cooked more than enough to make it hot for use. This beef or mutton is enveloped in its own jelly.
(c) Be most particular that the kitchen maid keeps every drop of water in which any meat is boiled; put this in the boiler, and fill up with water. When this boils, put in a few pieces of meat, 10 lb. to the 20 gal. (get 30 lb. of neck and shoulder pieces of beef once a week for it, and slightly salt them), some salt, and either pearl barley, groats, or oatmeal; whilst these are boiling, cut up some turnips and carrots in small pieces, say ½ in. square, cabbage and leeks, not cut too fine. These add to the soup, and boil all for 2 hours. The outer stalks of celery, if kept, make a great addition. Then take out the meat, and cut it up into small portions, putting one or two pieces into the can with the soup, when given to the poor.
(d) Put 2 oz. dripping into a saucepan capable of holding 2 gal. water, with ¼ lb. leg of beef, without bones, cut into square pieces about ½ in., and two middling-sized onions peeled and sliced; set the saucepan on the fire, and stir the contents round for a few minutes until fried lightly brown; then add (ready washed) the peelings of 2 turnips, 15 green leaves or tops of celery, and the green part of 2 leeks—the whole of which are usually thrown away; cut the above vegetables in small pieces and throw them into the saucepan with the other ingredients, stirring them occasionally; then add ½ lb. common flour (any farinaceous substance would do), ½ lb. pearl or Scotch barley, mixing all well together; then add 2 gal. water seasoned with 3 oz. salt and ¼ oz. brown sugar; stir it occasionally until boiling, and then allow it to simmer for 3 hours gently. You may use all kinds of vegetables cut aslant.
Cherry Soup.—Use black cherries, and proceed as for plum soup. Put a few cloves in at first; 1 lb. cherries to 1 qt. water will be found very good. After straining, break some of the stones, and put the kernels into the soup. Add also a few whole cherries towards the last, only long enough to soften them.
Chestnut Soup (de marrons).—Boil ½-1 lb. chestnuts until they will peel easily. Put them in a stewpan, sprinkle with salt, and leave to steam soft and mealy. Work through a wire sieve; put butter half the size of an egg in a stewpan, and when it is melted add a small finely minced onion and a few mushrooms. Dredge in a tablespoonful of flour, put in the chestnuts, and stir in enough white or brown soup to give it the consistency of a creamy batter; let it boil up. Serve with sippets of toast or any other soup accompaniment. As a thickening or purée for any kind of good white soup, chestnuts are very delicate. They take less time to cook if the outer rind is peeled off first, and when they have had a scald scrape off the inner peel, boil, and steam them dry; then pass them through a sieve. About a pint will thicken a soup for a small pastry.
Chicken Soup (Sévigné, de volaille, à la reine).—(a) Cut some carrots in slices, and with a column cut out of these a number of discs ¼ in. diameter. Cut similar discs out of some leeks, celery, and sorrel leaves; make an equal quantity (about a wineglassful) of each, and parboil them separately in salted water, leaving the leeks and sorrel discs in the water until wanted. Take 3 pints white stock made with poultry and quite free from grease; when boiling hot put the vegetables into it, then a few tarragon leaves cut small, and a little chervil picked out leaf by leaf. Beat up the strained yolks of 4 eggs with ½ gill cream, stir into them a little of the soup, and then quickly stir in the whole into the soup off the fire, and serve.
(b) See Poultry Soup.
Clear Soup (Consommé).—Order in 7 lb. shin of beef (the bones 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 forseveral hours, till all is removed, let it drop in.—Hints: Time for making, 24 hours. First, say, begin at 11A.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 littlecream 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 for5 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 littleLiebig 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 itup 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.
(b) Minestrone.—Take equal quantities marrowfat peas and carrots cut to the size of peas; boil separately in salted water till done; take as much rice boiled in salted water as there are peas and carrots; put all into a saucepan with sufficient common stock free from fat; add enough French tomato sauce to give the stock a rich colour. Let the whole come to the boil, and serve. Grated Parmesan cheese to be handed round with the soup.
Julienne Soup.—Take about equal quantities carrots, turnips, leeks, onions, and celery; cut them all in thin strips, not much more than ⅛ in. square and about 1½ in. long; put them in a saucepan with a lump of fresh butter, a good pinch of pounded loaf sugar, add pepper and salt to taste; toss them lightly on the fire until they begin to colour, then add one lettuce finely shredded, and a small handful of chervil and sorrel, also finely shred; and, after giving the whole a tossing on the fire for about 5 minutes, moisten with some clear stock, and keep the soup hot by the side of the fire for 2 hours. When wanted, add as much more stock as is necessary, and serve.
Kidney Soup.—Take 3 pints well-flavoured white stock, slice finely one or two gherkins, have ready 6 small button mushrooms previously cooked in a little lemon juice. Slice a small onion, and put it into a saucepan with a little butter, let it just take colour, add to it a veal kidney cut in small dice, season with pepper and salt, and toss together for a few minutes, but do not overcook the kidney; drain them from the butter, and put them into the soup tureen with the gherkins and the mushroom. Make the soup hot, and add to it, off the fire, the yolks of 2 eggs and a little milk or cream; pour it over the kidney, &c., add a dash of cayenne, and serve very hot.
Leek Soup.—Take the green leafy part of the leeks, rejecting any leaves which may be otherwise than quite fresh and tender; soak them in cold water so as to be quite crisp; cut them into lengths of about 1-1½ in., and boil them in as much good stock as may be required for the size of the party. Let them boil until perfectly soft and tender, season with a little salt and a slight shake of pepper stirred in, and serve. This soup should be quite thick from the quantity of leeks in it, and not just gravy soup with a few pieces of leek floating about it.
Lentil Soup (Conti).—Well wash about 1 pint lentils, and soak them for several hours; add to them 3 qt. water, some bones, which can be purchased for 3d., or 2 lb. of shin of beef cut up, 3 or 4 good-sized onions, and the same of carrots and turnips, with the outside leaves of a stick of celery if at hand; add a little seasoning, but be careful not to put too much pepper, and let the soup simmer gently on the side of the hob all day. When the vegetables are quite soft they can be rubbed through a colander, or many people prefer to leave them whole. The latter plan would perhaps answer best for poor people, especially if there is meat in the soup. You can make lentil soup with only the liquor in which meat has been boiled, but if the meat is salted, the lentils, &c., must be cooked first, or they will harden, and the liquor added when they are nearly done, care being taken not to make it too salt. A cowheel makes excellent stock for soup, and can be eaten separately, or cut up and left in the soup. They can be bought for 8d.each, and are most nutritious if poor people could only be taught the value of such food. If eaten separately the cowheel should be allowed to simmer gently for about 3 hours. The meat will then separate readily from the bone, and can be fried inbatter. The bones should be left to boil up again in the soup, and thus two dinners may be provided at a small cost; but as it is always very difficult to persuade poor people to expend so much time on cookery, it would possibly be better to cut up the meat and let it be eaten with the soup.
Lettuce Soup (aux Laitues).—Boil some lettuces in salted water, when quite done drain them well, and pass through a hair sieve. Mix a small piece of butter with a tablespoonful of flour in a saucepan, add a little stock, then the purée of lettuce, let it boil for a minute or so, season with pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg to taste, add as much stock as is necessary to make the soup, and serve with small dice of bread fried in butter.
Liebig’s Beef Tea.—This is rendered much more nourishing and palatable by the addition of milk or cream. If with milk, make with equal parts of milk and water; if cream, add a tablespoonful or two to a breakfastcupful of beef tea. Season with salt. When milk cannot be taken, thin pearl barley water is excellent with Liebig stirred in it, and any approved flavouring. A little stock will also be found very nice with a little Liebig and salt only. Either of these, while containing nutriment, can be taken as simple beverages.
Liver Soup.—Slice ½ lb. liver, dredge with flour, and fry brown in butter, with an onion cut in slices. Then pound the liver quite smooth, season with salt, black pepper, and a grate of nutmeg. Stir in about 3 pints good brown soup, and boil 10 minutes with a French roll sliced in, crust included. Strain, and again make hot, nearly boiling. Pour it on 2 well-beaten eggs in the tureen. Offer lemon juice and cayenne pepper at table.
Lobster Soup (Bisque de Homard).—Pick out all the meat from a lobster, pound it in a mortar with an equal quantity of butter until a fine orange-coloured pulp is obtained; to this add pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg to taste; take as much breadcrumbs as there is lobster pulp, soak them in stock, then melt a piece of butter in a saucepan, amalgamate with it a heaped tablespoonful of flour, mix the lobster pulp with the breadcrumbs, and put both in the saucepan on the fire, stirring the contents until they thicken and boil, draw it then on one side, and carefully skim off superfluous fat; then strain the soup through a hair sieve, make boiling hot, and serve with small dice of bread fried in butter.
Macaroni Soup.—(a) Take 4 oz. macaroni, break into small pieces, and simmer gently for ¼ hour in 1 pint water; then add a piece of butter the size of a small nutmeg, pepper, salt, and 1½ pint stock. A teaspoonful of chopped parsley or dried herbs can be added for flavouring; simmer another ½ hour, and serve.
(b) Boil 2 oz. macaroni (broken up in convenient pieces) in a pint of stock free from grease, to which add a good pinch of salt; when cooked (10-15 minutes), drain them and put them into the soup tureen containing 1 qt. well-flavoured clear stock boiling hot. Grated Parmesan to be handed round with it.
Milk Soup.—Peel 2 lb. potatoes and 2 leeks or onions (leeks are the best). Boil them together in 2 qt. boiling water to become tender. Pass all through a fine wire sieve and put it back as a purée into the stewpan. Add to this 2 oz. butter, let it melt, and then a pint milk; season to taste with a little pepper and salt; keep stirring it over the fire, and, when boiling, sprinkle in gradually 3 dessertspoonfuls of crushed tapioca; keep it boiling for another 10 minutes to cook the tapioca, and serve.
Mock Pea Soup.—Flavour some stock according to taste (a leaf or two of mint should not be forgotten), and thicken to consistency of thin cream, with some revalenta arabica; season with pepper and salt, and serve with it dice of crisp toast and some finely powdered mint on small dishes. A small piece of butter or a little thick cream may be added to the soup, if approved. It will be found a fair imitation of pea soup, is nutritious, easy of digestion, and may be acceptable in not seeming like an invalid dish. If no stock be at hand, a simpler edition of it may be made by making a cupfulof revalenta, either with water or equal parts of milk and water, in the usual way. Stir to it Liebig to taste, and season with pepper and salt. Serve with or without the accompaniments given above.
Mock Turtle Soup (fausse tortue).—(a) Boil half a calf’s head with the skin on for ¾ hour. Remove eye, ear, and brains, cut the meat into squares 1½ in., put it into a large stewpan, add to it 2 oz. butter, 1 pint old Madeira, 1 gill veal broth, a small bundle of sweet herbs, a little sage, a small onion chopped very fine with one teaspoonful of white pepper, a little salt, a little cayenne, also a little allspice if liked. Stew gently till the meat is tender, keeping well covered; then add 2 qt. good veal stock, make some thickening with cold veal broth, flour, and herbs; boil, strain, and add to the soup. Take out the meat, boil the soup about 10 minutes, strain over the meat, add lemon juice and some forcemeat and egg balls. This is the simplest to have it good, but it may be made far richer.
(b) Take an ox foot, cleaned and split, 2 onions with their skins on to darken the soup, a few cloves, one tablespoonful of vinegar, peppercorns and salt to taste, a little celery seed, and carrots, and a small piece of turnip. Take out when the bones slip away easily, about 6 hours, strain through a sieve, then mix 2 tablespoonfuls of arrowroot, add a glass of sherry, let it boil, carefully stirring, add some forcemeat balls, and send to table.Forcemeat Balls.—One teaspoonful of sage, pepper and salt, one egg slightly beaten, ¼ lb. lean bacon or pork, a few breadcrumbs; mix altogether, the bacon to be finely minced, shape all into balls the size of marbles, and fry in boiling lard until a light brown; sufficient for 12 persons.
Mulligatawny Soup (au kari).—(a) Wash nicely a knuckle of veal in lukewarm water, and put it in to stew gently in 7 pints water, skim it carefully as it comes to the boil, and let it simmer for 1½ hour closely covered; take out the meat, strain the liquor into a stewpan, and have ready 2 lb. best end of a breast of veal cut up into pieces 1 in. square, without gristle or bone; slice 3 large onions into the stewpan, and fry them both together with about a ¼ lb. butter till they are a delicate brown colour; now add the veal liquor, and let it simmer 1 hour altogether, taking care to again skim it carefully on its coming to the boil. Take a little of the liquor and mix into it a good tablespoonful of curry powder, and a tablespoonful of flour; keep stirring until both are well mixed and quite smooth, adding to it a dust of cayenne, ½ teaspoonful of salt, a pinch of ground ginger and a little mace; stir this mixture gradually into the soup, keep it simmering (not boiling) ¼ hour longer, strain off the onions, serve very hot, with the pieces of meat in the soup; it should be perfectly smooth and the consistency of good cream; serve with rice as for curry. The squeeze of a lemon put into the tureen, and the soup poured on it, adds greatly to the flavour.
(b) Melt 2 oz. butter in a saucepan; cut 2 large onions into fine rings, and then stew them for 5 minutes in the butter, then add 2 qt. water, salt to taste, 2 slices of bacon cut into dice. Mix to a smooth paste 2 tablespoonfuls of curry powder and one of flour. Stir this into the soup, taking care that it is not lumpy, to prevent this stir till it boils. Joint the rabbit neatly, then cut again into medium-sized pieces; soak these thoroughly in salted water to get out the blood. Put them into the soup and stew gently for ¾ hour. Serve with boiled rice and mashed potatoes. If stock is used for this soup the butter is unnecessary. (B. Tremaine.)
Mussel Soup (de moules).—This is made by mixing a good fish or white veal stock with the half of the mussel liquor, and pouring this over aroux(made by rolling equal quantities of butter and flour together and putting it on the fire for 3 minutes). Stir this well together till it boils, and then let it simmer for ½ hour. Now put the mussels into a tureen, pour the soup over them, and stir in aliaisonof yolk of egg and lemon juice.
Mutton Broth.—Fry 5 or 6 onions to a good brown colour in beef dripping, set them in a sieve to let the fat drain off them; cut 6 turnips and 3 or 4 carrots into pieces, add a bundle of sweet herbs, and a teaspoonful of salt. When these are all ready, take alarge scrag, or two small ones, of neck of mutton, cut off the best pieces to fry, and make stock of the bones. Take the vegetables (fried), put them at the bottom of your pan, then add a layer of mutton, then vegetables, then mutton, till all is in; then put your stewpan shut close over a moderate fire, and let it stew ¾ hour, shaking it often to keep it from burning; then pour in 2 qt. stock, and let it stew as slowly as possible—scarcely to seem to stew. Put the best pieces of the meat and vegetables into the tureen, and then pour all the rest upon them through the sieve, so as to have a purée with the pieces floating in it.
Nouilles Soup.—Make a paste with the yolks of 4 eggs, the white of 1, a pinch of salt, the least drop of water, and as much of the finest flour as will give a very stiff paste. When worked quite smooth, roll it out as thinly as possible without breaking it; then cut out each sheet of paste into strips or lozenges, and spread them out to dry on a cloth. In 2-3 hours’ time throw the nouilles into some fast-boiling, well-flavoured clear stock, and serve as soon as sufficiently done, grated Parmesan cheese being handed round with the soup.
Okra Soup.—Soak ½ pint dried okra in 3 pints cold water all night. Make some stock with a fresh shin of beef, and after adding the okra with the water in which it was soaked, let it boil at least 7 hours. After 4 or 5 hours add some tomatoes or tomato sauce. Season to taste.
Onion Soup (Cussy, à l’oignon).—(a) Boil some Spanish onions in water until nearly tender, strain off the water, and finish cooking them in milk, or in milk and water. When quite tender pass them through a sieve, and add sufficient well-flavoured stock to make the soup of the right consistency. Make the soup quite hot, add pepper and salt to taste, and just at the last stir in a small piece of fresh butter, and serve with small dice of bread fried in butter. This is very suitable for catch-cold weather.
(b) Slice 2 Spanish onions, roll them in flour, and let them take a turn or two in a saucepan, with plenty of butter. Before they begin to take colour, add as much water as you want soup, with pepper and salt to taste; let the whole boil till the onions are thoroughly done, then pour the soup into a tureen, over some small slices of stale bread; add a good sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese, and serve.
Ox-tail Soup (hochepot).—Take 2 ox tails, divide them at the joints, and put them into a saucepan with 3 qt. cold water, and salt to taste. Let it come gently to the boil, removing carefully the while any scum that rises. Add gradually the following vegetables, cut into convenient pieces: 3 or 4 carrots (according to size), 1 small turnip, 2 onions stuck with 6 cloves, about 20 peppercorns, half a head of celery, a bay leaf, and some parsley. Put in a few drops of sue colorant, and let the soup boil very gently 4-5 hours. Strain the liquor, and remove all fat. Serve with the pieces of ox-tail, omitting the largest ones.
Oyster Soup (aux huîtres).—Put 24 oysters into a stewpan in their own liquor just to get hot through, but not to boil; take off the beards, and put the oysters into the soup tureen, letting the beards remain with the liquor in a small basin till wanted. The stock for the soup should be prepared the preceding day, by placing a cowheel on the fire in a stewpan of water; when it boils, take it out, cut off the best part of the meat, and throw it into a basin of cold water to remain all night. Put the remainder of the heel back into the stewpan, both meat and bones, with a sliced carrot, some outer leaves of celery, a sprig of thyme, a blade of mace, and some parsley root; let these boil up and then simmer by the fire for 2-3 hours, or until the meat is completely separated from the bones. Then pour it off through a sieve to remain also all night. Next day prepare the oysters as described, remove the fat from the stock, and, having made a thickening of flour and butter, gradually stir the stock into it; add 2 glasses light white wine, cut the meat from the cowheel which has remained in cold water, into small pieces about the size of a bearded oyster, put them into the soup, and let all stew very gradually for 2 hours. Then stir in the strained liquor from the oysters, let it boilup once, add a little lemon juice and a very little cayenne pepper; pour it into the tureen over the oysters, and serve.
Palestine Soup (aux topinambours).—Boil till tender 40 Jerusalem artichokes in milk and a little salt; boil in milk till quite tender ½ lb. fine picked rice, pound them both together, wet with a good strong chicken or veal broth; rub through the strainer, and add more stock if not thin enough; strain the yolks of 5 eggs and ½ pint cream into the soup tureen; pour the soup in boiling hot, season with salt and pepper, and serve with fried sippets.
Parmesan Cheese Soup.—Grate 2 oz. cheese; toast thin slices of rolls; dip them in cream, cover them with the cheese on both sides; lay them in a tureen, and pour good soup over them; or, instead of the toasted roll, use thin slices of brown bread soaked in milk or cream, and covered with the grated cheese.
Pea Soup (de pois).—(a) 1 gal. any weak stock, obtained from bones or boiled meat, salt or fresh; 1½ pint split peas (previously soaked), 3 onions, 2 carrots, 3 turnips, a little salt. Simmer all well together for 2 hours, then pass once through the hair sieve, and it is ready. This makes enough for 8 people. Double the quantity in the same proportion for 16; costs 6d.per gal. This is almost the cheapest soup that can be made, as any stock does for it (even the water in which vegetables have been boiled) as a foundation.
(b) 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 croûtons of bread. (Jane Burtenshaw.)
(c) Boil the day before it is wanted 1½ pint split peas in 3 qt. stock, from which every atom of fat has been removed; put in ¼ teaspoonful baking soda, and boil till the peas are thoroughly dissolved; strain the soup. Next day take 2 large tablespoonfuls corn-flour, ½ teaspoonful curry powder, well mixed in ½ pint cream, and 2 lumps sugar; boil 5 minutes, and serve with toasted bread cut into dice, handed round. Or rub as much butter into 2 tablespoonfuls of flour as you can, form into balls, and with 2 lumps of sugar and 1 pint milk, add to the soup; boil ¼ hour; have some chopped mint in the tureen; pour boiling soup over, and serve, either with or without toasted bread. The soup may be varied also by adding different spices, such as Jamaica pepper or cloves; and a little made mustard is a great improvement stirred into your plate of peasoup. Salt stock, such as that in which salt meat, or tongue, or a piece of ham, has been boiled (if not too salt) is best for peasoup.
(d) Soak a quantity of peas in water for 24 hours. Throw the water away, and put the peas in a saucepan with 2 onions stuck with cloves, a bunch of thyme and parsley, 2 bay leaves, whole pepper, and salt to taste. Fill up the saucepan with cold water, and set the contents to boil until the peas are thoroughly done. Drain off the water, pass the peas through a hair sieve, and work them in a saucepan on the fire with a piece of butter, until the purée is quite hot, moistening with a little stock if too stiff. A piece of bacon boiled with the peas is an improvement.
Pear Soup.—Peel and slice 6 pears, boil them soft in 3 pints water, with a few cloves and a sliced roll. Strain through a coarse sieve, and reboil with sugar, a glass or two of wine, and the juice of a lemon. Serve with sponge cake.
Plum Soup.—Brown some flour in butter; stir in water to thin it. Put in plums with some cinnamon or cloves. Let them boil to a mash, strain them, and add sugar, with equal parts wine and water—about 1 pint each to 1 qt. plums. Throw in a few whole plums, and simmer again till these are softened, but not broken. Add slices of toast a minute or two before serving.
Polish Soup (barszcz).—Fill a good-sized jar with slices of beetroot cut in pieces, andcover them with cold water, to which should be added a slice of bread. The jar should then be covered, and left until the juice, which becomes a deep vermilion colour, is fermented and has a sour taste. In warm weather 3 days will suffice for this, in winter it takes 5-6. The ferment which rises to the top must be removed, and the juice passed through a sieve. It is then boiled with an equal proportion of strong beef stock, to which is added small pieces of ham. The soup comes to table looking clear and red, and for variety may be made pink by adding a pint of sour cream. (H.) See also p.506.
Pomeranian Soup.—1 qt. white beans must be boiled soft in water; mash half of them, thin with broth, and work through a sieve. Let boil with the broth to a smooth soup, in which has been boiled a head of celery cut small. Add the whole beans, a mild seasoning of sweet herbs, some parsley, salt and pepper. Let all boil ¼ hour, and serve.
Poor Man’s Soup.—See Potato Soup.
Potato Soup (Parmentier, pauvre homme).—(a) Put 1 oz. butter into a saucepan with 3 large onions, shred fine, and fry them a pale brown colour; add 1 teaspoonful flour, stir for a few minutes, but do not allow the mixture to darken; then add 1 qt. common stock previously flavoured with carrots, turnips, celery, leeks, and parsley boiled in it; stir until soup boils, and season to taste with pepper and salt. Peel 1 or 2 potatoes, cut them into small dice, and put to boil with the soup. Cut some crust of bread in long pieces the size, and half the length of, French beans, dry them in the oven, and at the time of serving throw them into the soup; then stir into it off the fire the yolks of 2 eggs, beaten up with a little milk, and strained.
(b) Peel 8-10 large potatoes, 3 onions, 2 heads of celery, 1 turnip, 1 carrot, a slice of ham or lean bacon, cut all in small squares; boil them with some broth; when done, rub all through the sieve, and season with pepper and salt.
(c) Boil some potatoes in water with an onion, a head of celery, and salt to taste; when done pass them through a hair sieve, and put them into a saucepan with a lump of butter, adding sufficient stock to bring them to the consistency of soup. Let it boil up, season with pepper and salt, and at the time of serving throw in either minced parsley or small sprigs of chervil. Small dice of bread, fried in butter, to be served in or with the soup.
(d) Use milk instead of stock, and add, besides pepper and salt, just a small grate of nutmeg.
Pot au feu.—(a) Take 6 lb. round of beef, put it in a large earthenware pot, with any stray bones, and 14 qt. cold water; add 3 handfuls of salt, some whole pepper, and a few cloves; let simmer, without allowing to boil, until you can skim; after skimming add 4 turnips, 5 or 6 carrots, 2 parsnips, 1 stick celery, 2 large onions, and a clove of garlic; take a bunch of leeks, and tie up with them a leaf of bay laurel, and a root of parsley (if you have not the whole plant, some leaves alone), and put this into the pot with the other things. Let boil very slowly for 4 hours. Cook apart in a saucepan 2 fine cabbages; do not put any water with them, but when thepot au feuis nearly cooked, take off the top of the soup, put it over the cabbages, and let them cook in it for ½-1 hour. When the soup is ready, take some crusts of bread which have been well browned in the oven, cut them in pieces, let them soak for a few minutes in boiling water, then put them into the soup tureen, and, after skimming the soup, pour it over them. Serve the meat on a dish, arranging the cabbages, carrots, turnips, onions, and parsnips all round.
(b) Take a piece of fresh silverside of beef weighing 6 lb., and about ½ lb. bones; tie up the meat neatly with string, and put both into a 6-quart saucepan; fill it up with sufficient water to come well over the meat and bones, and set it on the fire; remove carefully with a skimmer the scum that will rise as the water gets warm, but do not allow it to boil. Add at intervals during the process about 1 pint cold water in small quantities; this will have the effect of checking the ebullition, and will help the scumto rise. When the scum is all removed, put in about 1 oz. salt, a small handful of whole pepper and allspice, 1 onion, stuck with 12 cloves, 1 onion toasted almost black before the fire or on the hob, 1 leek, and three carrots of average size cut in 2 inch lengths, 2 turnips of average size each cut in four, and abouquet garni—i.e. 2 bay leaves, 2 or 3 sprigs each of thyme and marjoram, a clove of garlic, and a small handful of parsley, all tied together into a small faggot. The above vegetables should not be put in all at once, but gradually, so as not to check the gentle simmering; now skim for the last time, and place by the side of the fire to simmer gently for at least 4 hours. According to the season, all or some of the following vegetables may be added: A head of celery cut in 2 in. lengths, a couple of tomatoes, a couple of parsnips, a handful of chervil. At the time of serving, strain the broth and skim off all the fat, add the least bit of sugar (not burnt sugar) and more salt if necessary; make the broth boiling hot, and pour it into the soup tureen over small slices of toasted bread, adding, according to taste, a portion of the vegetables cut in thin slices. To serve the meat, having removed the string, garnish it with some of the vegetables, or with mashed potatoes, spinach, &c.
Poultry Soup.—Remains of any kind of poultry will do for this. Cut all the meat off the bones, free it from skin, and pound it smooth in a mortar. Soak a slice or two of bread, without crust, in as much milk as it will absorb; add it, with the yolks of 2 or 3 eggs, to the pounded meat, and pass all through a sieve. While preparing the above, let the broken-up bones boil in some good meat broth. Strain this, and mix with it the pounded meat. Give it one boil up, and serve with Hühner Klösse. In boiling up the bones, any kind of seasoning may be added, such as herbs, vegetables, lemon peel, salt, and pepper. See also Chicken Soup.
Pumpkin Soup (de potiron).—Peel the pumpkin and cut into pieces (removing the seeds). Put it into boiling water with some salt, and leave it to boil until reduced to a pulp thin enough to pass through a strainer. Melt a piece of butter in a saucepan with a wine glass of cream. Add the pulp, when strained, with salt and pepper to taste, and a pinch of flour. Let the whole simmer for ¼ hour, thicken with the yolk of an egg, and serve.
Quenelle Soup.—Put into a saucepan a gill of 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 in a mortar; add 3 oz. butter and 2 oz. of 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 an olive; 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 were boiled in), and serve.
Rice Soup (au riz).—(a) Pick over carefully 6 oz. best Carolina rice, wash in 3 waters, until no dirt remains, blanch in boiling water, and then drain; put 1 qt. milk into a saucepan, and set it over the fire; throw in the rice; let boil for 10 minutes and then simmer; season with salt and white pepper, and add a small cupful of cream just before serving. Send plain toast, not fried, to table with it.
(b) Pick and wash a handful of rice, boil it in salted water till the grains just burst; drain the water off, and leave the saucepan at the side of the fire, covered with a damp cloth. At the time of serving, put as much rice as is wanted into the saucepan in which the soup (well flavoured and clarified stock) is being made hot, and as soon as it boils send it up to table. Grated Parmesan cheese to be handed round with it.
(c) The rice must be well washed, first in cold then in warm water; 2 oz. is enough for 5 half-pints of soup. Boil the rice 2 hours at least, either with some of thesoup or with water sufficient to boil it to a jelly; then add it to the soup. In the latter case have the yolks of 2 or 3 eggs in the tureen.
(d) Boil some rice as in (b); pass through a hair sieve; add as much white stock as may be necessary; make quite hot, and stir in off the fire 1 gill cream beaten up with the yolk of an egg and strained. Serve with small dice of bread fried in butter.
(e) Use water and milk in equal parts instead of stock.
(f) Mix rice flour with either milk and water or white stock cold; then make it hot, and when it has boiled finish the soup as in (d).
Rice and Carrot Soup (Crécy au riz).—Make 1 qt. vegetable stock boiling hot, then strew lightly into it 4 heaped tablespoonfuls Bousquin’sRiz Crécy; let gently simmer for ½ hour. Then stir in, off the fire, the yolk of an egg beaten up with a little milk or cream; add half a pat of butter, and serve.
Rice and Pea Soup (de riz aux pois).—Having prepared the soup as in (b) add to it at the time of serving a cupful of very young green peas boiled in salted water and thoroughly drained.
Rice and Sorrel Soup (de riz à l’oseille).—Boil some rice in water; when half done drain off all the water, and finish cooking the rice in some clear stock; then add, according to taste, more or less sorrel finely shredded, boiled in salted water till done and strained.
Rice and Tomato Soup (de riz aux tomates).—In 1 qt. vegetable stock boil a handful or more of rice; as soon as this is cooked (not over done), draw the saucepan to the side of the fire, and add an 8d.bottle ofconserve de tomates. As soon as the soup is quite hot (it must not boil) put in a small pat of fresh butter, and serve.
Sago Soup (au sagou).—(a) Wash 5 oz. sago in warm water, set it in a saucepan with 2 qt. milk, and simmer until the sago is thoroughly dissolved; season with pepper and salt, and add a small capful of cream before serving. Good clear stock is generally used for both sago and tapioca soup; but they are even nicer made with milk.
(b) The stock must be ready seasoned and quite boiling. Strew in the sago by degrees, about the same proportion as in rice soup. Boil ¼ hour, and serve in the tureen with yolks of eggs.
Savoy Cabbage Soup.—Take half a savoy cabbage, shred it very finely, and set it to boil in stock free from fat and well flavoured; parboil a teacupful of rice, and when the cabbage has boiled for 10 minutes throw it in to finish cooking with the cabbage; when both are thoroughly done, put in a handful of grated Parmesan cheese, and serve.
Savoyard Soup.—Peel and slice a small quantify of young turnips, put them into boiling water slightly salted. In another saucepan put the crusts of a quartern loaf previously soaked for 3-4 minutes, in the liquor of thepot au feu, and cut into pieces 1 in. square; grate over them some Gruyère cheese, and put the saucepan over a moderate fire till the crusts become dry and crisp; brown the turnips in some grease from thepot au feu, put them on the top of thecroûtons, then reversing the saucepan put them all into a soup tureen, having the turnips at the bottom and the crusts at the top. Pour over them some good stock, and serve.
Scrap Soup.—Obtain from a butcher 6 lb. ends, trimmings, bits, and bones, which he will sell at 7d.a lb. or less, if told that it is for a soup kitchen. Place all in a very large saucepan, or, better still, divide the quantity and put each half into a separate saucepan, covering well with water. Throw in any vegetables, either previously cooked or not, that can be had, a few herbs, cold potatoes, crusts of bread, celery and lettuce stalks, and bacon rinds. Simmer all down gently for 6 hours or longer, removing the scum from time to time, and adding water when necessary. Strain through the colander, and it is ready. This should make enough for 12 persons, allowing 1 pint to each, 1½ gal. water being used; 2 gal. water, making it rather poorer, will extend the number to 16. Cost to make 4s.= 4d.a head.
Scotch Broth.—(a) Take ½ lb. Scotch barley, 5-6 lb. mutton (neck or breast), put on the fire with 5 qt. water, and bring it slowly to the boil. Add turnips, carrots, onions, or leeks, and celery cut up small, with ½ pint dried green peas, ½ hour after the meat and barley have boiled. The whole is then to be simmered 2½ hours longer. The fat must be removed as it rises to the surface when boiling. If preferred, the meat can be served as a separate course, with some large vegetables round it.
(b) The liquor in which a sheep’s head has been boiled is most useful for this soup. If wanted stronger, the remains of the head can be boiled down in it again as for ordinary stock. Wash 1 oz. pearl barley, and put it to 2 qt. stock; chop fine 2 small carrots, 2 turnips, 1 onion, 2 or 3 outside sticks of celery; add pepper and salt to taste, and simmer till the vegetables are tender. Dried vegetables in shreds answer very well for this, and can be bought at about 1s.per lb., 1 lb. being sufficient for 8 qt. of stock.
Semolina Soup (à la semoule).—Have 1 qt. well-flavoured stock boiling fast on the fire. Take in one hand some of the coarsest semolina that can be procured, and slowly strew it in the stock, which is to be continuously stirred with a spoon held with the other hand. One handful will be sufficient for the above quantity of stock, but more may be used according to the thickness the soup is desired to be. Keep on stirring for a few minutes, when the soup will be seen to thicken, and it is then ready. Parmesan cheese may be served with it.
Sheep’s Head Soup.—Let the head and pluck be well soaked in cold water, and then put on in 4 qt. cold water; cut the pluck in pieces, add ½ lb. pearl barley, 4 onions, 2 large carrots, 3 turnips, ¼ oz. mixed cloves, mace, and peppercorns. Take off the head and heart when done, then stew the pluck and other ingredients 2 hours longer; thicken the soup with a little flour and butter; cut the head and heart in pieces, and add forcemeat balls. ½ lb. lean beef is a great improvement to this soup. A wineglassful of sherry, ketchup, and soy to taste. Strain very carefully.
Shrimp Soup (de crevettes).—Take 1 pint shrimps, pound them in a mortar with the juice of half a lemon and a piece of butter equal in weight to them. When quite a smooth paste, pass it through a sieve, and add pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg. Take as much breadcrumbs as there is shrimp paste, soak them in stock. Melt a piece of butter in a saucepan, amalgamate with it a heaped tablespoonful of flour, mix the shrimp paste with the soaked breadcrumbs, and put both into the saucepan. Stir well, adding more stock, until the soup is of the desired consistency. Put the saucepan on the fire, stir the contents till they boil, then draw it aside and carefully skim off all fat, strain through a hair sieve, make the soup hot again. Stir in off the fire the yolk of an egg, beaten up with a little milk or cream, and serve.
Sorrel Soup (a l’oseille).—A good quantity of sorrel leaves must be picked from the stems and washed, then put into a stewpan with a piece of butter to steam. No water is requisite. Dredge in, continually stirring, a tablespoonful or two of flour, unless the soup is to be clear. Add enough soup, already seasoned and flavoured. Serve with sippets or dice of toasted bread.
Spinach Soup (aux épinards).—Pick and wash quite clean a quantity of spinach. Put it in a saucepan with sufficient salt, and when quite done squeeze all the moisture out, and pass it through a hair sieve. Dilute the pulp thus obtained with as much well-flavoured stock as will make it of the right consistency; make boiling hot, add a dash of pepper, and at the time of serving put a pat of fresh butter in the soup tureen.