SOUPS.
The first duty of the cook or housekeeper is to have a stock made ready for soups, gravies, and sauces. On the care given to this point greatly depend the comfort and success of the dinner. I will now try to explain how, with a little care and pains, this can always be done, and the same stock used for several soups. To make—
BROWN SOUP.
Procure a nap-bone, five lbs.; have the bone well broken into very small pieces, and wash it in salt and water. Cut off the meat, and brown it in the frying-pan, with an onion. Put the nap-bone and fried meat into a convenient-sized soup-pot with eight quarts of cold water, and when it comes to the boil, set it to the side of the fire, to throw up the scum and grease; remove these as they rise, and boil slowly, with a head of celery, for six hours; then strain, and have it clear, to make the different kinds of clear soup. I will afterwards give the names of these.
For thick soups, or gravies, or sauces, put back the same meat and bones of the first stock into the pot, and put on eight quarts more of water. Boil for six hours,—longer, if it is cold weather. Vegetables, such as carrots and turnips, may be put into the stock, but not in warm weather. Strain this stock, and it will do for thick soup or purées of vegetables.
JULIENNE SOUP.
Take the red part of a carrot, part of a turnip, and the white part of a head of celery, leek, and onion; cut these into thin shreds about an inch long, and boil in a pint of water. Pour off the water from the vegetables, and add them to the clear brown soup. Season with pepper and salt, and whatever sauce is preferred.
PERSIAN SOUP.
Cut carrot, turnip, and lettuce leaves, with a round vegetable-cutter, to the size of a threepenny piece, and boil tender in a separate sauce-pan, strain and add to clear brown soup. A glass of sherry added to the soup is an improvement, but this may be omitted.
MOCK TURTLE SOUP.
Procure a calf’s head, and parboil in plenty of water, with a spoonful of salt, till tender. When the calf’s head is cold, by steeping in cold water, trim the head from all gristle, and press it between two ashets till morning; then cut it in dice pieces. Make a thick soup in the following manner: take three ounces of clarified fat and one onion, and brown over the fire; add two ounces of flour, and brown; stir in two quarts bree of head, keeping stirred gently to prevent burning; draw over to the side of the fire to boil slowly and throw up the scum. Put in the pieces of head, and boil if necessary a little longer; put a glass of Madeira wine in the tureen, and a pinch of cayenne pepper.
SOUP À LA ROYAL.
Switch the yolks of two eggs and the white of one with a glass of stock, season with pepper and salt. Grease a small tea-cup that will hold it, and steam for ten minutes. Let the custard stand till cold, then cut in dice pieces, and drop into a basin of water; and when the clear brown soup is hot, drop in the dice pieces of custard. Serve with a flavouring of Worcestershire sauce in the soup.
CURRY SOUP.
Peel and slice one onion, and put into a stew-pan with two ounces of butter. Fry of a light-brown colour one apple, and as soon as this is dissolved, mix three ounces of flour, one tablespoonful of curry paste, and one tablespoonful of curry powder. Then add three quarts of stock, by degrees, keeping it stirred while pouring in the soup. Let it simmer by the side of the fire. Remove the scum, and pour through a strainer. Put back into the soup-pot, to keep hot; and serve with boiled rice.
How To Boil Rice for this Soup.
Put on a tea-cupful of rice to boil in cold water and salt; boil for fifteen minutes, then strain through a colander. Rinse the rice under the hot-water tap, and set in the oven to dry. Shake several times to keep the grains separated. Dish, and hand round with curry soup.
KIDNEY SOUP.
Get one ox kidney, cut it in small pieces and put it on to stew in a pan with half an onion and an ounce of butter, and let the kidneys brown; then add a quart of cold water, and let the kidneys stew for one hour; then strain the stock from kidneys and rinse the scum that lies round the kidneys; add the stock from the kidneys to three quarts of second stock, and place in another sauce-pan three ounces of flour, two ounces of dripping, and brown with onion. When this is browned, add the stock gradually to prevent it lumping, then the kidneys; let it simmer at side of stove for half-an-hour; skim off the scum that rises.
PURÉE DE POIS.
Get two quarts of green peas and boil till soft, with a handful of parsley, in just what water covers the peas. When the peas are ready, strain the water from them into two quarts of good strong stock, pass the green peas through a wire and hair sieve, and add to the stock a glass of cream, and one spoonful of flour.
PURÉE DE TOMATO.
Put into a stew-pan two carrots, one turnip, one onion, two dozen tomatoes, two ounces of butter, and one quart of second stock, and stew till tender. Pass this through a wire and hair sieve, if too thick, add stock to make it the thickness of cream.
PURÉE OF CARROTS.
Boil the red part of four carrots, one onion, with a cup of rice, till very soft, then pass all through a wire and hair sieve, and add second stock to this purée to make it the thickness of cream.
OYSTER SOUP.
Use whatever fish bones may be over from filleting fish—failing these, get a cod’s head, and boil for twenty minutes in three quarts of water, and strain. Have two dozen of oysters bearded and scalded. Have a spoonful of butter and one of flour melted, not browned. Strain your soup, and add it to butter and flour, along with a gill of cream for every pint of soup. Add your oysters—two for each person—which have been bearded and scalded, and boil three minutes. Before putting the soup into your tureen, switch up the yolk of an egg in the tureen, then pour the soup over, stirring all the time.
WHITE SOUP.
The boiling of fowl, bones of rabbits, a nap of veal bone, or trimmings of mutton cutlets can be used to make this soup, with a small piece of mace. For every quart of strong white stock place in a pot one ounce of flour and half-an-ounce of butter, and melt it over the fire; then add the boiling stock, a cup of milk, and a gill of cream, and when ready to serve, have the yolk of an egg switched in the tureen and pour the boiling soup on it.
HARE SOUP.
After the hare is skinned, wipe it clean on the outside. Great care must be taken not to lose the blood. Keep the blood in a basin. Place the hare in a pot with cold water, and a small nap-bone broken; when it boils, skim and draw to side of fire to boil for four hours; put in one carrot, one head celery, and one onion. When the hare is done, keep some of the best parts to serve in tureen, then make a brown roux with three ounces of clarified fat, three ounces of flour, and the blood of hare, and brown over the fire; then add the stock of hare, draw to side of fire to throw up the scum. Skim it well, and pass through a hair sieve; return to pot and put in the pieces of hare; pepper and salt. When in the tureen, put in a glass of port wine.
TO MAKE BROWNING FOR SOUPS.
Put one ounce of brown sugar in an iron sauce-pan, and with one spoonful of water a tiny piece of butter. Stir with an iron spoon till browned a dark colour. Add a tea-cupful of cold water, and boil for ten minutes; strain and bottle for colouring soups and sauces. Use a tea-spoonful to colour your soups and sauces, if not already brown enough.