Originally published June 7, 1984
The art of soup-making has long been an essential and laudable achievement. In fact, soup was among man’s first culinary creations. The first of them were doubtless prepared by putting meat, bones, liquid and perhaps some seasonings, in animal-skin bags. Also added were hot stones to cook them. Later, as clay containers were created, the ingredients became more varied, and were cooked slowly over direct heat. Thus was devised the first “pot au feu” (French for pot on the fire).
In Europe, the early wealthy Romans enjoyed a variety of intricate soups at their lengthy banquets, while lesser folk subsisted on more basic and hearty creations. From the cookbook by Apicius, believed to have written in the first century A.D., we can determine that there was an excellent array of earthenware and bronze pots and kettles for preparing soups.
During the Dark Ages, after the fall of the Roman Empire, there were no resources for fancy experimentation with soup or any other fare. It was a time of foraging for anything to keep alive, and soups became the mainstay of the daily diet. Basic creations filled with grains and other easily accessible foods, they provided warmth and nourishment. The first soup kitchens, which would be revived over and over again in times of need, were established in the monasteries. Countless numbers of hungry unfortunates were thus able to survive.
The word for soup evolved from sop, the name for a piece of bread dipped in meat broth, during the Middle Ages. About the twelfth century the broth was called sop or soupe, and other ingredients were added to the liquid. In the cuisines of western Europe there are still many similar words. In Austria, Germany, Denmark and Norway, for example, the dish is suppe. In Spain and Portugal it is soppa, in Holland soep and Sweden soppa. The Italians use the word zuppa. A notable exception to this similarity of names is the Finnish keijto.
Escoffier, the great French chef, said “Soup puts the heart at ease, calms down the violence of hunger, eliminates the tensions of the day, and awakens and refines the appetite.”
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Old-Fashioned Quebec Pea Soup Recipe
As Father’s Day is now almost here, we are reminded that this was my dad’s favorite. Serves 6 or 7.
Ingredients:
1 lb. salt pork, lean and fat
1 T. dry mustard
1 lb. dried peas
8 cups cold water
1 large onion, sliced thin
1 T. kosher salt
1/2 t. savory
1/4 t. dried mint
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can hominy corn
1 T. butter or margarine
V.S.P. Rub the salt pork with the dry mustard. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours. Meanwhile, sort, wash, then soak the peas in cold water for 12 hours.
Place in a soup kettle the peas and their water, the pork, onion, salt, savory, mint, parsley and garlic. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 3 to 4 hours or until peas are tender and the soup appears to be creamy. Add the hominy and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the butter and garnish each serving with croutons. Serve hot.
Ingredients:
1 lb. salt pork, lean and fat
1 T. dry mustard
1 lb. dried peas
8 cups cold water
1 large onion, sliced thin
1 T. kosher salt
1/2 t. savory
1/4 t. dried mint
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can hominy corn
1 T. butter or margarine
V.S.P. Rub the salt pork with the dry mustard. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours. Meanwhile, sort, wash, then soak the peas in cold water for 12 hours.
Place in a soup kettle the peas and their water, the pork, onion, salt, savory, mint, parsley and garlic. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 3 to 4 hours or until peas are tender and the soup appears to be creamy. Add the hominy and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the butter and garnish each serving with croutons. Serve hot.
Cabbage Soup Recipe
This soup can be assembled in a very short time but it will be enjoyed by young and old alike. Serves 6 or 7.
Ingredients:
3 T. butter or margarine
2 medium carrots, grated
3 onions, sliced thin
4 to 6 cups cabbage, chopped fine
A few leaves of celery, minced
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/2 t. sugar
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups milk
Slices of bread, browned in butter
Grated cheese
V.S.P. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the carrots, onion, cabbage, celery leaves, salt, pepper and sugar. Mix well, cover and simmer over very low heat for 25 minutes. Add the chicken broth, bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the milk, heat and taste for seasoning. When ready to serve, place a slice of bread, browned in butter, in each bowl, sprinkle with cheese and fill bowl with soup. Serve hot.
Ingredients:
3 T. butter or margarine
2 medium carrots, grated
3 onions, sliced thin
4 to 6 cups cabbage, chopped fine
A few leaves of celery, minced
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/2 t. sugar
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups milk
Slices of bread, browned in butter
Grated cheese
V.S.P. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the carrots, onion, cabbage, celery leaves, salt, pepper and sugar. Mix well, cover and simmer over very low heat for 25 minutes. Add the chicken broth, bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the milk, heat and taste for seasoning. When ready to serve, place a slice of bread, browned in butter, in each bowl, sprinkle with cheese and fill bowl with soup. Serve hot.
Corn Soup Recipe
Whenever a soup is needed quickly, this one can be put together within an hour and will surely please 3 or 4 soup lovers.
Ingredients:
2 thick slices of bacon
1 onion, chopped
1 can (16 oz.) niblet corn
1 cup cooked, diced potatoes
2 cups milk
1/4 t. savory
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
V.S.P. Cut the bacon into small squares and brown in a large saucepan. Add the onion and brown over high heat. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. When ready to serve, sprinkle with parsley or dried celery leaves. Serve hot.
Ingredients:
2 thick slices of bacon
1 onion, chopped
1 can (16 oz.) niblet corn
1 cup cooked, diced potatoes
2 cups milk
1/4 t. savory
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
V.S.P. Cut the bacon into small squares and brown in a large saucepan. Add the onion and brown over high heat. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. When ready to serve, sprinkle with parsley or dried celery leaves. Serve hot.
Scotch Cock-A-Leekie Soup Recipe
Although of Scottish origin, this flavorful chicken and leek soup is popular throughout the British Isles. It’s name was acquired most probably because at one time it was made with cockerel. Some variations include the addition of pitted prunes, an innovation that is denounced as a French heresy by Scots, who scorn a sweet flavor in the soup. Serves 10 to 12.
Ingredients:
1 stewing chicken, about 5 lbs., washed
5 quarts water
12 leeks, white parts and 2 inches of green stems, washed and cut into 1/2-inch slices
4 parsley sprigs
1 bay leaf
1/2 t. thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup pearl barley
2 T. chopped fresh parsley
Step 1. Put the chicken in a large kettle and add water. Bring to a boil and with a skimmer or spoon, remove any scum that has risen to the surface. Add remaining ingredients, except chopped parsley, and lower heat. Cook slowly, partially covered, until the chicken is tender, about 2-1/2 hours.
Step 2. Remove the chicken to a large plate or platter and, when slightly cooled, cut meat into bite-sized pieces, discarding skin and bones. Remove and discard the parsley sprigs and bay leaf from the soup. Take off any scum from the surface and return the meat to the soup. Return to the stove and reheat. Garnish each bowl with parsley and serve proudly.
Ingredients:
1 stewing chicken, about 5 lbs., washed
5 quarts water
12 leeks, white parts and 2 inches of green stems, washed and cut into 1/2-inch slices
4 parsley sprigs
1 bay leaf
1/2 t. thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup pearl barley
2 T. chopped fresh parsley
Step 1. Put the chicken in a large kettle and add water. Bring to a boil and with a skimmer or spoon, remove any scum that has risen to the surface. Add remaining ingredients, except chopped parsley, and lower heat. Cook slowly, partially covered, until the chicken is tender, about 2-1/2 hours.
Step 2. Remove the chicken to a large plate or platter and, when slightly cooled, cut meat into bite-sized pieces, discarding skin and bones. Remove and discard the parsley sprigs and bay leaf from the soup. Take off any scum from the surface and return the meat to the soup. Return to the stove and reheat. Garnish each bowl with parsley and serve proudly.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Pasta - The Shape of Things to Come
Originally published June 4, 1984
Inexpensive, easy to prepare and practically imperishable (when properly stored), pasta - as typically Italian as Grand Opera and Chianti - has much going for it as one of the great dishes of the world.
Most of us are familiar with several varieties of pasta, Italians have more than a hundred different shapes and sizes to choose from - ranging from tiny golden specks called pastina, used mainly in light soups and invalid broths, to huge ribbed rigatoni, so large and hearty that they are individually stuffed with meat, cheese and tomatoes.
The delightful names the Italians give to these shapes are proof of their affection for pasta. Spaghetti (which means little strings) and macaroni are, of course, best known to us, but they are just two of the immense pasta family: amorini, little cupids; farfallette, little butterflies; conchiglie, little shells; capelletti, little hats; and tirabaci, kiss-bringers, are just a few of the delicious forms pasta takes. And strange as it seems, the cut and shape of pasta, in one or another of these many forms, alters the taste of the finished dish, for it affects the cooking and the amount of sauce included with each mouthful.
Even more important than the size and shape of the pasta is the kind of sauce that accompanies it. Not all Italian pasta sauces are tomato based. One of The Kitchen Mouse’s favorite recipes serves well-drained spaghetti with only butter and freshly grated Parmesan cheese; another adds one or two egg yolks and a little cream to this basic recipe for a really delicious sauce.
Inexpensive, easy to prepare and practically imperishable (when properly stored), pasta - as typically Italian as Grand Opera and Chianti - has much going for it as one of the great dishes of the world.
Most of us are familiar with several varieties of pasta, Italians have more than a hundred different shapes and sizes to choose from - ranging from tiny golden specks called pastina, used mainly in light soups and invalid broths, to huge ribbed rigatoni, so large and hearty that they are individually stuffed with meat, cheese and tomatoes.
The delightful names the Italians give to these shapes are proof of their affection for pasta. Spaghetti (which means little strings) and macaroni are, of course, best known to us, but they are just two of the immense pasta family: amorini, little cupids; farfallette, little butterflies; conchiglie, little shells; capelletti, little hats; and tirabaci, kiss-bringers, are just a few of the delicious forms pasta takes. And strange as it seems, the cut and shape of pasta, in one or another of these many forms, alters the taste of the finished dish, for it affects the cooking and the amount of sauce included with each mouthful.
Even more important than the size and shape of the pasta is the kind of sauce that accompanies it. Not all Italian pasta sauces are tomato based. One of The Kitchen Mouse’s favorite recipes serves well-drained spaghetti with only butter and freshly grated Parmesan cheese; another adds one or two egg yolks and a little cream to this basic recipe for a really delicious sauce.
Spaghetti alla Bolognese - Italian Meat Sauce Recipe
This very rich meat sauce is a typical Italian sauce. Serve 4 or 5.
Ingredients:
1 lb. spaghetti
2 T. butter or margarine
4 T. olive oil
1/4 lb. salt pork, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1 strip lemon peel
1 bay leaf
4 T. tomato puree
10 oz. rich beef stock
1/4 cup dry white wine
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated nutmeg to taste
4 T. heavy cream
Grated Parmesan cheese
Butter
Step 1. Heat butter and oil in a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan; add salt pork, onion, carrots and celery. Sauté over medium heat, stirring occasionally until salt pork browns. Stir in ground beef and brown evenly, stirring continuously. Add lemon peel, bay leaf, tomato puree, beef stock and wine and season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Step 2. Cover pan and simmer the sauce very gently for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove lemon peel and bay leaf and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, or until sauce has thickened slightly. Add cream and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes more.
Step 3. Cook spaghetti in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente (firm to the bite, but not soft or mushy). Serve with Bolognese sauce and freshly grated Parmesan. Dot with butter.
Ingredients:
1 lb. spaghetti
2 T. butter or margarine
4 T. olive oil
1/4 lb. salt pork, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1 strip lemon peel
1 bay leaf
4 T. tomato puree
10 oz. rich beef stock
1/4 cup dry white wine
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated nutmeg to taste
4 T. heavy cream
Grated Parmesan cheese
Butter
Step 1. Heat butter and oil in a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan; add salt pork, onion, carrots and celery. Sauté over medium heat, stirring occasionally until salt pork browns. Stir in ground beef and brown evenly, stirring continuously. Add lemon peel, bay leaf, tomato puree, beef stock and wine and season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Step 2. Cover pan and simmer the sauce very gently for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove lemon peel and bay leaf and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, or until sauce has thickened slightly. Add cream and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes more.
Step 3. Cook spaghetti in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente (firm to the bite, but not soft or mushy). Serve with Bolognese sauce and freshly grated Parmesan. Dot with butter.
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