Mrs. Roundell's Practical cookery book

Sir William Farrington’s Soup. — (Family Recipe.)— Make strong broth of the scrag end of a neck of mutton, or of lean beef, whichever is most convenient. Add plenty of sweet herbs, but on no account thicken the broth. When strong enough put in two lettuces tom, two cucumbers pared and sliced (but not too thin), and a pint of nice young peas. Simmer very slowly for three-quarters of an hour, and send to table with the vegetables in the soup. Colour the soup a light brown, and shake in a little cayenne pepper if agreeable. Hare Soup. — (Family Recipe.) — Take an old hare, wash it in several waters, cut it in small pieces, put it into three quarts of boiling water. Add half a teacupful of washed rice, two onions, a good bunch of herbs, and a little pepper and salt. Let the soup simmer for five hours, when it will be reduced to half the quantity. Strain it off. Melt in a saucepan an ounce of butter, mix with this an ounce of flour, and a glass of port wine. Pour the soup on this, bring it to the boil, and serve. (The hare will pot or hash afterwards.) Hare Soup made of Cooked Hare.— (Family Recipe.)— Take three pints of water, put all remains of the hare into it, with one sliced onion, some thyme and parsley. Simmer till the soup is reduced to a quart. Strain. Cut off any nice pieces of the hare and chop them small. Thicken with a little HARE SOUP MADE OF COOKED HARE flour and butter, give a dust of cayenne, add a gill of red wine, pour in the soup, bring it to a boil, and serve. Friar’s Chicken. — Cover a knuckle of veal with either stock or water, and simmer it till all the goodness is out of the meat. Skim off all the fat, and strain the broth through a sieve. Have ready a large chicken (or a couple of rabbits), cut up. Put the chicken into the broth, make it hot gradually, and simmer for another hour. Season only with salt and blanched minced parsley. Beat the yolks and whites of two eggs well together, and add them to the soup off the fire just before serving. Be careful in stirring the eggs in to stir only one way. Giblet Soup. — The giblets of a bird are its liver, gizzard (or muscular part of the intestine), feet, neck, and head. The giblets of turkeys and chickens are much the best, as those of ducks and geese are apt to be strong. The French name for giblets is properly Abatis, or, the remnants after the demolition, say, of a building. English dictionaries try to derive giblets from the French gibier, or game, but this must be a mistake. Thick Giblet Soup is excellent in winter, and the clear variety at other times, but in both the old-fashioned plan of serving pieces of the giblets in the soup should be avoided. A shillingsworth of giblets is enough to make thick soup for four people, reserving the livers for another dish such as liver-toast ; if the livers are included, and another half-pint of stock added, there will be enough soup for six persons. Both Thick and Clear Giblet Soup are begun in the same way. Take the gall-bladder from the liver without breaking it, scald and skin the feet and the gizzard. Open the gizzard, empty it, and stew it by itself for an hour, as it takes much longer to get tender than the rest of the giblets. Chop the beak of the bird from the head, and cut the head off the neck. The feathers come off easily if the head and neck are scalded.