Soup Recipes from France

Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.

From Recipes of All Nations by Countess Morphy, 1936.

Soups

Le Pot-Au-Feu

(The stock-pot)

The “pot-au-feu” is as much of a national institution in France as tea-drinking is in England. It Is made at least once a week in every bourgeois household. The French peasant’s principal meat dish consists of the meat from the stock-pot, and the chef gives us a supreme version of it, which goes to the making of the most perfect of all clear soups — the consommé. But to obtain a really good pot-au-feu, both time and patience are required — hours of slow and steady boiling will alone extract all the substance from the bones, and at least three-quarters of an hour’s careful and continuous skimming will alone give us stock free from grease. Those are the two fundamentals, and however fresh and good the bones or meat, we shall get a poor pot-au-feu unless these rules be observed.

The French peasant deliberately refrains from skimming the soup, in the belief that it is more nourishing and satisfying, but all good French cooks or chefs recognise the importance of both processes, and do not shirk the task of careful skimming. In the kitchens of large restaurants, the bones intended for making stock, chopped in small pieces, are put in cold water, which is brought to the boil, and then simmered for 12 to 15 hours. And the next day, this bone stock is used for cooking the soup meat. If this meat is to be served at table — as it is in most French house-holds — it is left whole, and only cooked for 2 to 4 hours, according to the weight. If, however, its sole purpose is the actual making of a strong stock, it is then chopped up and cooked for the maximum length of time, when all its substance has been extracted, and it is no longer good for eating purposes.

The best cuts to use are the shin of beef, the thin flank, the brisket — and a choice piece, if the meat is to be served at table as “bouilli” (see p. 47), is either the topside or fresh silverside. The stock is greatly improved by the addition of the neck, liver, gizzard, heart of a fowl, or by chicken bones, but neither game, mutton, pork or ham should ever be added to the pot-au-feu.

The proportions given in the following recipe will make about 1 quarts of excellent stock, and I give the ‘family” recipe, in which the meat can be served separately as the “bouilli” — a somewhat glorified version of plain boiled beef.

Ingredients: 2 1/2 lbs. of topside of beef, 1lb of bones, 3 ozs. of carrots, 2 ozs. of turnips, 3 ozs. of leeks, 3 onions, 1 of which should be stuck with 2 cloves, 1 oz. of parsnips, 1 small stick of celery, a bouquet of mixed herbs, salt, 3 quarts of water.

Method: Put the bones in a large saucepan with the cold water, bring to the boil gradually and, when the scum begins to rise, skim carefully. Simmer gently for as many hours as possible — the longer the better. In cases where economy of fuel has to be studied, the time has to be curtailed, and not more than 3 to 4 hours can be spared for this process of boiling the bones alone.

When done, strain the bone stock into a basin through a cloth wrung out in cold water. Keep the stock in a cold place, and the next day remove carefully any fat that has set on the surface. Put the meat in a saucepan, add the warm bone stock, bring slowly to the boil, and skim until the stock is free from all scum. During the process of skimming, a few tablespoons of cold water may be added occasionally, as this makes the scum rise to the surface. The sliced vegetables are then added, and the salt and herbs. Cover the saucepan, but tilt the lid, so that there will be an opening of about 1 ½ inches to let the steam escape. This helps to keep the stock clear.

Simmer very gently for 3 1/2 hours, till the meat is quite tender. When the meat is removed from the saucepan, again strain the stock through a wet cloth into a basin. The stock is then ready for use, but it is preferable to wait until it is cold, when a little grease may still rise to the surface and can be removed.

The alternate and quicker method is to cook both bones and meat at the same time, but the above method undoubtedly gives the best results.

Bouillabaisse

(Provençal fish soup)

It is impossible to have a real bouillabaisse in England, as our seas are lacking in the variety of fish which goes to the making of the genuine soup. Somehow, too, quite apart from the distinctive flavour of the fish used in the making of bouillabaisse at Marseilles, the eating of it in cold blood, on a foggy day in London, Birmingham or Manchester, for instance, seems all wrong. You want the hot sun of Provençe, the exuberant and voluble waiter, the marseillais, bubbling over with enthusiasm over his famous local dish; and even if his black beard occasionally gets imbibed with it — well — it is all part of the fun of eating bouillabaisse. Thackeray waxed enthusiastic about it — although he mis-spelt the name — and wrote the following verse:

This Bouillabaise a noble dish is,

A sort of soup, or broth, or brew.

A hotch-potch of all sorts of fishes

That Greenwich never could outdo;

Green herbs, red peppers, mussels, saffron.

Soles, onions, garlic, roach and dace…

The recipe I give below for bouillabaisse is that of the famous provençal chef, J. B. Reboul, but I have substituted for the list of fish he gives, most of which are unobtainable in this country, a list of some of our more common fish.

Ingredients: A small lobster or langouste, fresh haddock, turbot or brill, gurnet, bream, whiting, eel, crab — the weight of the fish should be altogether 2 lbs, when the meat has been removed from the lobster or langouste. Two large onions, 3 cloves of garlic, 2 tomatoes, a sprig of thyme, 1 of fennel, parsley, 1 bayleaf, a strip of orange peel, 1/2 a tumbler of oil, salt, pepper, a good pinch of saffron and sufficient boiling water to cover the fish. Slices of bread.

Method: Cut the fish into 2 inch lengths, keeping the coarse and the more delicate fish on separate plates. Put the chopped onions, the garlic, well crushed with the blade of a knife, and the chopped tomatoes, in a saucepan, with the oil, the herbs and orange peel. Add the coarser varieties of fish, cover with boiling water, and cook for 5 minutes on a very quick fire. Then put in the remaining fish, continue boiling fast for another 5 minutes — 10 minutes hard boiling altogether. Remove from the fire, strain the liquid into soup plates on slices of bread, arrange the fish on a hot dish, sprinkle with chopped parsley, and serve at the same time.

The fish is sometimes put on the bread in the soup plates. The object of this very fast boiling is that the oil and water will blend more thoroughly. In slower cooking, the oil would not mix properly and would rise to the surface. And if the fish is cooked any longer, it will break and spoil in appearance and flavour.

Garbure

(Cabbage and salt pork soup)

This is more or less a rustic soup, but is very delicious. Every district in France has a slightly different version of it, and the one I give hails from Gascony.

Ingredients: 1 cabbage, 1 lb. of salt pork, 1/2 pint of haricot beans, previously soaked, 3 or 4 large potatoes, 2 large carrots, 1 large turnip, 1 or 2 leeks, 2 onions, 1 clove of garlic (optional), a sprig of thyme, salt and pepper.

Method: Blanch the cabbage, and quarter it. Put it in a saucepan with the haricot beans, previously soaked, the potatoes, peeled and halved, the sliced carrots, turnip, leeks, onions, garlic, and cover with cold water. Season highly with salt and pepper. Simmer gently for 1 1/2 hours. Then add the pork, and simmer for another hour, or till the pork is quite tender. Put in each soup plate a slice of bread, previously cooked in a little butter to a golden colour, and pour the purée of vegetables ,over it. The pork is usually served separately.

Brunoise

(Vegetable soup)

The brunoise is an excellent soup, and is usually made with stock. But the recipe given below is that of Brunoise maigre — with water, instead of stock.

Ingredients: 2 large carrots, 1 large onion, 1 small leek, 1 stick of celery, 2 turnips, when in season, 2 or 3 tablespoons of peas and 8 or 10 French beans, butter, salt and pepper, just under 2 pints of warm water.

Method: Cut all the vegetables in neat little dice, and put these (with the exception of the peas and beans) in a saucepan with a little butter. Simmer very gently on a slow fire, stirring occasionally, till the vegetables are well browned. This will take about 3/4 of an hour. Then add the water, season with salt and pepper, bring to the boil and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Add the peas and beans 3/4 of an hour before serving.

Potage Aux Herbes

(Sorrel, lettuce and chervil soup)

“Herbes” in France does not mean only herbs, as we understand the word, but also includes sorrel, lettuce, etc.

Ingredients: 1/4 lb. of sorrel, 1/2 a small lettuce (outer leaves not to be used), 1 heaped tablespoon of chervil, the yolks of 2 eggs, 2 1/2 pints of good stock, 1 tablespoon of butter, croutons of fried bread, salt and pepper.

Method: Pick and wash the sorrel and the lettuce and cut in thin strips. Pick the chervil from the stalks and chop coarsely. Put all in a saucepan with a little butter and simmer very slowly for 30 minutes, till the vegetables are quite tender. Now add the stock, cover the saucepan and simmer for another 1/2 an hour. Ten minutes before serving, mix the yolks of eggs in a basin with a little cold stock. Remove the saucepan from the fire, and add gradually a few spoonfuls of the warm stock to the eggs, then add the egg mixture gradually to the soup, stirring well. Replace the saucepan on the fire. Put in a small pat of butter just before serving. Small dice of bread — croutons — fried in butter, are served with this.

La Soupe Aux Congres

(Eel soup)

This is an inexpensive soup which is very popular in France.

Ingredients: 2 lbs. of conger eel, 4 tablespoons of tomato pure, 2 onions, 3 or 4 potatoes, 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, a bouquet of mixed herbs, 1 small bayleaf, salt and pepper, water.

Method: Cut the eel in 3 or 4 inch lengths, and sprinkle it with salt — the French always use ‘‘gros sel,’’ a very coarse salt, which gives an excellent flavour — and let it stand for a few hours, or overnight. Then wash the pieces, and cook gently for about 10 minutes in a little butter. Slice the onions finely and brown in hot butter. Now put the pieces of eel in a saucepan, add about 3 or 4 pints of water, the onions, the tomato purée, the seasoning, bring to the boil and simmer till the fish is quite tender, which will take about 1 hour. If the potatoes are large, they should be added about 3/4 of an hour before serving, if small, 1/2 an hour will be sufficient. In some parts of France, the pieces of eel are left whole, and eaten separately, as in Brittany, or the eel can be removed from the soup, skinned, and rubbed through a sieve, this purée being well mixed into the soup.

La Soupe Aux Markons

(Chestnut Soup)

Ingredients: 3 or 4 dozen chestnuts, 1 oz. of gammon, cut in dice, 1 large potato, 1 or 2 carrots, 1 bayleaf, water, stock, salt, pepper, croutons of fried bread.

Method: Shell the chestnuts and put them in cold water with a little salt and bring to the boil. Peel them carefully and put in a saucepan with the carrots, cut in half, the potato cut in 2 or 3 pieces, and the seasoning. Add 1 pint of water, and simmer till the chestnuts are quite tender. Then rub the chestnuts, the carrots and the potato through a sieve, put this purée into a saucepan and add a little hot stock to thin the purée. Stir well, simmer for a few minutes, and serve with croutons of fried bread. A little sugar is sometimes added to this soup.

La Soupe Aux Moules

(Mussel soup)

This recipe comes from Provençe, and the formula is that of the provençal chef, Maitre J. B. Reboul.

Ingredients: 4 or 5 dozen mussels, 1 onion, 1 leek (the white part only), 6 ozs. of rice to each quart of water, a pinch of saffron, salt and pepper.

Method: Put the mussels in a saucepan with just under 1 quart of water, 1 chopped onion, and 1 or 2 bayleaves. Cover and cook for a few minutes, till the shells are opened, then pour the liquid into a basin through a sieve. Remove the mussels from their shells and put them on a plate. Put 2 or 3 tablespoons of oil in a saucepan and, when hot, add the leek, finely chopped, and cook till brown. Add the water in which the mussels were cooked, add the rice, the saffron, and simmer till the rice is tender. The mussels are added a few minutes before serving. A chopped tomato is sometimes added, and often vermicelli is used instead of rice.

Potage Créme de Potiron

(Pumpkin soup)

Ingredients: 1 ½ lbs. of pumpkin, 1 large tomato, 1 small onion, the yolks of 2 eggs, 1 1/2 pints of boiled milk, butter, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and a little salt and pepper.

Method: Peel the pumpkin and cut in 3 inch lengths. Halve the tomato, and cut the onion in thin slices. Put all in a thick saucepan with a closely fitting lid. Do not add any liquid of any kind. Put the saucepan in a slow oven or on a very slow fire for 1 hour. Then rub all through a sieve into a basin. Put the purée into a saucepan and dilute with the hot milk. Season with salt, pepper and sugar. Mix the yolks of eggs in a basin, and dilute with a little cold milk, remove the saucepan from the fire, mix a little of the hot soup to the eggs, and then add the eggs to the soup. Stir for a few minutes, and serve with croutons.

La Soupe des Noces ou Tourin Aux Tomates

(The nuptial soup or tourin of tomatoes)

So called because it is the custom in Périgord for the wedding-guests to take this soup to the newly married couple in the middle of the night, breaking into the nuptial chamber with the hot tourin which, willy-nilly, the young people are compelled to have. Needless to say that by this time the guests, having feasted well, are very merry, and their intrusion is a somewhat noisy affair — and very disturbing!

Ingredients: 6 large tomatoes, 1 onion, 1 tablespoon of vermicelli, 2 pints of water, salt and pepper.

Method: Chop the onion finely and quarter the tomatoes. Put in a saucepan with a little butter and simmer gently for about 15 minutes. Cover with warm water, bring to the boil, and simmer for 1 hour. Season highly with salt and pepper. Pour the contents of the saucepan through a sieve into a basin and rub the tomatoes and onion through a sieve. Put all in a clean saucepan, bring to the boil, and 10 minutes before serving add the vermicelli, and a few pieces of toasted bread.

Morphy, Countess. Recipes of All Nations. H. Joseph, 1936. .

Countess Morphy

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