No. 198. Potage au Macaroni.
Boil twenty sticks of macaroni in two quarts of water where you have put salt, and a piece of butter; when tender, cut each stick in three pieces; have ready three quarts of consommé (No. 134) put the macaroni in, simmer twenty minutes; and serve with grated Parmesan cheese separate.
No. 199. Potage au Macaroni en rubands.
Prepare and serve as above, but using the tape maccaroni instead of the other, and only blanching it five minutes in the water.
No. 200. Turtle Soup.
This soup, the delight of civic corporations, the friend of the doctors, and enemy of the alderman, has been, and perhaps ever will be, the leading article of English cookery. Its great complication has rendered it difficult in private establishments; I shall here, however, simplify it so as to render it practicable. Make choice of a good turtle, weighing from one hundred and forty to one hundred and eighty pounds, hang it up by the hind fins securely, cut off the head and let it hang all night, then take it down, lay it upon its back, and with a sharp knife cut out the belly, leaving the fins, but keeping the knife nearly close to the upper shell; take out the interior, which throw away, first collecting the green fat which is upon it, then remove the fins and fleshy parts, leaving nothing but the two large shells, saw the top shell into four and the bottom one in halves; then put the whole of the turtle, including the head, into a large turbot kettle, and cover them with cold water, (or if no kettle large enough blanch it in twice), place it upon a sharp fire and let boil five minutes, to sufficiently scald it, then put the pieces into a tub of cold water, and with a pointed knife take off all the scales, which throw away, then take out carefully the whole of the green fat, which reserve, place the remainder back in the turbot kettle, where let it simmer until the meat comes easily from the shells and the fins are tender, then take them out and detach all the glutinous meat from the shells, which cut into square pieces and reserve until required. Fricandeau and a few other entrées were sometimes made from the fleshy parts, but the stringy substance of that mock meat is not worth eating, and few stomachs can digest it.
The Stock.—For a turtle of the above size (which is considered the best, for in comparison with them the smaller ones possess but little green fat,) cut up sixty pounds of knuckles of veal, and twenty pounds of beef, with six pounds of lean ham; well butter the bottom of three large stewpans, and put an equal proportion of meat in each, with four onions, one carrot, twenty peppercorns, ten cloves, two blades of mace, an ounce of salt, and a pint of water; place them upon sharp fires, stirring them round occasionally until the bottom of each is covered with a brownish glaze, when fill them up with the water in which you blanched the turtle, taking more water if not sufficient; when boiling place them at the corners of the fires, let them simmer two hours, keeping them always well skimmed; then pass the stock through a fine cloth into basins to cool. The stock after being drawn down in the three separate stewpans, may be turned into a large stock pot, but my reason for doing it in smaller quantities is, that it requires less ebullition, and consequently the aroma of the different ingredients is better preserved; after having passed the stock, fill them up again with water, let them simmer four hours, when pass it and convert it into glaze as directed (No. 132).
The Soup.—Put three pounds of butter into a large stewpan with ten sprigs of winter savory, ten of thyme, ten of basil, ten of marjoram, and ten bay-leaves; place it a few minutes over a moderate fire, but do not let it change colour, then mix in four pounds and a half of flour to form a roux, which keep stirring over the fire until it becomes lightly tinged, when take it off the fire and stir it occasionally until partly cold, then add the stock which should amount to ten gallons, place it again over the fire and stir it until boiling, then place it at the corner, let it simmer two hours, keeping it well skimmed, then pass it through a tammie into a clean stewpan, add the pieces of turtle, place it at the corner of the fire and let it simmer until the meat is nearly tender, when add the green fat, and let it remain upon the fire until the meat is quite tender, add a little more salt if required, and put it by in basins until ready for use; when ready to serve warm the quantity required, and to each tureenful add half a saltspoonful of cayenne, and a quarter of a pint of Madeira wine; serve a lemon separate. To make soup of a smaller sized turtle you must of course reduce the other ingredients in proportion. The remains of the soup put in jars will keep a considerable time.
No. 201. Clear Turtle Soup.
Is now perhaps held in the highest estimation among real epicures, and when artistically prepared is indeed worthy the name of a luxury; it is easier digested and does not dog the palate so much as when made thick, indeed a pint of this soup may be taken before a good dinner (with the assistance of milk punch not too much iced or too sweet) where half a pint of the other might spoil the remainder of your dinner. I shall here describe it in that simple manner which will render it easy for any cook not only to understand but to do it well. Prepare the turtle precisely as in the last, as also the stocks, merely filling them up when the bottom of the stewpan is covered with a white glaze instead of brown, thus keeping the stock white and very clear; when done, pass them through a cloth into a clean stewpan, place it over the fire and reduce it one third, having previously thrown in a bunch containing ten sprigs of winter savory, ten of marjoram, ten of thyme, ten of basil, and ten bay-leaves, then mix three quarters of a pound of the best arrow root with a quart of cold stock and a pint of wine, (sherry), pour it into the boiling soup, keeping it stirred five minutes, then pass it through a cloth into another stewpan, add the pieces of meat from the turtle and proceed as for the thick turtle, but omitting the cayenne; this soup ought to be quite clear and of a greenish hue.