A good Potage for dinner is thus made: Boil Beef, Mutton, Veal, Volaille, and a little piece of the Lean of a Gammon of the best Bacon, with some quartered Onions, (and a little Garlick, if you like it) you need no salt, if you have Bacon, but put in a little Pepper and Cloves. If it be in the Winter, put in a Bouquet of Sweet-herbs, or whole Onions, or Roots, or Cabbage. If season of Herbs, boil in a little of the broth apart, some Lettice, Sorrel, Borage, and Bugloss, &c. till they be only well mortified. If you put in any gravy, let it boil or stew a while with the broth; put it in due time upon the tosted-bread to Mittoner, &c. If you boil some half rosted meat with your broth, it will be the better.
PORTUGAL BROTH, AS IT WAS MADE FOR THE QUEEN
Make very good broth with some lean of Veal, Beef and Mutton, and with a brawny Hen or young Cock. After it is scummed, put in an Onion quartered, (and, if you like it, a Clove of Garlick,) a little Parsley, a sprig of Thyme, as much Minth, a little balm; some Coriander-seeds bruised, and a very little Saffron; a little Salt, Pepper and a Clove. When all the substance is boiled out of the meat, and the broth very good, you may drink it so, or, pour a little of it upon tosted sliced-bread, and stew it, till the bread have drunk up all that broth, then add a little more, and stew; so adding by little and little, that the bread may imbibe it and swell: whereas if you drown it at once, the bread will not swell, and grow like gelly: and thus you will have a good potage. You may add Parsley-roots or Leeks, Cabbage or Endive in the due time before the broth is ended boiling, and time enough for them to become tender. In the Summer you may put in Lettice, Sorrel, Purslane, Borage and Bugloss, or what other pot-herbs you like. But green herbs do rob the strength and vigor and Cream of the Potage.
The Queen's ordinary Bouillon de santé in a morning was thus. A Hen, a handful of Parsley, a sprig of Thyme, three of Spear-minth, a little balm, half a great Onion, a little Pepper and Salt, and a Clove, as much water as would cover the Hen; and this boiled to less then a pint, for one good Porrenger full.
NOURISSANT POTAGE DE SANTÉ
Fill a large earthen pot with water, and make it boil; then take out half the water, and put in Beef and Mutton (fit pieces) and boil and skim: and as soon as it boils, season it with Salt and Pepper. After an hour and half, or two hours, put in a Capon, and four or five Cloves; when it is within a good half hour of being boiled enough, put in such herbs, as you intend, as Sorrel, Lettice, Purslane, Borage and Bugloss, or Green-pease; and in the Winter, Parsley-roots and White-endive, or Navets, &c. so pour the broth upon tosted light bread, and let it stew a while in the dish covered. You should never put in fresh water. And if you should through the consuming of the water by long boiling, it must be boiling hot. The less broth remains, the better is the Potage, were it but a Porrenger full, so that it would be stiff gelly when it is cold. It is good to put into the water, at the first, a whole Onion or two; and if you will, a spoonful of well-beaten orge mondé or bottom crust of bread, or some of the bottom of a Venison Pasty.
POTAGE DE SANTÉ
Make strong broth with a piece of Beef, Mutton and Veal, adding a piece of the sinews of the leg of Beef, seasoning it with two great Onions quartered, some Cloves, and White-pepper. In due time put in a Capon, or take some broth out to boil it in. But before you put in the Capon, take out some of the Broth, in which boil and stew Turneps first prepared thus. Fry them in scalding butter, till they be tender; then take them out with a holed skimmer, and lay them in a holed dish warmed, set in another whole dish. When all the butter is quite drained out, stew them in a Pipkin in the broth, as is said above. When you will make up your potage, put some Ladlefuls of the broth of the great pot (driving away the fat with the ladle) upon slices of scorched bread in a deep dish. Let this mittonner a while. Then lay the Capon upon it, and pour the Turneps and broth of them over all. A Duck in lieu of a Capon will make very good potage. But then it is best, to fry that first, as the Turneps, then boil it.
POTAGE DE SANTÉ