The poorer classes make this soup with water instead of beet-juice, and very often with mutton instead of beef; but proceed as described above in every other particular.
Russian, or Uka.—The uka is made in Russia with sterlets. It may be made here with the sturgeon of the lakes, or with salmon or trout.
Cut the fish in pieces about two inches long, and put them in salt water for one hour, and drain. Cut in small pieces two roots of parsley and two of celery, throw them into boiling water five minutes and drain them. Then fry them with a little butter till they turn yellow, when add a gill of broth, and boil gently till it becomes rather thick. Put the pieces of fish in also, add salt and pepper, to taste, cover the whole with fish-broth, boil gently till the fish is cooked, and serve warm.
Some caviare may be added just before serving.
Another, or Tstchy.—Put four pounds of beef in a soup-kettle (the poorer classes always use mutton), with a chicken or a duck, half a pound of smoked pork, same of smoked sausages, four carrots, four cloves, twelve pepper-corns, salt, two leeks, two onions, four stalks of parsley, and one of celery; cover the whole with fish-broth, and set on a good fire. Skim off the scum carefully, and boil gently till the whole is done. As soon as either the chicken or duck, etc., is done, take it from the kettle. When the whole is cooked, drain.
Put the liquor back in the kettle with a middling-sized head of cabbage cut in four, or about the same quantity of sour-krout, slices of carrots and onions, pearl-barley, semoule, or gruel; simmer about three hours, and it is done.
It is served in two ways: first, all the meat and vegetables are cut in small pieces and served with the broth as soup; second, the broth is served with the vegetables cut up, and the meat is served after and separately, as a relevé.
Nothing is thrown away but the pepper-corns and cloves.
Spanish, or Olla Podrida.—Put four ounces of lean and fat salt pork into a saucepan and set it on a good fire; when partly fried, add half a pound of beef, same of mutton, same of veal (occasionally a chicken or partridge is added also), and four ounces of ham. Just cover the whole with cold water, and skim carefully as soon as the scum comes on the surface. When skimmed, add a gill of dry peas, previously soaked in water for an hour, half a small head of cabbage, pimento to taste, one carrot, one turnip, two leeks, three or four stalks of celery, same of parsley, two of thyme, two cloves, two onions, two cloves of garlic, ten pepper-corns, and some mace; fill up with water so that the whole is just covered, and simmer for about five hours.
In case the water should simmer away too much, add a little more.