Bohemian-American Cook Book/Meat Soups
Meat Soups.—Masité polévky.
1. ORDINARY BEEF SOUP.
Obyčejná čistá hovězí polévka.
Wash two pounds of beef in clear cold water (this will do for six people) and pound lightly with a wooden pounder for the purpose. Place the meat in two quarts of cold water and let it simmer. When the soup ceases foaming, add salt and various vegetables, usually the more the better, as: celery tops and roots, parsley tops and roots, onion, leek, kale, carrots, tomatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, etc. Needless to remark that all the vegetables should first be carefully washed. If vegetables are scarce, as for instance in winter, a handful of dry peas, a small piece of garlic, a dash of caraway seed, a few dried mushrooms, onions and two tablespoons of canned tomatoes will add a good flavor. The cook may use such vegetables as the family likes and must govern herself thereby. A good flavor is added to soup if we add minced onion and beef liver fried in butter. Beef kidneys and bones also add flavor. After putting in the vegetables, let the soup simmer very gently two and a half to three hours. If the soup evaporates to any extent, add boiling water, to keep up the required amount, a little at the time. When the soup is finally done, strain through a sieve into another kettle, bring to the boiling point and add whatever you wish, according to the recipes that follow.
2. BOUILLON.
Bouillon.
Bouillon is prepared in the same manner as the foregoing, with the exception that the meat is cut into cubes, which makes the soup stronger. Bouillon is served in cups.
3. SAGO SOUP.
Polévka se sagem.
Wash the sago several times in warm and finally in hot water, then let it boil in clear beef soup a few minutes. Before serving, add salt and a dash of grated mace. One tablespoonful of sago is required to a person.
4. SAGO SOUP WITH YOLKS.
Sagová polévka se žloutky.
Wash the sago as in the foregoing and place in a kettle of clear soup. When the sago is soft, add four yolks beaten in a small quantity of warm soup, and take away from the fire immediately. If the yolks were to boil, they would curdle.
5. BARLEY SOUP.
Obyčejná krupová polévka.
Wash thoroughly half a cup of pearl barley, pour over it a cup of hot water, add a tablespoon of butter and a pinch of salt and boil it one hour and a half, being careful that it does not burn or dry out. When the barley is done, place it in a tureen, add a little minced parsley and chives, pour hot clear beef soup over it and serve.
6. RICE SOUP.
Rýžová polévka.
Pick over half a cup of rice, wash in tepid water, changing same several times, place it in a pan, pour a cup of boiling water over it, add salt, ground mace, a little piece of good butter and let it boil until tender. If the water evaporates, add boiling water. The rice must not burn or be broken. When the rice is done, turn it into the tureen, add minced parsley, a pinch of saffron and the clear soup. You may finally add one egg beaten with a cup of sweet cream.
7. RICE SOUP WITH SPRING CHICKEN.
Rýžová polévka s kuřaty.
Pick over a cup of rice and wash thoroughly. Place it in a saucepan and pour over it two or three cups of boiling water, add a piece of good butter, salt, and boil the rice until it is tender. Make soup of two spring chickens. When done, take them out and cut up in small pieces and place in the tureen. Strain the soup, skim off all the fat, add a little grated nutmeg and minced parsley and pour all over the rice and then pour this mixture over the chickens in the tureen.
8. CREAM OF RICE SOUP.
Rýžová polévka na způsob krupovky..
Wash thoroughly a cup of rice in hot water. Mix two tablespoons of flour with cold water, add it to the rice, then pour over it strong beef soup (if possible, add to the soup-meat half an old chicken). Put this to boil and mix constantly until the soup begins to boil. Then add salt, a small piece of good butter and allow it to boil one hour, adding clear soup as it evaporates. Then strain through a fine strainer and place again over the fire. When it begins to boil, pour into a turcen, add two yolks beaten with three table-spoons of cream and serve.
9. POTATO SOUP.
Hovězí polévka s brambory.
Boil four peeled and quartered potatoes in salted water. When done, pour the water off, place the potatoes in a tureen, pour clear seasoned soup over them and serve.
10. MUSHROOM SOUP.
Polévka z čerstvých hub.
Clean six large mushrooms thoroughly, slice thin, add minced parsley, and allow all to stew in two tablespoons of butter, then dust with flour and stew a little while longer. Then pour on enough good clear soup to make it of the consistency of very thin gravy, add a pinch of mace and several tablespoons of good cream, allow it to boil and pour over bread croutons.
11. CAULIFLOWER SOUP.
Polévka z karfiolu.
Wash a nice head of cauliflower, separate into pieces of the same size and let them boil in soup until tender. Place a tablespoon of good butter in a saucepan; when melted, add a tablespoon of flour; when it bubbles, add some of the soup in which the cauliflower has been boiling. Add a pinch of ground mace, two teaspoons of cream and two beaten yolks, mix well and let it boil a little. Place croutons and minced fried liver in a tureen, pour the soup over this, add the boiled cauliflower and serve.
12. PEA SOUP.
Hrachová polévka..
To serve six person soak a cup of dried peas in cold water over night. The next day boil until tender, then mash and put through a sieve. Pour over them good beef soup, add a pinch of marjoram, a little minced parsley, two grated raw potatoes and allow it to boil. In the meantime, blend a tablespoon of flour with a tablespoon of butter until a golden brown, add to the soup and pour all into a tureen in which you have placed bread croutons.
13. MOCK PEA SOUP.
Polévka z těstového hrachu.
Beat together two eggs, two tablespoons of flour, two tablespoons of milk, a pinch of salt and mace, until the batter is smooth. Place lard or rendered butter in a saucepan and when it is smoking hot, force the batter into it through a ricer. When it is fried a golden brown, take it out with a skimmer, place in a tureen and pour good clear soup over it.
14. NOODLE SOUP.
Polévka s nudlemi nebo flíčky.
Place on the molding board two cups of flour, make a well in the center and break into it two eggs. Add a little salt and with a knife or fork work the flour and eggs together until you can handle the dough with your hands. Then work thoroughly with your hands until the dough is smooth and soft as velvet, but it must not be too stiff with flour. Cut this dough into three pieces and after thoroughly dusting your board with flour, roll out each piece as thin as you can. Allow these to dry, then cut into strips a little over an inch wide, place one on top of another in a pile about two inches high. With a sharp knife cut fine noodles, spread them out over the board and allow them to dry thoroughly. You may also make little squares. For these the dough need not be rolled as thin as for the noodles. When it is partially dry, fold it over and cut into pieces about a quarter of an inch square.
15. CHICKEN SOUP WITH NOODLES.
Polévka se slepicí a nudlemi.
Wash and clean an old chicken, place in a kettle, pour two quarts of cold water over it, add salt and allow it to simmer. Take off the scum and when the soup is clear, add vegetables. When the chicken is tender, take the kettle from the fire, skim off the fat, take the chicken out, cut it up into small pieces, and place them in a tureen. Strain the soup, let it come to a boiling point, add noodles and boil five minutes, pour over the chicken and serve.
16. GOOSE GIBLET SOUP.
Polévka z husích drobečků.
Wash thoroughly the wings, giblet, liver, heart and neck of a goose, cut into small pieces, place in a kettle, pour over them two quarts of cold water, add salt and allow it to simmer. Skim off the scum and when the soup is clear, add vegetables, as for beef soup. When the contents are tender, take them out, strain the soup, add a pinch of mace, and noodles made with one egg. Place the giblet, liver, etc. into a tureen and pour the soup over them. The liver is more palatable if minced and fried separately and then added to the soup.
17. TRIPE SOUP.
Polévka s drštkami.
Thoroughly clean and wash tripe, place in a kettle, cover with cold water and boil half an hour. Then take it out, clean once more, wash in cold water, place in a kettle, pour cold water over it, add salt, and allow it to boil until tender. Take it out, cut in thin strips, place them in a kettle, pour good beef soup over them, add minced parsley, butter and flour blended together until brown, a pinch each of mace and marjoram, a clove of garlic mixed to a paste with salt. When it has all boiled together a few moments it is ready to serve.
18. DOUGH DROPS SOUP.
Polévka s kapáním.
Place four teaspoons of flour in a bowl, add one whole egg, salt and beat thoroughly. The dough must be thin, as for pancakes. Drop with a spoon into boiling soup, stirring it with a fork as you pour it in. Boil about five minutes and serve.
19. GRATED DOUGH SOUP.
Polévka se strouhánkou.
Make dough as for noodles, except that you add more flour, so it be very stiff. Then grate it on a grater, dipping it in flour as you go along. Allow the grated dough to dry, then drop into boiling soup.
20. CROUTON SOUP.
Polévka se sušeným bílým chlebem neb žemličkou.
Cut stale white bread into dice. Place a tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan and when it is melted, turn the croutons into it and let them fry a golden brown. If the soup is strong and rich, it will be sufficient to simply toast the dice in the oven. The clear soup and croutons are served separately.
21. SOUP WITH RYE BREAD.
Polévka se žitným chlebem.
Cut thin slices of rye bread and toast them well, until brown. Then place the bread in a pan, pour clear soup over it, add salt, pepper, half an onion minced and fried in butter, a dash of ground mace and the same of caraway seed. Let all boil together for a few minutes, then add minced parsley, chives and a pinch of saffron and pour all into the tureen. Finally beat two eggs with two or three tablespoons of cream and add to the soup.
22. MEAT PUREÉ.
Polévka se sekaninou.
Chop or grind fine a cup of beef or veal, boiled or roasted (you may use left-overs this way). Fry one minced onion in a tablespoon of butter, add the chopped meat and let is simmer a while. Then pound all to a paste in a mortar. To one quart of good beef soup add two slices of white bread or three soda crackers, two or three hard-boiled yolks creamed to a paste and finally the meat. Mix all together thoroughly and strain through a sieve. If necessary, add clear soup and serve with croutons.
23. POTATO PURÉE.
Hovězí polévka z bramborů.
Boil three medium sized potatoes, peel, cool and grate. Cut a slice of white bread into small dice and fry to a golden brown. Add the yolks of three hard boiled eggs to the grated potatoes, the fried bread and mash smooth. Place this in a pan, pour one quart of clear beef soup over it and allow it to boil half an hour. Mix with clear soup, strain and serve.
24. BARLEY PURÉE.
Krupovka.
Boil a cup of barley. When done, put it in another pan, add a little piece of good butter and mix well. Then add two quarts of hot beef soup, strain and add a pinch of mace. Beat six yolks with a small quantity of tepid soup, add this to the hot soup, take from the fire immediately, beat with an egg beater and serve in cups.
25. SOUP WITH FARINA QUENELLES.
Polévka s třenými knedlíčky krupičnými.
Cream a tablespoon of butter, add one egg and one yolk, a teaspoon of minced. chives and finally four tablespoons of farina. Allow the mixture to stand ten minutes, then make balls the size of English walnuts, drop them into the boiling soup, cover and boil ten minutes. Add minced parsley, chives, a pinch of saffron and serve.
26. SOUP WITH CALF’S BRAIN QUENELLES.
Polévka s knedlíčky z mozku.
Wash thoroughly a calf or hog brain and parboil in salted water. Skin it and mince fine with parsley, add salt and pepper and fry all together in butter. Then put this into a mortar, add a slice of stale white bread that has been soaked in milk, and pound all to a paste. Or else you may cream together thoroughly with a spoon. Cream a tablespoon of butter, add to it the prepared brain, one whole egg and one yolk, some dry bread crumbs and mix together. Make balls the size of a walnut. Boil one to test it. If it is too soft, add a little more of the bread crumbs. The quenelles are boiled in the soup. Before serving add a pinch of saffron and mace.
27. SOUP WITH CALF’S LIVER QUENELLES.
Polévka s jaterními knedlíčky.
Mince fine half a pound of veal or beef liver, take out all veins, skin, etc. and then mix well with two tablespoons of beef marrow or butter, add a pinch of marjoram, grated lemon rind, a clove of garlic mixed to a paste with salt, a pinch of mace and pepper, two eggs, salt and enough bread crumbs to make the mixture not stiff or thin. Always remember that the bread crumbs swell in boiling, so that if you put in too much, the quenelles will be hard. This is true also of farina. Form balls of this and boil ten minutes in two quarts of good strong sonp. You may use goose liver in place of the beef or veal.
28. SOUP WITH VEAL QUENELLES.
Polévka s knedlíčky masitými.
Mince fine half a pound of boiled or baked veal, add three slices of white bread soaked in milk, and cream both to a paste. Cream two tablespoons of butter, add two eggs and one yolk, mix this with the paste and if the mixture should be too thin, add bread crumbs. Salt to taste. Make small balls, cover them with bread crumbs and fry a golden brown. Place them in a tureen, pour clear beef soup over them and serve.
29. SOUP WITH POTATO QUENELLES.
Polévka s knedlíčky z bramborů.
Boil four large mealy potatoes, peel and grate. Cream two tablespoons of butter, add minced parsley, one egg, three yolks, salt, and cream again. Add the grated potatoes and mix thoroughly. Make balls the size of a walnut, cover with bread crumbs and fry a golden brown in butter or lard. Place them in a tureen, pour clear soup over them and serve.
30. SOUP WITH MARROW QUENELLES.
Polévka s knedlíčky z hovězího morku.
Cream two tablespoons of beef marrow until it is white, then add two eggs, mixing in one at the time, a dash of salt, mace and grated lemon rind. Mix thoroughly, add enough bread crumbs to make the mixture firm enough to form balls. Boil one ball, to see if it is of the right consistency. If too thin, add bread crumbs. Boil the balls ten minutes in beef soup and serve.
31. SOUP WITH EGG QUENELLES.
Polévka s knedlíčky z vajec.
Place two whites in a cup and add the same quantity of cream or milk. Place a tablespoon of good butter in a saucepan and when it is hot, pour the whites and cream into it. Stir constantly while it is frying. When done, allow it to cool, add three yolks, a little salt, nutmeg and pepper. Mix thoroughly and drop with a teaspoon into clear boiling soup. Allow the balls to boil two or three minutes and serve.
32. SOUP WITH FARINA COLOMBINES No. 1.
Polévka s krupičnými vandličkami.
Pour two cups of clear soup into a saucepan. When it begins to boil, add half a cup of farina and let it boil until thick, then take from the fire and let it cool. Cream three tablespoons of good butter, add three eggs, one at the time and each time add also a third of the thickened farina. Salt to taste. Grease colombine pans, dust thoroughly with bread crumbs and half-fill with the above. Bake slowly. When the colombines are baked thoroughly, place them in the soup tureen, add clear hot soup and serve. Colombines may also be steamed. Place the pans containing the batter into another pan with hot water and let them steam in this, in a hot oven.
33. SOUP WITH FARINA COLOMBINES No. 2.
Polévka se svítkem krupičným.
Beat two eggs five minutes. Add a pinch of ground mace and the same of salt and pepper, half a cup of fine farina and mix all together lightly. Place three tablespoons of lard into a deep saucepan, or half butter and half lard. When it is smoking hot, pour in the mixture and fry. When one side is fried, turn like a pancake and fry the other. When it is thoroughly done, turn out to cool, cut into dice, place them in clear boiling soup and let them boil about five minutes. When boiled the proper time, the colombines will swell to the right consistency, but if boiled too long, they will become hard.
34. SOUP WITH CALF’S BRAIN COLOMBINES.
Polévka s vandličkami z mozku.
Parboil a calf brain in salted water, then clean thoroughly. Place in a saucepan two tablespoons of butter and some chopped green parsley and fry the brain in this slightly. Soak two slices of bread in milk, squeeze dry and place in another saucepan. Add one cup of milk and let it boil down a little, stirring constantly, then put aside to cool. Cream one tablespoon of good butter, add the boiled bread, a dash of salt, one whole egg and two yolks, and then cream all together half an hour. Finally add the beaten (2) whites. Grease the colombine pans, dust with fine bread crumbs, place in each mould a layer of the mixture, then a layer of the prepared brain and on top a layer of the mixture. Steam this, as directed in the preceding recipe. When done, place the colombines in a tureen, add clear beef soup and serve.
35. SOUP WITH FLOUR COLOMBINES.
Polérka se svítkem moučným.
Cream two tablespoons of butter, add one whole egg and two yolks, mix well, then add flour so that the dough will drop from a spoon, then add the two beaten whites. Grease a shallow pan with butter, pour the dough into it and bake until a golden brown. When done, turn out to cool, and cut into dice or croutons. Pour good clear soup over them and serve.
36. SOUP WITH BEEF COLOMBINES.
Polévka se svítkem z hovězího masa.
Grind fine boiled beef, add salt, pepper, minced onion and minced parsley. Put some lard into a saucepan and let the mixture simmer in it. In the meantime cream a tablespoon of butter, add one egg, a small quantity of white bread crumbs soaked in milk, then squeezed dry, and finally the simmered meat, which must be cool. Mix all together well, place in a greased pan and bake. When done, cut into dice, pour clear beef soup on them and serve.
37. SOUP WITH BREAD COLOMBINES.
Polévka se svítkem žemlovým nebo chlebovým.
Cut stale white bread into dice, and soak in cream. Beat two whole eggs and one yolk, add a pinch of ground mace, the bread, a little salt and mix thoroughly. Grease a baking pan with butter, dust with bread or cracker crumbs, pour in the mixture and bake to a golden brown, then turn out and when cold cut up into dice. Brown butter and flour together, add it to clear beef soup and serve it with the croutons, separately.