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Spring Herbs Soup
Spring Herbs Soup is a traditional British recipe, based on Charles Elmé Francatelli's recipe of 1861, for a classic spring soup of lettuces with wild greens and chervil cooked in veal stock thickened with an egg liaison. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Spring Herbs Soup.
prep time
20 minutes
cook time
25 minutes
Total Time:
45 minutes
Serves:
4
Rating: 
Tags : Wild FoodMilk RecipesBritish Recipes
This is a classic recipe for a Victorian version of Prawn Soup that's derived from the chef, Charles Elmé's 1861 volume,
The Cook's Guide and Housekeeper's & Butler's Assistant. Below you will find both the recipe in its original form and a modern redaction.
Original Recipe
No. 175.—SPRING HERBS SOUP.
Take two lettuces, a little sorrel, a handful of purslain, dandelion, and chervil; shred all these; wash them clean, and having placed them in a stewpan with an ounce of butter, a little pepper and salt, stew the herbs over a slow fire for ten minutes; add a tablespoonful of flour, and a pint and a half of light veal stock; stir over the fire to boil gently for a quarter of an hour; and then mix in a leason of four yolks of eggs, half a pint of cream, and a dessert-spoonful of sugar, and serve hot.
Note.—This medicinal soup possesses great efficacy in cooling a heated state of the blood.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
2 lettuces, finely shredded
1 handful of sorrel leaves, finely shredded
1 handful of
purslane, finely shredded
1 handful of
dandelion leaves, finely shredded
1 handful of
chervil, finely shredded
30g butter
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
1 tbsp plain flour
1l light veal stock
4 egg yolks
300ml cream
1 dessert spoon sugar
Method:
Combine the herbs, lettuces and butter in a pan. Season to taste with salt and black pepper then cove and sweat gently for 10 minutes. Scatter the flour over the top and stir to combine then beat in the stock until smooth, before bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
Whisk together the egg yolks, cream and sugar in a bowl. Take the soup off the heat, whisk three ladlefuls into the egg mix to temper then pour the egg mix into the soup bowl. Whisk to combine, return to the hob and allow to heat through (but do not boil). Serve immediately.
Find more of Charles Elmé Francatelli's Recipes Here and more Traditional Victorian Recipes Here
