Lord Marcus Hill's Soup is a traditional British recipe, based on Charles Elmé Francatelli's recipe of 1861, for a classic soup of veal, ham and vegetables cooked to a glaze that are finished in light broth with lettuce,s spring onions, cucumbers, chervil and peas and thickened with plain flour. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Lord Marcus Hill's Soup.
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This is a classic recipe for a Victorian version of Lord Marcus Hill's 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. 168.—LORD MARCUS HILL'S SOUP.
Grease the bottom of a four-quart sized stewpan with an ounce of butter, and place therein five pounds of knuckle of veal and half a pound of raw ham; to these add two carrots, two onions, and one head of celery; moisten with a quart of broth, and set the whole to boil down sharply until reduced to a glaze; then fill up with light broth or water; boil and skim,—and when the stock has boiled for about two hours, strain it off. While this is going on, shred four large lettuces, a handful of spring onions, two cucumbers peeled, and a handful of chervil; and having put these into a stewpan with two ounces of butter, pepper and salt; stir over the fire for ten minutes; add half a pound of flour, mix together, moisten with stock, boil gently on the corner of the fire for half an hour, remove the scum, add half an ounce of sugar and a pint of boiled green peas, and serve.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
30g butter
2.25kg knuckle of veal
225g raw ham
2 carrots
2 onions
1 head of celery
1l broth
10l light broth or water
4 large lettuces, shredded
1 bunch of spring onions, finely chopped
2 cucumbers, peeled and sliced
1 bunch of chervil, chopped
60g butter
salt and freshly-ground black pepper
225g plain flour
1 tbsp sugar
400g green peas, boiled until tender
Method:
Grease the base of a large (at least 15l) pan with the butter then add the knuckle of veal, the pan, carrots, onions and celery. Pour in the stock then bring to a boil and continue to cook until the liquid has reduced to a glaze (but be careful it does not burn). Add the light broth or water, bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 2 hours. Take off the heat and strain the liquid.
In the meantime, melt the 60g butter in a pan, add the lettuces, spring onions, cucumbers and chervil. Season to taste then cover and sweat the ingredients gently for ten minutes. Scatter the flour over the surface and mix to form a roux. Skim the surface of the stock and gently mix into the vegetable and flour mix in the pan, stirring well to ensure that the soup is smooth. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for 30 minutes. Remove any scum from the surface, mix in the sugar then add the boiled green peas and serve.
