No. 15 — French Julienne Soup
An English translation of original recipe No. 15 from Elena Molokhovets’ Russian cookbook (1901), with historical quantities and Russian source.
Make yellow or red broth Nos. 1, 3, 4 or 5 with browned soup roots. Clarify with meat, adding the trimmings from the shaped roots, and strain. Peel an assortment of roots, placing them immediately in cold water, and shred them like vermicelli into strips ½ vershok long.
One hour before serving, brown half a spoonful of butter in a sauté pan. Add the roots, stir and fry until golden. Pour over just enough strained broth to cover; allow it almost to evaporate.
In strained broth, cook asparagus cut into rounds and cauliflower in small florets. Cook dried green peas separately. Blanch shredded green beans first in salted boiling water with soda, and cook them. Remove stems from spinach, sorrel and lettuce, cut leaves into small rectangles, briefly scald and bring once to the boil. Drain, rinse with cold water and let the water run off completely.
Just before serving, lift the vegetables into a soup tureen with a slotted spoon, pour over the remaining strained hot broth and serve.
To provide
3–4 Russian pounds of beef; 1¼ Russian pounds of basic soup roots; 1 large carrot For garnish: 1 kohlrabi or turnip; 1 celery root; 6–8 asparagus spears | 1 small cauliflower; 1 spoonful of the best dried green peas; 6–12 green beans 1 spoonful of butter; salt; ½ teaspoon of soda; 50 mixed leaves of sorrel, spinach and lettuce |
Rye-bread variation
For variety, pour 2 glasses of boiling water over ½ Russian pound of rye bread dried until red but not burnt and broken into pieces. Cover, infuse and add to the soup to taste.
Wine variation
Alternatively add ½ glass of French wine or Marsala, ½ thinly sliced lemon with the seeds removed, and some nutmeg.