No. 156 — Green Pea Soup, with or without Turtle
Complete English translation of Molokhovets recipe No. 156 from the 1901 Russian cookbook, retaining original quantities, preparation and source.
This is a butter-based soup. In the historical version using turtle, remove one turtle from its shell, without its legs and head, clean it and cook it with salt and soup roots. Strain the resulting broth.
Pour some of this stock over four glasses of ripe, freshly shelled peas. Cook until the peas break down, rub through a sieve and thin the purée with the remaining stock to the desired consistency.
Add parsley root and leek cut into slices and fried in butter, together with the cut-up cooked turtle. Bring to the boil, sprinkle with fresh herbs and serve.
If making the soup without turtle, serve small croutons of white or dark rye bread separately.
To provide
One turtle, if using the historical variation 1 carrot, 1 parsley root and 1 leek 1 celery root and 2 onions 10–15 peppercorns | 4 glasses of ripe, freshly shelled green peas ⅛ Russian pound of butter Dill and fresh parsley |