No. 87 — Hazel Grouse or Pheasant Purée Soup with Champagne
English translation of original recipe No. 87 from Elena Molokhovets’ 1901 cookbook, with the historical preparation and exact source references.
Prepare white stock from two or three Russian pounds of beef and half a pound of veal bones, as described in the general note, and strain.
Roast until thoroughly cooked two hazel grouse, or two snipe, or one pheasant, or two woodcock, in butter. Take the meat from the bones, chop with a knife, pound in a mortar and rub through a fine sieve. Boil the roasted bones briefly with the beef.
Fry one spoonful of flour with half a spoonful of butter, dilute with a glass of strained stock and boil while stirring. Mix with the meat purée, add two egg yolks and half a glass of thick cream, dilute again with all the strained stock and heat until very hot.
When serving, pour in half a bottle of champagne. Put separately boiled meat quenelles and asparagus into the tureen.
To provide
2½ Russian pounds of beef; a bunch of greens; ½ pound of veal bones Optional 2 carrots, 1 parsley root, ½ celery root and ½ leek 2 hazel grouse, or 2 snipe, or 1 pheasant, or 2 woodcock | 2 spoonfuls of butter, 1 spoonful of flour; ½ bottle of champagne ½ teaspoon of mace; parsley and dill 6 asparagus spears and ingredients for quenelles No. 226 |
Serve sardine croutons, puff-pastry pies or little pastry shells as accompaniments.