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Brunoise Soup
Slice equal quantities of carrots, turnips, onions, leeks, and celery, and fry until brown, in plenty of butter. Put them in a saucepan and pour over stock enough to about half cover, and boil briskly until it is reduced to a paste. Pour in sufficient clear soup to make the desired quantity, and bring to a boil. Prepare some Italian paste, boil it separately and mix it with the soup, or use boiled rice with rings of turnip sliced and fried brown in butter. Serve very hot with croutons of bread.
A classic French garnish soup: root vegetables cooked down to a glaze, then let down with clear broth. The technique matters more than the quantities, none of which the original gives.
- Cut the vegetables properlyBrunoise names the cut, not the soup: an even dice of about 1/8 inch. The instruction to "slice" is loose; dice small and uniform or the finished soup looks like leftovers rather than a consommé garnish.
- The hinge is the reductionFrying in butter and then boiling down the stock until it is nearly a paste is where the flavour comes from. Stop while the glaze is still glossy and brown; once it catches on the pan bottom the whole soup turns bitter.
- "Clear soup"Means consomm\or a well-clarified stock, as distinct from the ordinary stock boiled down in the reduction. The original gives no quantities; about a quart of clear soup will serve four.
- "Italian paste"Period shorthand for dried pasta, here meaning a small soup shape such as ditalini, orzo or broken vermicelli. Boil it separately, as directed, so its starch does not cloud the broth.
- Rice alternativeIf using boiled rice, cook it in salted water and rinse briefly to keep the soup clear. The fried turnip rings are the decorative element in that version, so cut them thin and let them brown fully.
- Plenty of butterThe original does not quantify it; use enough to coat and colour the dice freely. Too little and they steam instead of colouring, which is the whole point of the first step.
- CroutonsSmall cubes of bread fried in butter or oven-toasted, added at the table rather than in the pot so they stay crisp.