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Lettuce Soup
Wash thoroughly and drain the water from a dozen lettuce hearts. Cut them down the centres, leaving the stems whole. Dash them with salt and pepper. Put them in a saucepan with a pint of chicken consomme and the same of veal broth; add an onion, a carrot, a few sprigs of parsley, a clove, a blade of mace, a bay leaf, and a little thyme. Put a sheet of buttered paper over the top of the saucepan and put the lid on tightly; boil gently two hours. Take out the lettuce, drain on a towel, cut them in two, and put them in the soup tureen, where they will keep hot. Strain the stock in which they were boiled, add 3 pints more of boiling broth and pour it over the lettuce, and serve with nicely browned pieces of toast on the top.
A clear soup in the older French manner, where the vegetable is braised whole in stock and then served in the tureen as a garnish rather than pureed. Two things need attention: the lettuce and the cooking time.
- What lettuce to buy"Lettuce hearts" here means the firm inner core of cos (romaine) or a tight butterhead, not loose-leaf or iceberg. A dozen hearts is a large quantity; trimmed romaine hearts sold three to a bag will do, and six to eight is enough for a household pot.
- Two hours is a period habitCos hearts braised gently are tender in 25 to 40 minutes and hold their shape; two hours reduces them to grey threads. Cook until a knife slides through the stem end with no resistance and stop there.
- The buttered paperThe original lays a sheet of buttered paper across the mouth of the saucepan and clamps the lid down on it, making a tight seal so little steam escapes during the long gentle boil. Buttered parchment does the same job; alternatively lay a round of buttered parchment directly on the lettuce, cartouche-fashion, to keep the exposed tops from drying.
- Blade of maceThe outer covering of nutmeg, sold whole as brittle orange blades. A quarter teaspoon of ground mace is the usual substitute, though it clouds a clear soup slightly; tie whole spices in muslin so they lift out cleanly.
- The brothsA pint of chicken consomme and a pint of veal broth is simply two pints of good light stock. Veal is the traditional body-giver; unsalted chicken stock alone is acceptable, but the finished soup should be clear, so strain the braising liquid through a cloth before combining.
- Quantities and yieldWith three further pints added at the end, the pot holds about five pints of liquid, roughly ten cups. That serves eight to ten as a first course, with one or two lettuce halves in each bowl.
- Seasoning at the endBecause the added broth arrives boiling and unreduced, the soup will taste flat if you season only at the start. Taste and correct salt after the final broth goes into the tureen.
- The toastCut small rounds or fingers and dry them out until genuinely crisp rather than leaving them soft, and float them at the last moment so they do not collapse before the tureen reaches the table.