No. 340

Paterson Soup

Potage a la Paterson

Put into a saucepan on the fire three quarts of broth, and when boiling, dredge into it five spoonfuls of tapioca; let it cook for twenty-five minutes, being careful to remove all the scum arising on the surface, then strain and keep it warm. Have a garnishing of timbales of puree of green peas made as followss; One pint of puree of green peas, into which mix one whole egg and four yolks, salt, sugar and nutmeg; pour this into buttered timbale molds (No. 3, Fig. 137), place the molds in a pan with water to half their height, and poach them in a slack oven, unmold and cut them in two crosswise; have also small three-eighths of an inch pearl quenelles (No. 154), also some mushrooms cut in three-sixteenth inch squares.

← No. 339 Italian or Genoa Pastes; Lasagne, Lasagnette Soups & Broths No. 341 Pilau, Turkish Style →

For the Modern Kitchen

A clear tapioca-thickened consommé built as a garnish soup: the broth is the canvas, and the work is in the three garnishes dropped into it at service. Nothing here is difficult, but Ranhofer assumes you have a stocked kitchen and reads accordingly.

Broth firstThe three quarts of "broth" wants to be clear and well seasoned. If the base is cloudy, the finished soup will look muddy behind the pale green timbales.
Five spoonfuls of tapiocaAn unqualified spoonful in books of this period is generally read as a tablespoon, so roughly 5 tablespoons to three quarts. The dredging and the twenty-five minute cook suggest a fine granulated tapioca rather than the large pearl sort. That gives a lightly bodied, barely thickened soup; add it in a slow rain while whisking or it will clump on the bottom.
"Strain" does not mean strain out the tapiocaAfter 25 minutes the fine tapioca is dissolved to near-transparency; the straining is to catch scum and any undissolved grains. Use a fine chinois or muslin, and skim during cooking rather than relying on the strainer to do all the work.
A slack ovenA cool oven, somewhere in the region of 250-300F. The pea timbales are an egg custard set in a water bath, and too hot an oven will curdle them and draw out water; they are done when the centre is just set, roughly 25-35 minutes for small molds.
Timbale moldsSmall dariole or individual timbale molds, or well-buttered ramekins. Butter them thoroughly and line the base with a disc of parchment if you want clean unmolding, since each one is cut crosswise in two and the cut faces should be neat.
The pea puréeOne pint of purée with one whole egg and four yolks is a rich, fairly firm custard. Pass the peas through a fine sieve after puréeing; skins left in will show as flecks and spoil the smooth green. The sugar is there to lift the peas, not to sweeten the soup, so a scant pinch.
Pearl quenellesRanhofer sends you to his No. 154 for the forcemeat; a modern fine chicken mousseline piped into 3/8-inch pearls and poached gently in salted water at a bare shiver, not a boil, will behave the same way. They cook in two or three minutes and turn rubbery if left.
Assembly and yieldGarnishes go into hot bowls and the strained broth is poured over; nothing should sit in the soup and soften. Three quarts will serve ten to twelve as a first course.

A Little History

The Epicurean (1894) is Charles Ranhofer's record of thirty-odd years as chef at Delmonico's in New York, and it is full of dishes carrying proper names — patrons, hostesses, cities, occasions. Which Paterson is meant here is not stated, and Ranhofer rarely explains his dedications; the New Jersey city and various New York families of the name are both plausible, and neither is documented in the book. What the recipe does show plainly is the late nineteenth-century restaurant grammar of garnished consommés: a clear broth barely bodied with tapioca, then three separately made garnishes — a moulded vegetable custard, forcemeat pearls, mushroom dice — each cut to a specified fraction of an inch. The precision is the point. A soup like this announced that a brigade, not a cook, stood behind the door.