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Potage Vermicelli, Suisse

Place in a saucepan a three-pound piece of beef from the short ribs or flank, pour in five quarts water and add a tablespoon salt. Let slowly come to a boil, skim fat off surface, then add two well-cleaned carrots and one turnip, a good-sized onion with two cloves stuck in it, two branches celery, a sprig thyme and bay leaf. Cover the pan and let slowly boil for three hours, being careful to skim fat off once in a while and to keep soup at same simmering point from beginning to end. Lift up beef (keep it for to-morrow's lunch), strain broth through cheesecloth into another saucepan and let come to a boil, then add a finely sliced, well-cleaned leek, a teaspoon freshly chopped parsley, the leaves of two branches chervil, and let gently boil for forty-five minutes. Break three ounces vermicelli on a plate, add it to broth, lightly mix and let boil for fifteen minutes, pour soup into a tureen and serve with a little grated Swiss cheese separately.