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SOUPSIrish Beef BrothBeef broth kept the life in us during the January and February lambing season. At about nine o’clock these cold nights we had to go up the field to look after the sheep. If there were any newly-born lambs we had to bring them and their mothers back to the shed – not an easy task. We’d come home, cold and hungry, to a cheerful kitchen and a piping hot bowl of broth.Serves: 8 Preparation time: 25 minutes Cooking time: 21/2–3 hours Ingredients: 1lb boiling beef 500g 80 fl oz cold water 2.5 litre 10 cups salt and pepper 2oz pearl barley 50g 1/2 cup 1lb diced mixed vegetables (onions, carrots, celery, white turnips) 500g 4 cups 1oz oatmeal 25g 1/4 cup bouquet garni Method: Remove excess fat from meat. Put all ingredients into a saucepan, bring to the boil, cover and simmer. Remove meat and bouquet garni. Dice meat finely and return it to broth. Bring to the boil and serve hot. Cream of Vegetable SoupVegetable soup was the first soup most of us were introduced to as children.The foundation of a soup was the stock. We knew this, yet even more of us who loved cooking disliked hearing about rules for stockmaking. It took us time to realize that to make good soup we needed a good stock. October was the time of year for making stock – a cold and windy month when there were plenty of carrots, onions, turnips and tomatoes stored away for the winter season.Serves: 4 Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 11/2 hours Ingredients: 2oz butter or margarine 50g 1/4 cup 1lb mixed vegetables (chopped carrots, onions, white turnips peas, tomatoes) 500g 4 cups 1oz flour 25g 1/6 cup 35 fl oz vegetable stock 1 litre 5 cups seasoning 4–5 tablespoons cream 60–70ml 2–3 fl oz Method: Melt butter or margarine in a saucepan, add vegetables and fry for two or three minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the flour. Gradually add stock, bring to the boil and season well. Cover and simmer for 11/2 hours. Liquidize soup or put it through a sieve. Put back into the saucepan bring to the boil; check seasoning. Pour into soup tureen and add cream. To vary: Use any vegetables that are in season. To add distinctive flavour add a crushed clove of garlic or a chopped green or red pepper. If flour is omitted add two or three extra diced potatoes. A quantity of milk can be substituted for a quantity of stock. Cockle SoupIn the late nineteenth century, shellfish was a staple in the diet of poor people living around the coast. Today shellfish is considered a luxury for the rich – high quality food fresh from the sea. Yet even the poorer Irish, if they live near the coast, still take the availability of shellfish for granted.Serves: 4–6 Preparation time: 30 minutes Cooking time: 25 minutes Ingredients: 2 dozen cockles 1oz butter 25g 11/2 level tablespoons 2 peeled and diced potatoes 2 finely chopped onions 2 finely chopped sticks celery 20 fl oz milk 575ml 21/2 cups 20 fl oz fish stock or water 575ml 21/2 cups salt and pepper 2–3 tablespoons lightly whipped cream 30–40ml 2–3 fl oz Method: Wash and scrub the cockles well, put into basin of cold water and leave for 20 minutes. Heat the butter in a saucepan, add the vegetables and cook for a minute. Add the milk and stock or water and bring to the boil. Then simmer for 20 minutes. Add the cockles; shortly afterwards they will open. Shell the cockles and return the meat to the soup. Season to taste. Serve hot topped with cream. |
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