Green Turtle Soup Recipe
Ingredients:
- One turtle,
- two onions,
- a bunch of sweet herbs,
- juice of one lemon,
- five quarts of water,
- a glass of Madeira.
After removing the entrails, cut up the coarser parts of the turtle
meat and bones. Add four quarts of water, and stew four hours with
the herbs, onions, pepper and salt. Stew very slowly, do not let
it cease boiling during this time. At the end of four hours strain
the soup, and add the finer parts of the turtle and the green fat,
which has been simmered one hour in two quarts of water. Thicken
with brown flour; return to the soup-pot, and simmer mildly for
an hour longer. If there are eggs in the turtle, boil them in a
separate vessel for four hours, and throw into the soup before taking
up. If not, put in force meat balls; then the juice of the lemon,
and the wine; beat up at once and pour out.
Some cooks add the finer meat before straining, boiling all together
five hours; then strain, thicken and put in the green fat, sliced into
lumps an inch long. This makes a handsomer soup than if the meat
is left in.
Force Meat Balls for the Above: Six tablespoonfuls of turtle meat
chopped very fine. Rub to a paste, with the yolk of two hard-boiled
eggs, a tablespoonful of butter, and, if convenient, a small amount of oyster
liquor. Season with cayenne, mace, ½ a teaspoonful of white sugar
and a pinch of salt. Bind all with a well-beaten egg; shape into
small balls; dip in egg, then powdered cracker; fry in butter, and
drop into the soup when it is served. |