Soup à la Crecy is a traditional British recipe, based on Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861, for a classic soup made from carrots, onions, lettuce, chervil and puy lentils cooked in meat stock that's pureed and served over rice. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Soup à la Crecy.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from the redoubtable Mrs Beeton's 1861 volume Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, the classic Victorian cookbook.
Original Recipe
126. INGREDIENTS.—4 carrots, 2 sliced onions, 1 cut lettuce, and chervil; 2 oz. butter, 1 pint of lentils, the crumbs of 2 French rolls, half a teacupful of rice, 2 quarts of medium stock No. 105.
Mode.—Put the vegetables with the butter in the stewpan, and let them simmer 5 minutes; then add the lentils and 1 pint of the stock, and stew gently for half an hour. Now fill it up with the remainder of the stock, let it boil another hour, and put in the crumb of the rolls. When well soaked, rub all through a tammy. Have ready the rice boiled; pour the soup over this, and serve.
Time.—1-3/4 hour. Average cost,1s. 2d. per quart.
Seasonable all the year.
Sufficient for 8 persons.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
4 carrots, scraped and sliced
2 onions, sliced
1 lettuce, shredded
3 tbsp chervil, chopped
60g butter
250g puy lentils
crumbs from 2 French rolls
80g rice
2l medium stock
Method:
Melt the butter over gentle heat in a saucepan then add the carrots, onions, lettuce and chervil. Secure a tight-fitting lid and simmer for 5 minutes then add the lentils and 600ml of the stock. Bring to a simmer and cook gently, covered, for 30 minutes.
Add the remaining stock, bring to a boil, then continue boiling for 60 minutes before stirring in the breadcrumbs. Continue cooking until the bread is very soft and breaking apart. Take off the heat and allow to cool slightly then purée either in a blender or by passing through a fine-meshed sieve.
In the meantime, boil the rice in lightly-salted water until tender. Drain the rice, place in a pan then pour over the lentil purée. Heat through and serve.
