Vermicelli Soup I is a traditional British recipe, based on Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861, for a classic soup of chicken, bacon joint and vermicelli cooked in white stock. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Vermicelli Soup I.
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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
162. INGREDIENTS.—1-1/2 lb. of bacon, stuck with cloves; 1/2 oz. of butter, worked up in flour; 1 small fowl, trussed for boiling; 2 oz. of vermicelli, 2 quarts of white stock, No. 107.
Mode.—Put the stock, bacon, butter, and fowl into the stewpan, and stew for 3/4 of an hour. Take the vermicelli, add it to a little of the stock, and set it on the fire, till it is quite tender. When the soup is ready, take out the fowl and bacon, and put the bacon on a dish. Skim the soup as clean as possible; pour it, with the vermicelli, over the fowl. Cut some bread thin, put in the soup, and serve.
Time.—2 hours. Average cost, exclusive of the fowl and bacon, 10d. per quart.
Seasonable in winter.
Sufficient for 4 persons.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
675g bacon joint stuck with 10 cloves
15g butter
10g flour
1 small chicken, trussed for boiling
60g vermicelli pasta
2l white stock
thin strips of bread, to serve
Method:
Work together the butter and flour until smooth. Add this blend to a stockpot along with the bacon and fowl. Add the stock, bring to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes. Add the vermicelli and about 200ml of the stock to a separate pan. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, or until very tender.
When the soup is ready, remove the bacon and the chicken then remove the cloves from the bacon and place on a dish. Skim the surface of the soup as thoroughly as possible. Slice the chicken, place in a tureen then pour over the vermicelli and the soup mix. Add the bread strips and serve.
