Spanish Soup is a traditional British recipe, based on Charles Elmé Francatelli's recipe of 1861, for a classic soup of an onion, beef and ham with a pheasant or chicken stock served with vegetables, chickpeas and sausages. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Spanish Soup.
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This is a classic recipe for a Victorian version of Spanish Soup that's derived from the chef, Charles Elmé Francatelli's 1861 volume, The Cook's Guide and Housekeeper's & Butler's Assistant. Below you will find both the recipe in its original form and a modern redaction.
Original Recipe
No. 177.—SPANISH SOUP.
Spread a little butter over the bottom of a four-quart-sized stewpan; upon this lay four onions cut into slices, and then four pounds of gravy-beef cut into thick slices, half a pound of raw ham or lean bacon, an old partridge or pheasant; add two carrots, celery, and parsley roots, a bay-leaf, thyme, and a small clove of garlic, tied up tightly, six cloves and a bit of mace; moisten with a quart of stock, or water; boil, skim well, and when the stock has simmered gently by the side of the fire for two hours, strain it off. After removing all the grease, let it be poured into a soup-pot containing carrots and turnips, scooped in the form of olives, some celery and leeks shred thickly, a pint of garbanças (Spanish peas) previously soaked and boiled, and a dessert-spoonful of Spanish sweet red pepper; boil gently until the vegetables are done; then add the partridge or pheasant, cut into neat pieces, also the ham, and some small pork sausages which have been boiled in the stock. Note.—This substantial soup, which in Spain is called "Olla Podrida," forms of itself an excellent dinner.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
4 onions, sliced
1.8kg beef, cut into thick slices
225g raw ham (or lean bacon)
1 old chicken or pheasant
2 carrots
1 head of celery
3 parsley roots
1 bayleaf
1 sprig of thyme
1 garlic clove
6 cloves
1 blade of mace
1l stock
2 carrots, scraped and cut into balls with a melon baller
1 turnip, peeled and shaped into balls with a melon baller
2 celery sticks, shredded thickly
2 leeks, shredded thickly
300g chickpeas
1 dessert spoon sweet paprika
12 small sausages
Method:
Grease the base and sides of a 4l pan with butter then arrange the onions, beef, ham and the chicken or pheasant in layers on top. Now add the carrots, celery, parsley roots, bayleaf, thyme and garlic along with the mace an cloves (tie these in a bag) then pour over the stock. Bring to a boil, skim well then reduce to a simmer, cover the pan and simmer gently for two hours. Remove the fowl and the ham and set aside then strain the liquid into a bowl and allow to cool before skimming off all the fat from the surface.
In the meantime, combine the carrots, turnips, celery sticks, leeks, chickpeas and paprika in a pan. Cover with water, bring to a boil and cook for about 20 minutes, or until all the ingredients are tender. Drain and set aside to keep warm. Boil the sausages in a little of the stock until cooked through.
Add the vegetables and the stock to a pan then add the sausages before cutting the fowl into serving pieces and adding these to the stock as well. Heat through and serve.
