{"id":11392,"date":"2006-04-27T10:18:41","date_gmt":"2006-04-27T08:18:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/?p=11392"},"modified":"2021-06-10T11:33:37","modified_gmt":"2021-06-10T09:33:37","slug":"herb-soup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/en\/herb-soup\/","title":{"rendered":"Herb soup with potato dumplings"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Straight to the recipe<\/small><\/a><\/p>\n

\"DetailA delicate herald of Spring<\/h2>\n

The text for this recipe is from a cookbook from the\u00a0nineteenth century<\/span>, but in fact the recipe is older. In\u00a0Le cuisinier<\/em>\u00a0from Pierre de Lune (1656) there is a ‘potage the sant\u00e9’ with sorrel, purslane, chervil and herbs, and no doubt there are other comparable recipes.<\/p>\n

Two versions. Which one is the original?<\/h3>\n

When I decided on this recipe I found it in two of my nineteenth century cookbooks,\u00a0De hedendaagsche kookkunst<\/em>\u00a0(‘The contemporary art of cooking’) by Maria Haezebroek and the\u00a0Keukenboek<\/em>\u00a0(litt. ‘kitchenbook’) by\u00a0Henri\u00ebtte Davidis<\/a>\u00a0in practically the same version.
\nWhich of these books had the recipe first?<\/p>\n

The printing history of\u00a0De hedendaagsche kookkunst<\/em>\u00a0shows that from the first edition in 1848 this cookbook has been revised and augmented several times, growing from 155 pages to 384 pages in the ninth edition from 1892, which is the one I own. The last edition of the cookbook was the tenth, from 1901.
\nThe\u00a0Keukenboek<\/em>\u00a0was a free adaptation from the eleventh edition of the German\u00a0Praktisches Kochbuch<\/em>\u00a0from 1865.<\/em>\u00a0This also had been revised and augmented several times since it was first printed in 1844. I own the second edition of the Dutch adaptation from 1868.<\/p>\n

It appears that the recipe from the\u00a0Keukenboek<\/em>\u00a0of Davidis is the oldest. It was translated from the German original, where it first appeared in the tenth edition from 1864. In\u00a0De hedendaagsche kookkunst<\/em>\u00a0the recipe for this soup appeared for the first time in the sixth edition from 1880 (thanks to Joop Witteveen for providing me with this information).
\nI have chosen to represent the oldest Dutch version, which is the one from the\u00a0Keukenboek<\/em>\u00a0 from Henriete Davidis.<\/p>\n

Henri\u00ebtte Davidis<\/h3>\n

Henri\u00ebtte Davidis (1801-1876) was a well-known writer of cookbooks in nineteenth-century Germany. Her mother was of Dutch origin, her father was a clergyman. Some of the other cookbooks she wrote are:\u00a0Puppenk\u00f6chin Anna. Ein praktisches Kochbuch f\u00fcr kleine, liebe M\u00e4dchen<\/em>\u00a0(1856) (Doll-cook Anna. A practical cookbook for sweet little girls) and\u00a0Die Hausfrau: Praktische Anleitung zur selbst\u00e4ndigen und sparsamen F\u00fchrer des Haushaltes\u00a0<\/em>(How to be an independent and economical housewife). These books were also translated in Dutch.
\nHer books were also important for the American cooking tradition in the Mid West, many emigrated Germans entered the new country with their own volume of the\u00a0Praktisches Kochbuch<\/em>. In 1897 an American edition was published, entitled\u00a0Henriette Davidis Practical Cook Book<\/em>\u00a0(see Bibliography).
\nIn the city of Wetter near Dortmund there is\u00a0Henriette Davidis Museum<\/a>. Another recipe from the\u00a0Keukenboek<\/em>\u00a0is\u00a0Capon \u00e0 la braise with caper sauce<\/a>. By the way, the soup in the picture on\u00a0this page<\/a>\u00a0(in Dutch) is also from the\u00a0Keukenboek<\/em>, a curry soup with meatballs of veal and hard-boiled egg yolks.<\/p>\n

Maria Haezebroek<\/h3>\n

My knowledge of Maria Haezebroek is very limited. All I know is that she has published one cookbook,\u00a0\u00a0De hedendaagsche kookkunst, of de wetenschap om lekker en goedkoop te eten en te drinken. […]<\/em>, (‘The contemporary art of cooking, or the science of eating and drinking well and cheap’) that first appeared in print in 1848 and remained in print until 1901, when it had grown to more than double its original size.
\nMy copy of the\u00a0Hedendaagsche kookkunst<\/em>\u00a0(ninth edition) is not just a cookbook. There is information on kitchenware and appliances, laying the table, how to make your own cleaners and shoe polish, and a rather lugubrious chapter on how to treat people who are apparently dead, methodically divided into asphyxia by carbon monoxide, drowning, hanging and being overcome by cold. The preceding chapter is on various symptoms of poisoning and antidotes. Not a popular subject in modern cookbooks.<\/p>\n

Making stock according to Davidis<\/h3>\n

The\u00a0Keukenboek<\/em>\u00a0has a lot to say on making stock (pp. 22\/23), but I don’t always agree with Davidis (italicized in orange<\/em>\u00a0in the text below). How to make a good stock according to my opinion can be found\u00a0here<\/a>.
\nA summary of ‘how to make stock’ by Davidis: Use enamelled or well tinned copper pans, meat that has been slaughtered the previous day, preferably without fat and\u00a0deboned<\/span><\/em>. Rinse the meat off under running water, beat it with a wooden mallet on the cutting board until it is tender. Put it on the fire with cold water\u00a0and salt<\/em>. Bring to the boil, skim it, and let it simmer for an hour. Then strain the stock, rinse the meat, and put strained stock with the meat and vegetables (that will be served as well, not strained out of the stock before serving). The meat can either be served in the soup, or served seperately in the following course, with an ‘eijersaus’ (resembles sauce Hollandaise). If the meat was lean it is best to leave it in the soup. A strong stock is served clear, but if less meat was used one should thicken the soup with rice, pearl barley, vermicelli or sago. A good strong stock required a good quantity of meat, 250 to 350 gram pro person. Even if you served large portions (4 decilitres\/nearly 2 cups pro person) that would mean 2 to 3 pounds of meat (no bones) for little over 1.5 litres (6 to 7 cups) soup.<\/p>\n

The original recipes<\/h2>\n

The original recipe from the\u00a0Keukenboek<\/em>\u00a0by Henri\u00ebtte Davidis from 1868, respectively pp. 30 and 148 (see bibliography<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Kruidensoep<\/b>. Men neemt zuring, postelein, basilicum, kropsalade, spinazie; dragon, pimpernel en bieslook; van de drie laatstgenoemde kruiden iets minder dan van de eersten; men wascht ze en snijdt ze fijn. Een goed stuk boter wort met meel gebruind en de kruiden daarbij gevoegd, terwijl men er den bouillon langzaam opgietende, alles zeer gelijk en fijn roert; men voegt er dan wat zout, fijngehakte kervel en pieterselie bij, laat de soep drie kwartier uurs koken en bindt haar met eijerdoijers. Er kunnen eijer- of aardappelballetjes in gegeven worden. –<\/em>\u00a0p.30, afdeling B (Soepen), recept nr 25.<\/div>
Herb soup<\/b>. Take sorrel, purslane, basil, butterhead lettuce, spinach, tarragon, burnet and chives, of the last three somewhat less than of the first ones. Wash them and chop them. A good piece of butter is browned with flour and the herbs are added to it, whilst pouring the stock in slowly and stirring everything steadily and smoothly. Then add some salt, chopped chervil and parsley. Let the soup boil for three quarters of an hour and thicken her with egg yolks. It can be served with egg balls or potato balls.<\/div>
<\/div><\/p>\n
Aardappelballetjes<\/b>. Men smelt een stuk boter en roert daardoor: 2 eijerdoijers, een theeschoteltje vol geraspt wittebrood, evenveel gekookte, en zeer droog fijngewreven aardappelen, citroenschil, zout en notemuskaat; ten slotte ook het geslagen eiwit. De balletjes moeten 10 minuten in de soep koken.<\/em>\u00a0p.148, afdeling O (Balletjes en bollen), recept nr 16.<\/div>
Potato dumplings<\/strong>. Melt a piece of butter and stir in 2 egg yolks, a tea saucer full of grated white bread, as much of cooked potatoes,\u00a0 pureed very dry, lemon peel, salt and nutmeg, and at last also the beaten egg white. The dumplings must boil 10 minutes in the soup.<\/div>
<\/div><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/a>Modern adaptation of the recipes<\/h2>\n

The taste of this spring soup depends not only on the greens, but also on the stock that is used.\u00a0Home-made chicken stock<\/a>would be excellent, or a good\u00a0vegetable stock<\/a>\u00a0if you want to make a vegetarian version. No stock cubes, please, the main ingredient of those is salt.
\nFor inexperienced cooks it may be advisable to click on the links in the recipe for how to make roux and thicken stock with raw egg yolks.
\nFor 4 persons<\/span>; preparation in advance<\/em> 40 minutes<\/span><\/span>;\u00a0preparation<\/em>\u00a030 minutes<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n

\"SoupPotato dumplings<\/em>
\n1\u00bd Tbsp\u00a0butter<\/span>
\n1\u00a0egg<\/span>, yolk and white separated
\ncrumbs of 8 slices of white bread
\n250 gr (1\u00bd cup diced) floury\u00a0potato<\/span>
\ngrated lemon peel, salt and nutmeg to taste<\/p>\n

The soup<\/em>
\n1 litre (4 cups\/2 pints)\u00a0good\u00a0stock<\/span><\/a>\u00a0(whatever your fancy is)
\n40 gr (3 Tbsp) butter
\n40 gr (\u2153 cup)\u00a0flour<\/span>
\naccording to taste and availability 250 to 400 gr (5 to 8 cups) of:\u00a0butterhead lettuce,\u00a0spinach<\/span>,\u00a0purslane<\/span>,\u00a0sorrel<\/a><\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0basil<\/span>
\n2 Tbsp each of chopped\u00a0tarragon<\/a> and\u00a0chives<\/span>
\nsome chopped\u00a0burnet<\/a>\u00a0if you can find it
\n2 egg yolks
\n2 Tbsp each of chopped parsley and chervil<\/p>\n

Optional<\/em>
\n12 hard-boiled whole egg yolks<\/p>\n

Preparation in advance<\/h3>\n

Make the potato dumplings<\/strong>\u00a0– Boil the potatoes and mash them when they are still hot. If you are in possession of a potato ricer, this is the moment to use it! You’ll get a smooth pur\u00e9e. As soon as you have pur\u00e9ed the potatoes blend in the butter, egg yolks, bread crumbs and spices. Whisk the egg whites and blend in as well. Form small balls with well-floured hands. Set aside until use.
\nWas and chop all the greens, but keep parsely and chervil separate.<\/p>\n

Preparation<\/h3>\n

Melt the butter in a large pan, stir in the flour. Let this sweat for several minutes on very low fire. Now add spinach, purslane, tarragon, chives and burnet and stir until the greens have lost the water and have shrunk. Pour in the stock gradually, keep stirring all the while to ensure that it has thickened. Don’t forget to rake over the bottom of the pan to prevent burning.
\nPur\u00e9e the soup in a (hand) blender or a passe-vite. Let simmer for fifteen more minutes, then add the potato balls and simmer for ten more minutes.
\nFinish the soup with the raw egg yolks (add a litle of the hot soup to the stirred egg yolks, add some more, stirring all the while, then pour the egg yolks with the added soup into the pan, stirring the soup continually until it has thickened enough. The soup must not boil).
\nAdd chopped parsely and chervil just before serving.<\/p>\n

To serve<\/h3>\n

Serve at once, using your finest soup tureen!
\nIn addition to the potato dumplings you can add hard boiled egg yolks, or little meatballs made from nothing but ground veal or beef with some pepper, salt, nutmeg and mace.<\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/h2>\n

All descriptions of ingredients<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Sanguisorba<\/a>Burnet<\/h4>\n

A perennial (Sanguisorba minor<\/em>) with decorative leaves and sweet little flowers. Indigenous to Europe. The young green leaves are used in salads and cooling drinks, the flowers are very decoratove in salads and to garnish dishes.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Potato<\/h4>\n

\"The<\/h4>\n

This tuber,\u00a0Solanum tuberosum<\/em>, originates from South America. When Spanish conquerers entered a vilage from which the inhabitants had fled they found several new food stuff, including potatoes. They first thought mistakenly that the potato was a kind of truffle. Soon after the potato was introduced in Europe, but it wasn’t an immediate succes. The bulbs were bitter, the leaves poisonous. Potatoes did not become popular food on its own merits, the consumption of potatoes was more less forced by governmental decrees and subterfuges. By the end of the eighteenth century potatoes were finally accepted, although still grumbling, by the common people. But then disaster struck: in the nineteenth century there were several disastrous famines caused by failed potato crops. Especially Ireland was victim of these famines, but Belgium and the Netherlands also suffered. One fifth of the Irish population died, and many sought refuge elsewhere: the United States of America.
\nThe famous painting\u00a0The potato eaters<\/em>\u00a0by the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh gives an impression of the monotony and frugality of the meals of the common people in the nineteenth century.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Sorrel<\/h4>\n

There are several varieties, like the common sorrel (Rumex acetosa<\/em>) and the French sorrel or\u00a0oseille<\/em>\u00a0(Rumex scutatis<\/em>). The leaves taste more or less sour, depending on the amount of sunlight (more sun means more sour). Sorrel grows in the wild and chances are that when you have a garden, it will turn up unasked for. Don’t dig it up root and all, just cut of the leaves and use them in the kitchen, in salads or boiled as vegetable. However, do not eat it in great quantities or too frequently, because of the high content of oxalic acid. When sorrel is boiled the colour changes to a greyish green.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Tarragon<\/h4>\n

Be careful if you ever decide to grow your own tarragon.First of all, often Russian tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus<\/em>\u00a0var.\u00a0inodora<\/em>) is sold as kitchen herb (at least in the Netherlands), while the term\u00a0inodora<\/em>\u00a0indicates that this plant hardly has any flavour. So be sure to find real French tarragon. Second warning: if your tarragon is happy, it will start to grow rank, sprouting up everywhere. So choose the spot where you want to plant your tarragon carefully.
\nDried tarragon has hardly any flavour. If you do not have tarragon in your garden, use frozen tarragon, or ask your green grocer.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Bibliography<\/h2>\n

The editions below were used by me. Links refer to available editions.<\/p>\n