1 lb herbs *
4 tbsp butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 qt water or vegetable stock
1 large potato, peeled and chopped into sma, ll cubes
Directions
Serves 4.
salt and pepper bread cubes for croutons
* at least 3 of these: chervil, watercress, spinach, sorrel
(dandelion and pimpernel for brave souls) Bitter herbs are
traditionally eaten at Easter in Christian countries as a sign of
penitence. This Bavarian soup is served on Easter Thursday, known as
Maundy Thursday. Fresh chervil, easily available in any German
market, is usually the dominating flavor. This is a delicate
fresh-tasting soup for any time of the year.
You will need a large saucepan. Pick over and wash the herbs,
stripping the leaves from those stalks which are too woody. Chop the
rest.
Melt the butter in a deep pan and fry the onion gently until
transparent. Add the herbs and sweat them for a moment before you
pour in the water or broth. Add the potato to the soup. Bring the
soup to a boil, and then turn down the heat. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Mash the potato in the soup to thicken it a little. Taste, and add
salt and freshly milled pepper.
Serve with bread croutons fried in butter or bacon fat (goose fat is
even better). They should be so hot that they sizzle when they are
added to the hot soup at the table.
From: THE OLD WORLD KITCHEN - THE RICH TRADITION OF EUROPEAN PEASANT
COOKING" by Elisabeth Luard, ISBN 0-553-05219-5
Posted by: Karin Brewer, Cooking Echo, 7/92
Servings: 4 servings
Bavarian Herb Soup (Krautlsuppe) Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: German; Soup; Vegetable
The History of Recipes
Transcribed cooking instructions as a concept can be traced far back into the far past, certainly as far as pharonic Egypt, and possibly even further than that. Interesting though that maybe, these, ancient recipes were just primitive pictorial instructions for preparing meals.
In an interesting twist, the oldest recipe found, according to Professor Solomon Katz, is a collection of ancient tablets in Sumerian which recount the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making anyone who drank it feel `exhilarated, wonderful and blissful`. During the time of the Romans a roman called Apicius created a number of documents detailing recipes prepared by wealthy Romans. In his publication, Apicius recounts how the meals were divided into appetizers, main meal and dessert, something that is very familiar to us today. Aspicius also informs us how the cooks of Roman times made use of many herbs and spices, including many that are still in use today like basil, fennel and parsley. Moving our culinary historical trip onwards, we find a couple of cookery books published in the 14th Century ; one book entitled `Forme of Cury`, and another titled `Curye on Inglish`. Although the titles sound familiar, these two books have no connection with the indian food that appears on menues today, but instead recipes for the types of meals prepared by the chefs of the nobility of the period. Later on, in the 15th century, people returning from the crusades brought back a variety of foods and spices from the East, such as rosemary and coriander. The introduction of these new herbs and spices created an explosion in publications on food, some of which are kept safe in private collections. When we get to the 20th century, cookbooks were highly popular as a result of increased literacy, people having more free time and being a little richer. The arrival of TV gave us TV cooks and the demand for the spin-off recipe books. Which pretty much brings us to the present day and the invention of the internet, allowing everybody to search through massive numbers of recipes like the ones you can find on our site. |
We hope you enjoy this Bavarian Herb Soup (Krautlsuppe) recipe.
