An infinite variety of excellent soups may be made of fish, which may be stewed down for them in precisely the same manner as meat, and with the same addition of vegetables and herbs. When the skin is coarse or rank it should be carefully stripped off before the fish is used ; and any oily particles which may float on the surface should be entirely removed from it. _ In France, J ersey, Cornwall, and many other localities, the conger eel, divested of its skin, is sliced up into thick cutlets and made into soup, which we are assured by English families who have it often served at their tables, is extremely good. A half-grown fish is best for the pur- pose. After the soup has been strained and allowed to settle, it must be heated afresh, and rice and minced parsley may be added to it as for the turkey soup of page 32 ; or it may be thickened with rice- flour only, or served clear. Curried fish-soups, too, are much to be recommended. Wk?n broth or stock has been made as above with conger eel, common eels, whitings, haddocks, codlings, fresh water fish, or any common kind, which may be at hand, flakes of cold salmon, cod fish, John Dories, or scallops of cold soles, plaice,* &c., maybe heated and served in it ; and the remains of crabs or lobsters mingled with them. The large oysters sold at so cheap a rate upon the coast, and which are not much esteemed for eating raw, serve admirably for imparting flavour to soup, and the softer portions of them may be served in it after a few minutes of gentle simmering. Anchovy or any other store fish-sauce may be added with good effect to many of these pottages if used with moderation. Prawns and shrimps likewise would generally be considered an improvement to them. For more savoury preparations, fry the fish and vegetables, lay them into the soup-pot, and add boiling, instead of cold water to th em. BUCHANAN CARROT SOUP. ( Excellent .) Make two quarts of soup by either of the foregoing receipts, using for it good brown stock (for a common family dinner strong beef broth will do). Mix smoothly with a little liquid, a tablespoonful of fine cur- rie-powder, and boil it in the soup for ten minutes ; or instead of this, season it rather highly with cayenne pepper, and then stir into it from six ounces to half a pound of Patna rice✪ Buchanan Carrot Soup boiled dry and tender as for a currie. The whole may then remain by the side of the fire without even simmering for ten minutes longer, and then be served imme- diately. As a winter potage this is generally much liked. A spoonful of Captain White's currie-paste will flavour it very agreeably if * Cold vegetables, cut up small, may be added with these at pleasure, Chap, i.] SOUPS. 47 smoothly diluted, and simmered in it for two or three minutes : we prefer it always to the powder. Three or four ounces of pearl-barley well washed, soaked for some hours, and boiled extremely tender in broth or water, may on occasion be substituted for the rice. Obs. — This receipt was, from inadvertence, omitted at its proper place, page 20, where it ought to have been inserted after the carrot soups which will be found there, and to which the reader is referred for the method of preparing the present one in part. OBSERVATION.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

An infinite variety of excellent soups may be made of fish, which may be stewed down for them in precisely the same manner as meat, and with the same addition of vegetables and herbs. When the skin is coarse or rank it should be carefully stripped off before the fish is used ; and any oily particles which may float on the surface should be entirely removed from it. _ In France, J ersey, Cornwall, and many other localities, the conger eel, divested of its skin, is sliced up into thick cutlets and made into soup, which we are assured by English families who have it often served at their tables, is extremely good. A half-grown fish is best for the purpose. After the soup has been strained and allowed to settle, it must be heated afresh, and rice and minced parsley may be added to it as for the turkey soup of page 32 ; or it may be thickened with riceflour only, or served clear. Curried fish-soups, too, are much to be recommended. When broth or stock has been made as above with conger eel, common eels, whitings, haddocks, codlings, fresh water fish, or any common kind, which may be at hand, flakes of cold salmon, cod fish, John Dories, or scallops of cold soles, plaice,* &c., maybe heated and served in it ; and the remains of crabs or lobsters mingled with them. The large oysters sold at so cheap a rate upon the coast, and which are not much esteemed for eating raw, serve admirably for imparting flavour to soup, and the softer portions of them may be served in it after a few minutes of gentle simmering. Anchovy or any other store fish-sauce may be added with good effect to many of these pottages if used with moderation. Prawns and shrimps likewise would generally be considered an improvement to them. For more savoury preparations, fry the fish and vegetables, lay them into the soup-pot, and add boiling, instead of cold water to th em. BUCHANAN CARROT SOUP. ( Excellent .) Make two quarts of soup by either of the foregoing receipts, using for it good brown stock (for a common family dinner strong beef broth will do). Mix smoothly with a little liquid, a tablespoonful of fine currie-powder, and boil it in the soup for ten minutes ; or instead of this, season it rather highly with cayenne pepper, and then stir into it from six ounces to half a pound of Patna rice boiled dry and tender as for a currie. The whole may then remain by the side of the fire without even simmering for ten minutes longer, and then be served immediately. As a winter potage this is generally much liked. A spoonful of Captain White's currie-paste will flavour it very agreeably if * Cold vegetables, cut up small, may be added with these at pleasure, Chap, i.] smoothly diluted, and simmered in it for two or three minutes : we prefer it always to the powder. Three or four ounces of pearl-barley well washed, soaked for some hours, and boiled extremely tender in broth or water, may on occasion be substituted for the rice. Obs. — This receipt was, from inadvertence, omitted at its proper place, page 20, where it ought to have been inserted after the carrot soups which will be found there, and to which the reader is referred for the method of preparing the present one in part. OBSERVATION.

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Buchanan Carrot Soup

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