Allied Cookery: British, French, Italian, Belgian, Russian

fine a small white cabbage or lettuce (cos preferred), 1 carrot, 1 turnip, 3 leeks, 1 head of celery. Let these vegetables take colour for about three minutes in 2 ozs. of good fat or butter. Add 3 quarts of water and a pinch of salt; let it boil. Add five raw potatoes cut like the vegetables, a handful of green French beans cut up, the same quantity of green peas. Cook over a good fire for two hours. The soup should be quite smooth; if it is not so, beat it well with a whisk; if too much reduced add more water. Season to taste; at the last add a little chopped chervil. A bone of ham or the remains of bacon improve this soup immensely. STSCHI (Russian) Cut up a cabbage, heat in butter, and moisten with 3 tablespoons of stock. Add 2 lbs. of beef brisket, cut into large dice, 3 pints of water, and cook 1-1/2 hours. Chop up 2 onions, 2 leeks, and a parsnip in small dice, add 2 tablespoons of sour cream and 1 tablespoon of flour. Add this mixture to the soup about 1/2 hour before serving. Small buckwheat cakes are served with it. BURAKI (Russian) Cut in cubes 4 or 5 lbs. of fat beef in enough water to make a good bouillon and boil it well. Cut some raw beets into small thin slices about an inch long, chop some onion, and with a tablespoon of butter stew them until tender and somewhat brown; add to the beef bouillon 1 spoonful of flour mixed with 2 spoonsful of vinegar, the beets, and onion and let all this cook in the oven until the beets and beef are quite tender. It should be closely covered. Sausages and some pieces of ham may be added if wished. Before you serve the bouillon, add some sour cream. LENTIL SOUP (French) Soak overnight 1 cup of lentils; the next day boil them until tender enough to pass them through a sieve with 2 onions, 2 carrots, 2 leeks, 1 quart of water, 1 dessert-spoonful