[Sca-cooks] OOP Food Content, Brown Windsor Soup, was Goon Show

Tue Aug 5 13:26:47 PDT 2003

--- "Phil Troy/ G. Tacitus Adamantius"
<adamantius at verizon.net> wrote:
> Also sprach Huette von Ahrens:
> 
> >The English in
> >return shoot back cannon balls filled with
> >something also lacking in taste and nutrition,
> >Brown Windsor Soup.
> 
> Interesting that BWS should have such a
> reputation; I suppose it's 
> part of the perceived general slide in
> standards that seems to begin 
> in the Victorian Era and reach a high point (or
> low point, as the 
> case may be) in the continued food rationing
> after WWII (until 1950 
> or so?).
> 
> I'd heard of Brown Windsor Soup over the years,
> mostly in fiction, in 
> movies and TV, but when I began to be
> interested in English culinary 
> history, noted that I couldn't find a recipe
> for Brown Windsor Soup, 
> at least not for a long time. I think I finally
> found one, or 
> possibly a French recipe, along with their
> recipes for Rostbif, 
> Plomboudin and machepoteto, for Potage Windsor.
> 
> As I recall it's a sort of veloute type of soup
> made with brown veal 
> stock; there's no reason in the world why it
> should be lacking in 
> taste and nutrition, at least no more so than
> most other soups.
> 
> Maybe it's part of the same phenomenon that has
> people tasting canned 
> Espagnole sauce, making a face, and deciding
> French food sucks...
> 
> Adamantius

Well, you found a recipe for a French soup that
uses the name "Windsor" in it, but that isn't any
indication that what you found is The True
Recipe.

I just plugged in "recipe windsor soup" on Yahoo
and found quite a few recipes for BWS, including
one from your favorite chef, Emeril Lagasse.

1) Brown Windsor Soup

1.4lt (2.5 pints) Beef stock 
350g (12oz) Stewing steak 
25g (1oz) Butter 
1 Small Onion 
1 Leek 
1 Small Carrot, diced 
1 tbsp Flour 
1 Bouquet Garni 
1 tbsp Parsley, chopped 

Finely chop the onion and green part of the leek,
dice the carrot. Melt the butter in a large
saucepan and cook the onion gently without
colouring for 2-3 minutes. Add the leek and
carrot, cover and allow to sweat for 5 minutes. 
Cut the beef into small cubes, and cook until
browned on all sides. Mix the flour with a little
stock to form a paste. Add this mixture and the
remaining stock to the pan. Bring to the boil. 
Add the bouquet garni, cover and simmer very
gently for 2 hours. Remove the bouquet garni. 
Either pass through a fine strainer or liquidise
the soup. Serve garnished with parsley.

2) Brown Windsor Soup (Emeril's version)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter 
1 cup finely chopped yellow onions 
1 large leek, rinsed well and finely chopped 
1 large carrot, finely chopped 
1 pound sirloin steak, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 
2 teaspoons Essence, recipe follows 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 
1 quart beef stock 
1 bay leaf 
1 bouquet garni 
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley 

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-high
heat. Add the onions and cook for 2 minutes. Add
the leek and carrot, and cook, stirring, until
soft, about 4 minutes. Add the beef, Essence,
salt, and pepper, and cook until browned,
about 4 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the
flour with 2 tablespoons of stock to make a
slurry. Add to the pot and stir well. Add the
remaining stock, bay leaf, and bouquet garni, 
stir well, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to
medium-low and simmer, partially covered, until
the meat is tender, about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours,
stirring occasionally. Remove the bay leaf and
bouquet garni and discard. Add the parsley, and
garnish with rosemary popcorn and rosemary sprigs
and serve immediately.

Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning): 
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika 
2 tablespoons salt 
2 tablespoons garlic powder 
1 tablespoon black pepper 
1 tablespoon onion powder 
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper 
1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano 
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in
an airtight jar or container. 

Yield: about 2/3 cup 

Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril
Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch. Published by William
and Morrow, 1993.

3) Brown Windsor Soup 

1/2 lb. beef, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 lb. mutton, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 oz. butter
6 oz. sliced onions
4 oz. sliced carrots
2 oz. flour
4 pints beef stock
faggot of herbs (celery, thyme, parsley, bay leaf
tied in leek leaves)
salt and cayenne pepper
5 oz. Madeira or other red cooking wine

Melt the butter and fry the meat and vegetables
until lightly browned. Sprinkle in the flour and
cook until brown. Gradually stir in the stock;
bring to boil, add the herbs and simmer for 2
hours or until meat is tender. Season with salt
and pepper. Rub through a sieve or blend in a
blender. Reheat soup and add wine.

4) Windsor Soup (M) 
Source: Unknown
Serves: 4 to 6 

1/2 pound beef, cut into 1" cubes
1/2 pound mutton, cut into 1" cubes
2 ounces margarine or 2 tablespoons cooking oil
6 ounces sliced onions
4 ounces sliced carrots
2 ounces flour
4 pint beef stock
Small handful whole herbs (celery, thyme,
parsley, bay leaf) tied in leek leaves
Salt and  cayenne pepper
5 ounces Madeira 

Melt the margarine and fry the meat and
vegetables until lightly browned. Sprinkle in the
flour and cook until brown. Gradually stir in the
stock; bring to boil, add the herbs and simmer
for 2 hours or until meat is tender. Season with
salt and pepper. Run through a sieve or blend in
a blender. Reheat soup and add wine. 

5) Brown Windsor Soup

This is one of those soups that for years has had
a terrible reputation as the dreadful 'Brown
soup' served up routinely in boarding houses
before and after World War II. Indeed, my sister
and I always used to refer to this kind of
sub-standard fare as 'a bit of Brown Windsor'. It
was always a joke food to us. However, properly
made this is a great British soup and well worth
trying. 

Serves 4

Butter - 25g (1 oz)
Onion - 1 small, finely chopped
Leek - 1, green only, chopped
Carrot - 1 small, diced
Stewing steak - 350g (12 oz)
Flour - 1 tbsp
Beef stock - 1.4 litres (2½ pints)
Bouquet garni - 1
Parsley - 1 tbsp, chopped

METHOD 

   1.Melt the butter in a large pan and cook the
onion for 1-2 minutes. Add the leek and carrot,
cover and allow to sweat for about 5 minutes. Add
the beef and stir until it is browned.
   2.Add the flour to a little of the stock to
make a paste. Add this mixture along with the
rest of the stock to the pan. Bring everything to
the boil. Add the bouquet garni, cover and simmer
very gently for 2 hours.
   3.Remove the bouquet garni. Liquidise the soup
and serve garnished with the parsley

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this soup.

Huette

=====
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves for they 
shall never cease to be amused.

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