[Sca-cooks] lamb meatball soup, or is it?

[Stefan li Rous]

Johnnae gave this recipe:

<<< Fartes of Portingale (Lamb Meatball Soup)

Recipe from Handout

6 cup beef broth or stock
1 lb. ground lamb
<snip>
Source for Recipe Presented

I got this redaction from Olena Ksen'ia [Yana] Barsova when she lived  
here in my barony. I don't know who actually did the redaction,  
whether it was her or someone else.
From a bit of research I've found out that the original recipe is in  
The Good Huswives Handmaid for Cookerie, 1588
Notes and additional versions

The Good Huswives Handmaid for Cookerie, 1588.
How to make Fartes of Portingale. Take a peece of a leg of mutton.  
Mince it smal and season it with cloves, mace, pepper, and salt, and  
Dates minced with currants: then roll it into round rolles, and so  
into little balles, and so boyle them in a little beef broth and so  
serve them foorth. >>>

I'm curious, why does "boyle them in a little beef broth and so serve them foorth" become lamb meatball *soup* as opposed to meatballs served with some broth, which is how I interpreted this at first. 6 cups of broth seems to me a bit more than "a little beef broth".

However, perhaps this is common language for a soup? Or does "Fartes of Portingale" translate to "Soup of..."?

Thanks,
  Stefan

--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
   Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas          StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****