Recipe no. 6 from Jean-Baptiste Reboul's La Cuisinière provençale (1909), page 13.
Ingredients
- 3 or 4 carrots
- As many turnips
- 2 leeks
- 1 onion
- Half a cabbage
- A lettuce
- Water
- Salt
- A lump of sugar
- Broth
- Fat skimmed from the stockpot
- A handful of sorrel
- Chervil leaves
Preparation
- Preparing the vegetablesPeel and wash 3 or 4 carrots, as many turnips, 2 leeks, 1 onion, half a cabbage and a lettuce. Cut everything finely into julienne.
- PrecookingPut a pan of water on the heat with a good pinch of salt; bring to a boil and put all the vegetables in; let them come back to a boil a few times, then drain without refreshing.
- Slow cookingReturn them to the pan with a pinch of salt and a lump of sugar, moisten with a few ladlefuls of broth and the fat skimmed from the stockpot, cover and let cook slowly.
- Reduction and brothWhen the vegetables are cooked there should be no broth left in them, it should be entirely reduced; the necessary broth is then added according to the number of guests, and it is left to boil a few minutes, skimming as it goes.
- SorrelSeparately, take a handful of sorrel, wash it after picking it over, cut it finely, put it with a spoonful of skimmed fat into a small saucepan, brown it over high heat and pour it into the soup.
- FinishJust before serving, and in the tureen only, add a pinch of chervil leaves.
Reboul's text
Peel and wash 3 or 4 carrots, as many turnips, 2 leeks, 1 onion, half a cabbage and a lettuce. Cut everything finely into julienne.
Put a pan of water on the heat with a good pinch of salt; bring to a boil and put all the vegetables in; let them come back to a boil a few times, then drain without refreshing.
Return them to the pan with a pinch of salt and a lump of sugar, this last being used to take away the somewhat bitter taste that root vegetables often have. Moisten with a few ladlefuls of broth and the fat skimmed from the stockpot, cover and let cook slowly.
When the vegetables are cooked there should be no broth left in them, it should be entirely reduced; the necessary broth is then added according to the number of guests, and it is left to boil a few minutes, skimming as it goes.
Separately, take a handful of sorrel, wash it after picking it over, cut it finely, put it with a spoonful of skimmed fat into a small saucepan, brown it over high heat and pour it into the soup.
Just before serving, and in the tureen only, add a pinch of chervil leaves.
Small Provençal glossary for this recipe
Reboul writes in French: no Provençal word appears in this recipe, apart from the dish's name itself. The table below gives the Provençal equivalents of the words used, in mistralian spelling, translated by Lingua Nostra. Each form is attested in our Provençal-English dictionary; click to open the entry.
| Provençal | English |
|---|---|
| garroto | carrots |
| nabet | turnips |
| pòrri | leeks |
| cebo | onion |
| caulet | cabbage |
| lachugo | lettuce |
| boui | boiling |
| esgouta | drain |
| sucre | sugar |
| agradello | sorrel |
Source: Jean-Baptiste Reboul, La Cuisinière provençale, Marseille, 1909, recipe no. 6, page 13. Public domain. Transcription, formatting and Provençal glossary by Lingua Nostra.