flipHealth Broth with Fine Herbs
Health Broth with Fine Herbs
Why this dish? Émilie ate little and at unreasonable hours, her mind elsewhere. The 'health broth' — a clear bouillon on bread and herbs — was the light meal of people absorbed in study, taken quickly before returning to geometry notebooks.
A chicken broth fragrant with garden herbs, poured steaming over thin slices of bread. Simple, comforting, it is the discreet meal that does not distract from work.
You see, the body is but a machine that must be maintained without pampering: I have never given more hours to my table than to my calculations. This broth is always kept ready on the fire; you throw into the bouillon whatever the garden offers — a little chervil, sorrel, an herb or two — and pour it steaming over the bread. It nourishes the understanding without weighing down the stomach, and I assure you that a mind wishing to follow Mr. Newton asks for nothing more.
- •Hen or capon broth — a large pot (soup base)
- •Stale bread — a few thin slices (soaking base)
- •Chervil, sorrel, parsley — a handful (fresh fragrance)
- •Fresh butter — a knob (binding and richness)
- •Salt — to taste (seasoning)
Health Broth with Fine Herbs
A chicken broth fragrant with garden herbs, poured steaming over thin slices of bread. Simple, comforting, it is the discreet meal that does not distract from work.
Why this dish? Émilie ate little and at unreasonable hours, her mind elsewhere. The 'health broth' — a clear bouillon on bread and herbs — was the light meal of people absorbed in study, taken quickly before returning to geometry notebooks.
You see, the body is but a machine that must be maintained without pampering: I have never given more hours to my table than to my calculations. This broth is always kept ready on the fire; you throw into the bouillon whatever the garden offers — a little chervil, sorrel, an herb or two — and pour it steaming over the bread. It nourishes the understanding without weighing down the stomach, and I assure you that a mind wishing to follow Mr. Newton asks for nothing more.
Ingredients (period version)
- Hen or capon broth — a large pot (soup base)
- Stale bread — a few thin slices (soaking base)
- Chervil, sorrel, parsley — a handful (fresh fragrance)
- Fresh butter — a knob (binding and richness)
- Salt — to taste (seasoning)
Ingredients
- Chicken broth — 1 liter (soup base)
- Stale country bread — 4 thin slices (base)
- Chopped chervil and parsley — 2 tbsp (fresh fragrance)
- Sorrel (or young spinach) — a large handful (tangy note)
- Butter — 20 g (richness)
- Salt, pepper — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Heat the chicken broth without letting it boil vigorously.
- Place the stale bread slices at the bottom of bowls or a tureen.
- Add the sorrel (or spinach) to the broth and let it wilt for 2 minutes, then add the butter.
- Pour the steaming broth over the bread and let it soak for 1 minute.
- Sprinkle with fresh chervil and parsley, adjust salt, and serve immediately.
How it was made : The 'health broth' appears in all 18th-century cookbooks as the quintessential light meal. A 'pot' of broth was kept permanently at the corner of the fire, ready to be poured over bread — the direct ancestor of the word 'soup', which originally referred to the bread slice itself.
The contemporary twist : A drizzle of olive oil and a few lemon zest strips awaken this austere broth, giving it the air of a contemporary consommé.
Sources : Menon, La Cuisinière bourgeoise, 1746 · Les Dons de Comus, 1739
Émilie du Châtelet · Charactorium
