Queen Victoria adored it hence the royal affiliation; the Goons poked fun at the stuff; it was on the menu at Fawlty Towers. Brown Windsor Soup. But who has eaten it in the last 30 years? Thickened with - the horror - flour, a stomach-filler rather than a starter (curse central-heating for reducing our calorific needs) it doesn’t really fit the bill these days – you can’t imagine it ever being topped with a coffee foam.
As with so many soups begin with a chopped onion frying gently in butter; add a finely diced carrot and leek (the finer you chop the easier you get the right final consistency); followed by (for four) at least half a pound, preferably three-quarters, of braising or stewing steak in small cubes which should brown all over. If you have leftover braised beef (not roast) from another dish it can be used – no need to brown it – here. Add another small knob of butter and a tablespoon of plain flour and stir to incorporate the flour before adding two pints or so of hot beef stock, preferably home-made with browned bones and plenty of depth. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 90 minutes – not perhaps the several hours that would originally have been the case. Cooking over liquidise it in a processor or with a stick-blender, rub through a sieve, and re-liquidise any remaining lumps with a bit of the sieved soup. Correct the seasoning.
At the table add a dessert-spoonful of sherry or Madeira per bowl for a nice pre-war flourish. Some recipes call for saving a few cubes of meat to add to the soup before serving, but Brown Windsor Soup of the 1970s had one texture only, that of quicksand. Meaty, rich, filling quicksand.
This is a recipe on which tunes can be played, though they should be suitable for tea dances. A parsnip instead of the carrot or leek, or as well as; a bouquet garni (remove before blending!); even a stick of celery or two, stripped of strings and finely chopped. But no garlic, which hadn’t been invented in most of Britain when this last featured on hotel menus. No chili ditto. You could risk a dash of Henderson’s, Worcestershire sauce or Mushroom ketchup before simmering, you mad impulsive thing.
More British Institutions
Afternoon Tea
Allotments
April Fools Day
Big Ben
Binge Drinking
Black Cabs
Bonfire Night
British Sense of Humour
Brown Windsor Soup
Burns Night
Cadburys
Castles
Changing the Guard
City of London
Coronation Street
Cowes Week
Cricket
Crufts
Dad’s Army
E-Type Jag
Eccentricity
English Country Garden
Fish and Chips
Fish Fingers
Fox Hunting
Full English Breakfast
Gin and Tonic
Glastonbury
Glorious Goodwood
Grand National
Grouse Shooting
Harrods
Highland Games
Hogmanay
James Bond
John Bull
King Arthur
Land Rover
Lloyds of London
London to Brighton Veteran Car Rally
Marks and Spencer
Monty Python
Morecambe and Wise
Old School Tie
Oxbridge
Panto
Picnics
Pimms
Point-to-Point
Punch and Judy
Queueing
Real Ale
Red Arrows
Red Telephone Boxes
Remembrance Poppies
Robin Hood
Rolls Royce
Royal Ascot
Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
Savile Row Suits
School Discos
School Sports Day
Seaside Piers
Speakers’ Corner
Stag Nights
Stiff Upper Lip
Strawberries and Cream
Street Markets
Summer Festivals
Sunday Roasts
The Archers
The BBC
The Beano
The Boat Race
The Brass Band
The British Bobby
The Bulldog
The Church of England
The Cup Final
The Curry House
The English Rose
The Garden Shed
The Honours System
The Kilt
The Last Night at the Proms
The London Bus
The Mini
The National Trust
The NHS
The Oak
The Pub
The Queen’s Speech
The Rolling Stones
The Royal Christmas Message
The Spitfire
The V Sign
The Village Fete
The Weather
Travelling Fairs
Trooping the Colour
Village Greens
Wedgwood
Wellington Boots
Wimbledon
Wine Gums
Yeomen of the Guard
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