Water Souchet

I’m always intrigued by the section in old cookery books which has recipes catering for someone who’s not feeling very well. I don’t think any modern recipe books have a section like that these days, although there are plenty for people who have particular dietary requirements. I’m looking at a book I picked up in a second hand bookshop, ‘Recipes for You’ by Mary MacCurdy, of Glasgow and West College of Domestic Science, Lecturer on Domestic Science to Students of Glasgow Provincial Training College. It was first published, I think, in 1926 – although there is another book which was published in 1909 called ‘The Glasgow Cookery Book’, which i think is different, but may not be!!

I’m looking at a section called ‘Recipes for the Sick-Room, and if you’ve read any old novels you won’t be surprised to find that Beef Tea is the first, followed by Broths and Custards. Jellies, Puddings, a Fool, a Soufflé and a Tart. The custard by the way is not what you might imagine – it’s fillet of sole with custard, although the custard seems to be more like scrambled egg with lemon juice. Some of the recipes don’t appeal to me now – and I’m feeling very well, but if I were ill, or a little queasy, would I really want Water Souchet  – a word I have never come across before and which I must explore some other time.

Water Souchet

• 1 lb white fish
• small piece of onion, carrot, turnip, celery, parsnip
• 2 cloves
• ½ blade mace
• ½ oz butter
• sa;t, pepper
• 1 pint water

1. fillet fish, put the head, bones and skin into a pan with the water
2. when it boils add the vegetables cut in rough bits, the stalks of the parsley and flavourings
3. simmer for 1 hour, strain and return to the pan
4. add the fish cut in neat pieces, butter, salt, pepper and parsley finely chopped
5. boil for a few minutes
6. serve with crisp toast, brown bread or boiled rice

What strikes me as unusual, is the short cooking time for the fish, ‘a few minutes’ – in many old recipes everything is boiled far longer than we would today!

PS – a souchet is, apparently, a method of cooking fish by poaching – but this is another thing I must investigate further