Recipes
British
Turtle Soup

Turtle Soup

Name: Turtle Soup
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 55 min
Total time: 2 h 15 min
Yield: 1 serving
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 130 g turtle meat; 300 ml veal stock; 15 g butter; 40 g onion; 30 g celery; 30 g carrot; 1 tbsp plain flour; 1 tsp tomato purée; 2 tbsp dry sherry; 1 bay leaf; 1 sprig thyme; 1 blade of mace; 2 cloves; 1 tsp lemon; 1 pinch cayenne pepper; salt; black pepper; 1 tsp flat-leaf parsley

A clear, deeply savoury Victorian turtle soup: turtle meat simmered slowly in veal stock with mace, cloves and lemon peel, lightly thickened, and finished at the table with dry sherry and a squeeze of lemon.

Snacks Mains 25g+ protein Under 400 kcal

135 min20 prep · 115 cookMedium385 kcalper serving

Instructions

Rinse 130 g of diced turtle meat under cold water and pat it dry. Put it in a small heavy saucepan with 300 ml of veal stock, the bay leaf, the thyme sprig, the blade of mace, 2 cloves and the pared strip of lemon zest. Bring slowly to the boil and skim off the grey scum that rises.
Lower the heat until the surface only trembles, half-cover, and simmer for 90 minutes. Top up with a splash of hot water if the meat is ever uncovered. The turtle is ready when a piece crushes easily between finger and thumb but still holds its shape.
Meanwhile melt 15 g of butter in a second small pan over a low heat and sweat 40 g of finely diced onion, 30 g of celery and 30 g of carrot for 8 minutes, stirring, until soft and golden but not browned. Scatter over 1 tbsp of plain flour and add 1 tsp of tomato purée, and cook 2 minutes to a sandy, nut-brown roux.