after her coronation in 1837? Have a parliamentary meeting? Have tea with all the royal dignitaries? No – she gave her dog, Dash, a bath.
2 oz dripping
4 oz meat cut into 1 inch dice
4 oz onions, thinly sliced
4 oz turnips, cut into small dice (‘the peel will do’)
2 oz leeks, thinly sliced (‘the green tops will do’)
3 oz celery
12 oz wholemeal flour
8 oz pearl barley
3 oz salt
1/4 oz brown sugar
All boiled together in 18 pints of water
Recipe by Alexis Soyer, author of ‘A Shilling Cookery for the People’, Chef at the Reform Club and friend of Florence Nightingale.
This soup is thought sufficient for 40 people! Try to imagine the taste and how few people would have a piece of meat.