Basel Flour Soup (Basler Mehlsuppe)
Basel is located in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, right in the area of the border across from Germany and also Alsace, in France. The general German dialect in the entire region, in all three countries, is Alemannic, with Basel residents speaking the "Baseldeutsch" (Basel German) variety of Alemannic. This simple soup, perhaps the signature dish of the city of Basel, especially during "Fasnacht," a term used in some other German areas, alongside "Fasching" and "Fastnacht," but which is known in other parts of Europe and the world as "Carneval" (some areas spell it "Carnaval," "Carnival," or, "Karneval"), but which is known to Americans as "Mardi Gras," held in New Orleans. Cologne, Germany and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil are also famous for their Lenten celebrations.
Ingredients:
5 tablespoons flour
5 tablespoons butter
6 cups beef stock
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon black pepper
salt to taste (and dependent upon how much salt is in the beef stock)
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon marjoram
1/2 cup toasted croutons
a second small onion, cut into rings, then dredged in flour
butter or canola oil (or mixed) for frying the onion rings
1/4 cup shredded Emmentaler cheese (Swiss cheese)
In a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat, melt the butter and stir in the flour. Keep stirring until the mixture becomes browned. Gradually add the beef broth, stirring to prevent lumps. Add the onion, cloves, salt and pepper, stir to mix well. Keep soup at a gentle simmer for about 25 minutes. Add the marjoram. Let soup gently simmer another 10 minutes. Meanwhile, fry the flour coated onion rings until browned. If you make your own croutons, also prepare them. Serve each bowl of soup with some shredded cheese added, then top with some croutons and a few onion rings.
WORD HISTORY:
Carnival-This word, originally only meaning, "celebration before Lent," is a compound, the first part of which, "carni," is distantly related to "shear" and to "share." This goes back to Indo European "sker," which meant, "to cut." This gave Latin "caro," meaning, "something cut off;" thus, "meat, flesh of fruits and vegetables." The second part of the word, distantly related to "light;" that is, "not heavy," goes back to Indo European "legwh," which had the notion, "light in weight." This gave Latin "levis," with the same meaning. This then produced the verb, "levare," with the meaning, "to lift up, to raise," from the idea of "not heavy," but the word also took on a number of figurative meanings, including, "remove, take away." Together the words produced the expression, "carnem levare," which meant, "take away meat." This was contracted into Italian "carnevale," with the "festival before Lent" meaning, and this passed into French as, "carnaval." English borrowed the word in the first half of the 1500s, but it wasn't until the 1920s or 1930s, that American English expanded beyond the traditional meaning to many different kinds of similar festivities, regardless of the time of year. German borrowed the word directly from Italian, but with the spelling, "Karneval."
Ingredients:
5 tablespoons flour
5 tablespoons butter
6 cups beef stock
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon black pepper
salt to taste (and dependent upon how much salt is in the beef stock)
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon marjoram
1/2 cup toasted croutons
a second small onion, cut into rings, then dredged in flour
butter or canola oil (or mixed) for frying the onion rings
1/4 cup shredded Emmentaler cheese (Swiss cheese)
In a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat, melt the butter and stir in the flour. Keep stirring until the mixture becomes browned. Gradually add the beef broth, stirring to prevent lumps. Add the onion, cloves, salt and pepper, stir to mix well. Keep soup at a gentle simmer for about 25 minutes. Add the marjoram. Let soup gently simmer another 10 minutes. Meanwhile, fry the flour coated onion rings until browned. If you make your own croutons, also prepare them. Serve each bowl of soup with some shredded cheese added, then top with some croutons and a few onion rings.
Carnival-This word, originally only meaning, "celebration before Lent," is a compound, the first part of which, "carni," is distantly related to "shear" and to "share." This goes back to Indo European "sker," which meant, "to cut." This gave Latin "caro," meaning, "something cut off;" thus, "meat, flesh of fruits and vegetables." The second part of the word, distantly related to "light;" that is, "not heavy," goes back to Indo European "legwh," which had the notion, "light in weight." This gave Latin "levis," with the same meaning. This then produced the verb, "levare," with the meaning, "to lift up, to raise," from the idea of "not heavy," but the word also took on a number of figurative meanings, including, "remove, take away." Together the words produced the expression, "carnem levare," which meant, "take away meat." This was contracted into Italian "carnevale," with the "festival before Lent" meaning, and this passed into French as, "carnaval." English borrowed the word in the first half of the 1500s, but it wasn't until the 1920s or 1930s, that American English expanded beyond the traditional meaning to many different kinds of similar festivities, regardless of the time of year. German borrowed the word directly from Italian, but with the spelling, "Karneval."
Labels: Alemannic German, Basler Mehlsuppe, English, etymology, Fasnacht, French, Italian, Latin, recipes, soup, Swiss recipes
posted by Randy at 11:23 PM
1 Comments:
I forgot to mention, the first part of the German term, "Mehlsuppe," is closely related to the English word, "meal;" in the sense, "ground grain;" thus, "flour." English borrowed the word "flour," a word of Latin derivation, from French, with the meaning "finely ground grain," especially in reference to certain types of grain, like wheat and rye, but the word "meal" has remained alive and well, with the meaning, "coarsely ground grain." German "Mehl," however, has retained the meaning "flour."
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