Lady Curzon Soup

Nothing to report on the Snit-Mitch front, but yesterday at lunch, a well traveled friend and his wife waxed poetic about something called Lady Curzon soup. "We had it in Berlin many years ago. It was a cream based soup, but we didn't know what was in it. It's called Lady Curzon soup and we can't get it here although we had it once in America and it didn't taste the same."

Plenty to go on there for Ed Hands, Recipe Detective. My crack assistant Mr. Google turned up the answer very quickly. Lady Curzon was born Mary Leiter in 1870 in Chicago, Illinois. Her dad was Levi Zeigler Leiter who was involved in building the Marshall Field empire and became a force in Chicago real estate. As you can see she was very pretty. She was also six feet tall, extremely bright, well educated, and fabulously rich. In 1894 she met George Nathaniel Curzon, a brilliant, driven and impoverished English Lord in the days when Lords still actively particpated in British government. Lord Curzon was one of those love him or hate him kind of guys, but Mary fell in love with this man who was 11 years her senior. They were married in 1895, and contrary what you may have read in the novels of Henry James about impoverished lords and rich American heiresses,  it was a real love match and Mary was a tremendous hit in British society. The couple quickly produced three daughters, but tragically Mary died from complications of a miscarriage in 1906 at age 36. She had invented her famous soup only the year before while her husband was viceroy of India. More about the Curzons with fabulous pictures from their houses and mansions and the famous Peacock Dress she wore in India for the coronation reception of King Edward VII can be found here at a blog that was only posted a few days ago. It also has comments about the soup of which more below. While in India Mary funded a woman's hospital in Bangalore, promoted the Indian textile industry particularly the waning art of embroidery, and spoke out for conservation of the increasingly rare Indian rhinoceros.

Regarding the soup, it is said that Mary saved the day at a dinner party hosted for a man who was a teetotaler. Everyone else at the party was a drinker, but to avoid irritating the honored guest Mary suggested adding sherry to the soup du jour. Given her status in society, the simple soup took off in popularity and became a staple in many European countries, especially Germany. Unfortunately for 21st century diners, the soup du jour was turtle soup. Unlike American turtle soup which is made from terrapins or snappers, this soup was made from now protected sea turtles. According to one website you can still get the original version in Germany, but I believe that even there substitutes are used today. Interestingly, since the soup was supposed to take the place of a drink in the first course, a special cup quickly became popular exclusively for this soup. The cup was a little bigger than a demitasse, but smaller than a tea cup. Here's something close to the original recipe:

                                              2 egg yolks
                                              1/3 cup heavy cream
                                              1/2 teaspoon (or more to taste) curry powder
                                              4 cups canned turtle soup, with sea turtle meat
                                              1/4 cup sherry
Garnish: 6 tablespoons of heavy cream lightly whipped
In a bowl, whip together the egg yolks, cream, and curry powder. In a large saucepan, bring the turtle soup to a boil, then gradually beat a cup of it into the egg yolk mixture, making a liaison. Remove the soup in the saucepan from the heat and finish the liaison by stirring in the egg mixture. Add the sherry, then reheat at a very low temperature until light and creamy (it will not thicken).

To serve, pour into hot cups and float a tablespoon of whipped cream in each one. Run the bowls under a hot broiler for just a few seconds to glaze the whipped cream, then serve immediately. Serves 6.

The writer of the blog cited above notes that it is common today to make the soup with mussels and that it makes a delicious if somewhat different soup. The writer also suggests substituting American turtle soup which is often available in supermarkets. However, the closest the writer has come to the original taste is to use "chicken stock with a splash of fish stock and blowfish tails." Here's that recipe:

                                              2 egg yolks
                                              1/3 cup heavy cream
                                              1 teaspoon (or more or less to taste) curry powder
                                              4 cups chicken stock (or 3 cups chicken stock and 1 cup fish stock)
                                              1/3 pound blowfish tails (or meat from 2 frog's legs or 1/3 pound sole
                                              or monkfish or 16 cooked mussels
                                              1/4 cup sherry
Garnish: 6 tablespoons of whipped heavy cream with a sprinkling of curry powder

Gently sauté the fish in a small amount of butter. If using mussels only heat them long enough to warm them. When the fish are done set them aside and keep them warm. Continue the recipe as above using the stock in place of the turtle soup. The fish or mussels are added to the bowls just before the garnish of whipped cream. Several pictures of the soup complete the wonderful blog entry.

Think I may try the version with mussels. Enjoy.