Simple Italian Cookery Part 4

Serve with meat, or as a first course.

GNOCCHI OF MILK--A DESSERT

1 cup of milk 1 level tablespoon of powdered starch 2 or 3 drops of vanilla extract 2 yolks of eggs 2 tablespoons of sugar

Put all these ingredients together into a saucepan and mix together with a wooden spoon for a few moments. Then put onto the back of the stove where it is not too hot, and cook until the mixture has become stiff. Cook a few moments longer, stirring always; then turn out onto a bread-board and spread to a thickness of a finger and a half. When

cold, cut into diamonds or squares the width of two fingers. b.u.t.ter a baking-dish, and put the squares into it overlapping each other. Add a few dabs of b.u.t.ter here and there. Put another layer of the squares in the dish, more dabs of b.u.t.ter, and so on until the dish is full. Brown in the oven.

SAUCES

ROUX FOR SAUCES

Roux is necessary to thicken and give body to sauces. Put one tablespoon of flour and one of b.u.t.ter into a saucepan and cook until the flour has lost any raw taste. Then put the saucepan on the back of the stove and add slowly the stock or milk, one cup for every tablespoon of b.u.t.ter or flour, and stir until smooth. For white sauces take care the flour does not color; for dark sauces let it brown, but take care it does not burn.

AGRO DOLCE SAUCE

Take two tablespoons of sugar (brown or white), one-half a cup of currants, a quarter of a bar of grated chocolate, one tablespoon of chopped candied orange, one of lemon-peel, one of capers, and one cup of vinegar. Mix well together and let soak for two hours; pour it over venison or veal, and simmer for ten minutes.

BECHAMEL SAUCE NO. 1

Put two ounces of b.u.t.ter and two tablespoons of flour into a saucepan and stir for five minutes. Pour one and one-half pints of boiling milk gradually in, beating well with a whisk. Add some nutmeg, a few peppercorns, a pinch of salt, and some chopped mushrooms. Cook for one-quarter of an hour, and rub through a fine sieve.

BECHAMEL SAUCE NO. 2

Mix three tablespoons of b.u.t.ter and three of flour to a smooth paste, put some peppercorns, one-half an onion, one-half a carrot sliced, a small piece of mace, two teacups of white stock, a pinch of salt and of grated nutmeg, in a stew-pan; simmer for one-half an hour, stirring often, then add one teacup of cream; boil at once, and strain and serve.

TOMATO SAUCE NO. 1

Take ten fresh tomatoes, remove the skins, cut them up; put them into a saucepan and boil them until soft. Then pa.s.s them through a sieve.

Put their juice into a saucepan with one heaping tablespoon of b.u.t.ter or one-half tablespoon of good lard, salt and pepper, and boil again, adding water if the sauce becomes too thick. This sauce can be kept in a bottle for several days. It can be used for macaroni, etc., in place of the tomato paste.

TOMATO SAUCE NO. 2

Mince one-quarter of an onion, one-half a stalk of celery, a few leaves of sweet basil, and a bunch of parsley up fine. Add one-half cup of olive-oil, a pinch of salt and one of pepper, and cut eight or nine tomatoes into slices. Boil until the sauce is as thick as cream, stirring occasionally, then strain through a sieve and serve.

TOMATO SAUCE NO. 3

Take four pounds of tomatoes, cut them in two, and put them into a two-quart saucepan with two wine-gla.s.ses of water, two saltspoons of salt, one of pepper, cover the saucepan, and boil for forty minutes, stirring often to prevent burning; then strain. Make a roux in another saucepan with one ounce of b.u.t.ter and three-quarters of an ounce of flour. Cook for three minutes, mixing well. Take roux off the fire, and pour the tomatoes into it a little at a time, stirring to keep it smooth. Add two winegla.s.ses of stock, put on the fire, and cook for twenty minutes, stirring all the time.

b.u.t.tER SAUCE

Take eight ounces of b.u.t.ter, one tablespoon of salt, one of pepper, and two tablespoons of lemon juice. Stir with a wooden spoon over the fire until the b.u.t.ter is half melted, then take it off and continue to stir until it is quite liquid. By taking the b.u.t.ter off the stove before it is all melted it will have a pleasant taste of fresh cream; this is all lost otherwise.

LOMBARDA SAUCE

Put two tumblers of white roux and one of chicken jelly into a saucepan, reduce, and add three yolks of eggs mixed with two ounces of b.u.t.ter and the juice of one-half lemon. Before it boils take the saucepan off the fire, and add one tumbler of thick tomato sauce (see Sauces, page 30), strain, and just before serving add one tablespoon of sweet herbs minced fine.

"ALLA PANNA" SAUCE

Melt one-half a pound of b.u.t.ter, add a little flour, salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg. Stir until thick, then add one pint of cream, a little chopped parsley, and heat for five minutes.

MEAT SAUCE

Put into a saucepan one pound of beef and one-half an onion chopped up with three ounces of lard, some parsley, salt, pepper, one clove, and a very small slice of ham. Fry these over a hot fire for a few moments, moving them continually, and when the onion is browned add four tablespoons of red wine, and four tablespoons of tomato sauce (or tomato paste). When this sauce begins to sputter, add, little by little, some boiling water. Stick a fork into the meat from time to time to allow the juices to escape. Take a little of the sauce in a spoon, and when it looks a good golden color, and there is a sufficient quant.i.ty to cover the meat, put the covered saucepan at the back of the stove and allow it to simmer until the meat is thoroughly cooked. Then take out the meat, slice it, prepare macaroni, or any paste you desire, and serve it with the meat, and the sauce poured over all, and the addition of b.u.t.ter and grated cheese.

ECONOMICAL SAUCE

Take one-half of an old onion and chop it up fine. Take one small carrot, wash it, sc.r.a.pe it, and cut it into transverse slices; do the same with a stalk of celery, some parsley, and one fresh or canned mushroom. Then take a slice of ham (raw if possible), fat and lean, about four fingers wide and one finger high. Chop it up fine, and put it into a medium-sized saucepan with one tablespoon of b.u.t.ter. When the ham is colored, put in the chopped-up vegetables, one clove, salt, and pepper, and stir constantly, allowing the vegetables to cook thoroughly but not to burn, which will destroy the taste of the sauce.

It should be a golden color. A little red wine may be added if you have it, but this is not necessary. Then add four fresh tomatoes, cut into several pieces, the skins removed, and the seeds taken out. Allow these to cook in the sauce until they sputter, then add a little water (or bouillon if you have it), allow it to boil for a few moments more, then take it off the fire and pa.s.s it through a sieve or fine colander, pressing hard so that all will pa.s.s through. If it is too thick after straining, add water or bouillon, and put it back and allow it to boil again a few moments. This sauce can be used for macaroni, gnocchi, left-over meat, egg, etc. The success of the sauce depends upon the proper frying of the onion in it.

HOT PIQUANTE SAUCE

Chop up fine two ounces of lean ham and a small piece of onion, add a little celery, the stalks of parsley, one clove, one-half tablespoon of pepper, and one-half bay-leaf. Pour over these ingredients a scant one-half cup of vinegar. Cover the saucepan and allow it to boil until it has consumed one-half. Put into another saucepan one-half cup of bouillon (or water in which you have dissolved one tablespoon of extract of beef). Allow it to boil, and then thicken with a teaspoon of potato flour which has been diluted in a little cold water. Drop this, little by little, into the saucepan until you have gained the required thickness for the sauce. Then pour in the boiled vinegar, pa.s.sing it through cheese-cloth. Mix well together and add a teaspoon of French mustard, some capers, and some chopped-up pickles. Serve hot with meats or tongue. The pepper should predominate in this sauce.

PIQUANTE SAUCE WITH EGG

Take some anchovy paste--one tablespoon, two tablespoons of chopped parsley, some capers and chopped pickles, one teaspoon of French mustard and the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs. Work this all together into a paste, then add three tablespoons of olive-oil and two or three of vinegar and a pinch of salt and pepper. This sauce is good with both meat and fish.

EGGS

EGGS WITH PEAS

Take one and one-half cups of green peas, and cook them with one and one-half tablespoons of good b.u.t.ter, and a pinch of salt. Take four hard-boiled eggs, cut them in two lengthwise, and put them on a platter; pour over them the peas as a sauce.

EGGS "ALLA MILANESE"