The Italian Cook Book Part 13

The stuffing can be made with milk veal stewed alone, or with sweetbread or chicken liver, all chopped fine. To make it more delicate, add some =balsamella= (No 54) a pinch of grated cheese, one yolk of egg and a taste of nutmeg. Complete the cooking of the cabbage in the sauce of this stew, adding a little b.u.t.ter, on a low fire or in the oven kept low.

Instead of filling the whole cabbage, the larger leaves may be filled one by one, rolling and tying them.

113

SIDE-DISH OF SPINACH

(Spinaci per contorno)

After cooking the spinach in boiling water and chopping them fine, the spinach can be cooked in different ways:

1. With b.u.t.ter, salt and pepper, adding a little brown stock, if you have it, or a few tablespoonfuls of broth, or milk.

2. With onion sauce (onion chopped very fine) and b.u.t.ter.

3. With b.u.t.ter salt and pepper, adding a very small pinch of grated cheese.

4. With b.u.t.ter, a drop of olive oil and tomato sauce (No. 12) or tomato paste diluted with soup stock or water.

114

ASPARAGUS

(Sparagi)

Asparagus can be prepared in many different ways, but the simplest and best is that of boiling them and serving them seasoned with olive oil and vinegar or lemon juice. However there are other ways as, for instance, the following: Put them whole to brown a little with the green part in b.u.t.ter and, after seasoning them with salt, pepper and a pinch of grated cheese, pour over the melted b.u.t.ter when it is browned. Or else divide the white from the green part and place them as follows in a fireproof plate: Dust the bottom with grated cheese and dispose over the points of the asparagus one near the other; season with salt, pepper, grated cheese and little pieces of b.u.t.ter. Make another layer of asparagus and, seasoning in the same way, continue until you have them.

Be moderate in the seasoning. Cross the layers of asparagus like a trestle, put on the oven and keep until the seasoning, is melted. Serve hot.

If you have some brown stock, parboil them first and complete the cooking with brown stock, adding a little bust and dusting moderately with grated cheese.

115

FISH WITH BREAD CRUMBS

(Pesce col pane grattato)

This, which can also be served as a side-dish, is made especially when you have boiled fish of good quality left over.

Cut it into little pieces, remove carefully all the bones, then put it in the =balsamella= (No. 54) and season with enough salt, grated cheese and some mushrooms chopped fine. If dried mushrooms soften in water first. Then take a fireproof plate, grease it evenly with b.u.t.ter and dust with bread crumbs ground fine; pour into it the fish prepared as above and cover with a thin layer of bread crumbs. Finally put over a piece of b.u.t.ter, brown in the oven and serve hot.

116

STEWED FISH CUTLETS

(Pesce a taglio in umido)

The fish that can be used for this dish are the tunny, the umber or grayling, the sword fish and any piece of fish of large size and good savor. A pound may be sufficient for four or five persons.

Remove the scales, clean and dry well, dip in flour and put to brown in a little oil. Remove dry, throw away the oil that remains and clean the saucepan. Make a hash, chopped very fine, with half a middle sized onion, a piece of white celery and a good pinch of parsley. Put this to brown on the fire with sufficient oil and season with salt, pepper and one whole clove. When it is browned put abundant tomato sauce (No 12) or tomato paste diluted in broth or water. Let it simmer for a while, then place the fish to complete the cooking, turning it over frequently. The fish must be served with this thick gravy that ought to be abundant.

117

WHITING WITH ANCHOVY SAUCE

(Merluzzo alla Palermitana)

Take one whiting, one pound or a little more, and trim all the fins, leaving the tail and the head. Split it to remove the bone, and season with a little salt and pepper. Turn it on the back, grease with oil, season with salt and pepper, dust with bread crumbs then lay it with two tablespoonfuls of oil on a fireproof plate or baking tin.

Take three or four good sized anchovies, bone and clean them, chop them and put on the fire with two tablespoonfuls of oil, but do not allow it to boil. With this sauce cover the back of the fish and dust it all with bread crumbs, putting also some leaves of rosemary. Bake in the oven, allowing a little crust to form over, but see that it doesn't dry up, pouring over to this purpose more oil. Before removing from the tin squeeze half a lemon over.

This dish can be served surrounded by little toast with caviar, or anchovies and b.u.t.ter.

118

STEWED EEL

(Anguille in umido)

For this dish it is preferable to have good sized eels that must not be skinned, but cut in small pieces.

Chop some onion and parsley, put it on the fire with oil, salt, and pepper, and when the onion is browned, add the pieces of eel. Wait until it has absorbed the taste of the onion sauce and then complete the cooking with tomato sauce (No. 12).

See that there is plenty of gravy and serve with little squares or diamonds of toast.

119

EELS WITH PEAS

(Anguille coi piselli)

Cook the eels as above with the onion sauce and when it is cooked remove it dry to cook the green peas in the sauce. The pieces of eel should be put back in the sauce to be warmed. No tomato sauce is necessary here.

120

MUSSELS WITH EGG SAUCE

(a.r.s.elle in salsa d'uovo)

A good was.h.i.+ng with fresh water is sufficient for mussels that do not have any sand to be cleaned away. Put them on the fire with a sauce of oil, garlic, parsley and a pinch of pepper. Shake them and keep the saucepan covered seeing that they do not absorb all of the sauce. Take them out when they are open and prepare the following sauce: one or more yolks of egg, according to the quant.i.ty, lemon juice, one teaspoonful of flour, broth and some of their own juice. Cook this sauce until it becomes a smooth cream and pour it on the mussels when they are served.