The Italian Cook Book Part 18

TENDERLOIN WITH SPICES

(Filetto alla piemontese)

Clean and trim the meat, removing all the little skins. Then sprinkle with nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and pepper, and place in an earthen vase covered, together with a bunch of aromatic herbs, sage, parsley, rosemary, onion, carrot and celery, all chopped fine. After a few hours melt and brown a piece of b.u.t.ter with the aromatic herbs, then remove the latter and place the tenderloin, leaving it to simmer for half an hour, p.r.i.c.king it often with a large fork or a larding pin, to add its juice to the gravy. Serve hot.

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STUFFED ONIONS

(Cipolle ripiene)

Boil six large onions for an hour. Then drain and skin. Remove the heart with the point of a knife. In the place of the heart place the stuffing made with 1/4 lb. ham or tongue, chopped and mixed with bread crumbs ground, two tablespoonfuls of milk, two pinches of salt and one of pepper. When the onions are prepared and stuffed place them in a saucepan whose bottom has been greased with b.u.t.ter, sprinkle with bread crumbs ground and place in the oven, not too hot. At the time of serving add some white sauce or =balsamella= (No 54). Stuffed onions are served as vegetables, or side-dish with roast-beef or boiled-beef.

160

STEWED ONIONS

(Cipolle in stufato)

Keep in cold water, for half an hour, two pounds of middle-sized onions.

Afterward skin and place in a saucepan in which pour as much broth as is necessary to cover them. Let them cook on a low fire for an hour, if they are scallions, or young onions. If they are not, two hours are not enough, sometimes.

When cooked and soft, drain and place in a large deep dish. Brown a piece of b.u.t.ter with a tablespoonful of flour, a cup of broth, salt and pepper. Mix everything and when it begins to boil pour the sauce on the onions, which must be served hot.

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VEAL LIVER

(Fegato di vitella alla veneziana)

Brown a large onion cut in thin slices in oil and place in the saucepan the liver cut in thin slices. Brown everything on a strong fire. When the liver takes a reddish color it is ready. If it is overdone, it becomes too hard. Salt just before removing from the saucepan.

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FRIED LIVER

(Fegato al tegame)

Clean and trim the liver, then cut in slices half an inch thick. Dip in flour and place, without delay in a saucepan in which a small onion has been browned in b.u.t.ter. Salt just before serving.

163

POLENTA WITH SAUSAGES

(Polenta colle salsicce)

The polenta is a very popular dish in Northern Italy and can be prepared in various ways. Always, however, it is better to serve with the addition of sausages, or with birds or tomato paste.

The =polenta= is practically cornmeal and it is made with the so-called =farina gialla= or yellow flour.

The ingredients for a good polenta are one pound of corn meal, preferably granulous, one quart and a half of water, salted in proportion, one piece of b.u.t.ter, one cup and a half of milk.

Pour the meal little by little into boiling water, continually stirring with a wooden spoon. When the meal is half cooked, put the b.u.t.ter and pour the milk little by little. While the =polenta= boils, place on the fire in a little saucepan a tablespoonful of olive oil or a small piece of b.u.t.ter. When the oil is hot or the b.u.t.ter is melted, put some sausages repeatedly p.r.i.c.ked with a fork.

When the sausages are cooked, pour the polenta hot in a dish and place the sausages and the gravy in a cavity practised in the middle. Serve hot.

In cooking the sausages two or three bay-leaves may be added and removed before serving.

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SAUSAGES WITH ONIONS

(Salsicce alla cipollata)

The =salsicce alla cipollata= are prepared with fresh and lean pork meat and bacon in equal quant.i.ty, chopped fine and seasoned with salt, pepper and spices. Add a proportional quant.i.ty of onions chopped very fine, not too much, however. Fill with the hash the prepared entrails, tie every two inches to divide the sausages.

CELERY

(Sedano)

Beside being used as a condiment with a great quant.i.ty of dishes, the celery may be prepared in various different ways to form appetizing vegetable dishes. We give here a certain number of those that appear most commonly on Italian tables:

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CELERY WITH b.u.t.tER

(Sedano al burro)

Two heads of celery for each person.

Clean and trim, removing the sprigs that are too hard, and the leaves, that are to be cut where they begin to be green. Finally trim the stem.

Then wash repeatedly in running water, drain and put to boil in salted boiling water. Remove when cooked and drain again.

About three quarters of an hour before serving, melt a piece of b.u.t.ter in a saucepan and brown the celery, turning them often for about ten minutes. After that pour over hot stock (soup stock or chicken broth) cover the saucepan and parboil. A few moments before serving season with brown stock, if you have any at hand, otherwise with salt and pepper only.

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CELERY AU JUS