Chapter 5

A good washing 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 quantity, 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.

121

MUSSELS WITH TOMATO SAUCE

(Arselle alla livornese)

Chop fine half an onion and put it on the fire with oil and a pinch of pepper. When the onion begins to brown add a pinch of parsley chopped not very fine and after put in the mussels with tomato sauce (No. 12) or tomato paste diluted in water. Shake them often and when they are open, put them over slices of toast prepared beforehand and arranged on a plate.

122

CODFISH

(Baccalá)

I

Freshen and soak the codfish in cold water, changing the water two or three times, or, better, keeping it for some time in a vase under running cold water. Then cut it into pieces as large as the palm of the hand and dip them in flour until they are well covered. Then put a kettle or a saucepan on the fire with plenty of oil and two or three cloves of garlic, whole but a little crushed. When the garlic begins to brown put in the codfish and brown it on both sides, stirring it often, so that it doesn't burn. Salt is not necessary, or at least only a little after tasting, but a little pepper will not be amiss. Finally pour over some tomato sauce (No. 12) or tomato paste diluted in water, let it boil a little more and serve.

123

II

The following is another way to prepare the codfish, slightly different from the preceding. Cut the codfish as above, then put it as it is in saucepan with some olive oil. Spread over it a hash of garlic and parsley and season with a pinch of pepper, oil and little pieces of butter. Cook on a good fire and turn it with care, because, not being sprinkled with flour, it breaks easily. When it is cooked, squeeze a lemon over and serve.

124

FRIED CODFISH

(Baccalá fritto)

Place the codfish on the fire--after washing as explained in No. 107--in a kettle with cold water and as salt, and as soon as the water boils, remove the codfish.

After boiling cut it in little pieces and remove all the bones. Sprinkle some flour and dip in a frying paste composed of water, flour and a little oil. Fry in oil and serve hot.

125

CODFISH CROQUETTES

(Cotolette di baccalá)

Boil as explained above and, if the quantity is one pound or a little more put together two anchovies and some parsley, chopping everything together very fine. Add some pepper, a tablespoonful of grated cheese, three or four tablespoonfuls of pap, composed of bread crumbs in large pieces, water and butter, and two eggs. Give the compound the form of several flat cutlets, dip them in beaten egg and in ground bread crumbs. Fry in oil and serve with lemon, or tomato sauce.

126

FRIED DOG-FISH

(Palombo fritto)

Cut the dog-fish in slices, not very thick, and place it in a plate with beaten eggs somewhat salted. Leave for some hours until half an hour before frying, dip the slices in a mixture of bread crumbs, grated cheese, garlic and parsley chopped fine, salt and pepper. A clove of garlic is sufficient for one pound of fish. Fry in oil and serve with lemon.

127

STEWED DOG-FISH

(Palombo in umido)

Cut the dog-fish in rather big pieces and then make a hash of garlic, parsley and very little onion. Put this hash on the fire with oil and when it is sufficiently browned, put the pieces of dog-fish and season with salt and pepper. When the fish is cooked pour over some tomato sauce (No. 12), let this simmer for a while, then serve.

128

ROAST-BEEF

(Arrosto)

Although roast-beef is not an Italian dish, still it is prepared in a peculiar way by the Italians, and hence this recipe finds its place here.

To obtain a good roast-beef not less than two pounds ought to be cooked on a strong fire. It ought to be covered with good olive oil and finally with cup of soup stock which with the oil and the juice from the meat will form a rich gravy. Salt it only when it is half cooked and do it moderately, because the beef is already tasty by itself.

Put it on the fire half an hour before the soup is served and the meal begins. This will be sufficient if the piece is not very big. To ascertain the cooking prick it in the bigger part with a thin larding-pin, but not often, in order not to allow too much juice to escape. The juice must neither be of the color of the blood nor too dark.

If baked it is to be seasoned with salt, oil and a piece of butter, surrounded by raw potatoes peeled. Pour in the kettle a cup of broth or of water. If you do not like cold roast beef, cut it into slices and warm with butter and brown stock or tomato sauce.

129

ROAST VEAL

(Arrosto di vitella)

Choose for that milk veal that is to be found all the year round, although it is always better during the spring or summer.

The piece or pieces of veal can be cooked in a saucepan, slightly larded with garlic and rosemary, with oil, butter and a hash of corned beef, salt, pepper and tomato sauce. In the gravy fresh peas can be cooked.

130

POT ROAST

(Arrosto morto)

This can be done with all kinds of meats, but the best is milk veal. Take a good piece of the loins, roll it and tie with a string and put on the fire with good olive oil and butter, both in small quantity. Brown well from all sides, salt when half cooked and complete the cooking with a half cup of broth, seeing that little juice remains. If no broth is at hand, use tomato sauce, or tomato paste diluted with water. Some corned beef chopped fine can also be added.

131

POT ROAST WITH GARLIC AND ROSEMARY

(Arrosto morto coll'odore dell'aglio e del ramerino)

Cook the meat as above, but add a clove of garlic and one or two bunches of rosemary in the saucepan. When serving the roast rub the gravy through a sieve without pressing and surround the meat with potatoes or vegetables cooked apart.

The leg of lamb comes very well in this way, baked in the oven.

132

BIRDS

(Arrosto di uccelli)

The best way to cook birds, and that nearly always used by the Italians, is roasted at the spit. They must be spitted with a small slice of bread between each bird. Also wrap each bird in very thin slices of bacon, in such a way that it can be spitted with this covering. Mind to slice the bacon almost as thin as paper. Pass some oil--only once--over when they begin to brown, using a brush or a feather, and salt only once, moderately.

Put on the fire when near to be served, otherwise they may get dry and lose much of their flavor. The cooking is rapidly done if on a good fire.

133

ROAST OF LAMB

(Arrosto d'agnello)

Take a leg of lamb and season it with salt, pepper, oil and a drop of vinegar. Pierce it here and there with the point of a knife and leave it like this for several hours. Also lard it with bay leaf or rosemary to be removed when serving. The leg of lamb can be baked or, as the Italians do, cooked at the spit.

134

LEG OF MUTTON

(Cosciotto di castrato arrosto)

Before cooking see that several days elapse after the animal has been butchered. This, naturally, according to the temperature. Beat it well with a wooden mallet, then skin and remove the middle bone, without spoiling the meat. Then tie it and give it a good fire at the beginning, covering the fire when half cooked. Let it cook in its own juice and in a cup of broth strained to remove the fat; nothing else. Salt when it is almost cooked, but see that it is neither too well done nor rare, just medium. Serve with its juice apart in a sauce.

135

ROAST OF HARE

(Arrosto di lepre)

The part of the hare fitted for roast is the hind quarters, but the limbs of this game are covered with little skins that must be carefully removed, before cooking, without cutting the muscles.

Before roasting keep it soaking for twelve or fourteen hours in a liquid prepared as follows: put on the fire in a kettle three tumblers of water with half a tumbler of vinegar or less in proportion with the piece to be cooked, three of four scallions chopped fine, one or two bay-leaves, a bunch of parsley, a little salt and a pinch of pepper; make it boil for five or six minutes, cool and pour when cold over the hare. When you remove the latter from the liquid wipe it and lard it all with little pieces of good bacon.

Cook on a low fire, salt it sufficiently and grease with cream and nothing else. Never use the liver of the hare which, it is said, is very indigestible.

136

POT ROAST LARDED

(Arrosto morto lardellato)

Take a piece short and thick of beef or veal, quite tender and weighing about two pounds or a little more. Lard it with ham or bacon cut in little pieces. Tie with a string and put it in a stewpan with a piece of butter, one fourth of a middle-sized onion cut in two pieces, three or four ribs of celery half an inch thick and as many slices of carrot. Season with salt and pepper and when the meat begins to brown--turning it often--pour over one cup of water and complete the cooking on a low fire, leaving it to absorb great part of the gravy. See, however, that it doesn't dry up and become black. When you send to the table strain the juice that has remained and pour it on the meat, that may be surrounded with potatoes cut in pieces or kept whole if small, previously browned in butter or oil.

137

PIGEON SURPRISE

(Piccione a sorpresa)

The pigeon (or chicken) must be opened and stuffed with a cutlet of milk veal. Of course this cutlet must be of proportionate size. Beat it well to render it thinner and more tender, season with salt, pepper, a pinch of spices and little pieces of butter, roll it and put inside the pigeon sewing the opening. The liver and giblets of the pigeon can be cooked apart in brown stock or in butter, after being chopped. With the resulting gravy the cutlet can be smeared. In this way the different flavor of the two qualities of meat is better amalgamated.

138

STUFFED BEEF CUTLET

(Braciuola di manzo ripiena)

The ingredients for this dish are a slice of beef half an inch thick, weighing about one pound, half a pound or less of lean milk veal, two small slices of ham and two or three of tongue, one scant tablespoonful of grated cheese, a piece of butter, two chicken livers, one egg, a crumb of bread as large as a closed fist.

Make a hash with a small onion, a little celery, carrot and parsley, put it on the fire with the butter and when it is browned, place in the saucepan the veal cut in small pieces and the chicken livers, season with little salt and pepper and complete the cooking with a little broth. Remove the veal and chicken when cooked, and chop them fine. In the gravy that remains make a pap rather hard with the crumb of bread, moistening with broth if necessary. Now mix the chopped meat, the pap, the eggs, the cheese, the ham and tongue cut in little pieces. When the stuffing is composed thus, dip the cutlet in water, in order to stretch it better, beat it with the back of the knife and flatten with its blades. Put the stuffing inside and roll up and tie tightly with a string crosswise. Roast or bake with oil and salt.

139

STUFFED CHICKEN

(Pollo ripieno)

For a middle-sized fowl use the following ingredients: two sausages, the liver and giblets of the fowl, eight or ten chestnuts well roasted, some pieces of mushrooms, a taste of nutmeg, one egg. If, instead of a fowl, it is a turkey, double the dose.

Begin by giving the sausages and the giblets half a cooking, moistening them with a little broth if necessary. Season with a little salt and pepper on account of the sausages that already contain them. Remove them and in the gravy that remains put a crumb of bread, in order to obtain with a little broth two tablespoonfuls of thick pap. Skin the sausages, chop the chicken giblets and the giblets and grind everything together with the chestnuts, the egg and the pap; this is the stuffing with which the fowl is to be filled, to be baked afterward. It is more tasty cold than hot, and it can also be cut better.

140

CHICKEN WITH SAUCE PIQUANTE

(Pollo al diavolo)

This ought to be cooked with Cayenne pepper and served with a highly seasoned sauce, but not everybody likes that and a simpler way to cook the chicken "al diavolo" is the following:

Take a young chicken, remove the neck and the legs, open it all in front and flatten it open as much as possible. Wash and wipe dry with a towel, then put it on the grill and when it begins to brown turn it. Grease it with melted butter or with oil, using a brush, and season with salt and pepper. The later may be Cayenne pepper for those who like it. Keep turning and greasing until it is all cooked.

To prepare the sauce piquante that many like with chicken broiled in this way, put four tablespoonfuls of butter in a saucepan and when it begins to brown add two tablespoonfuls of flour and stir until it is well browned, but do not let it burn. Draw to a cooler place on the range and slowly add two cupfuls of brown stock, stirring constantly, add salt and a dash of Cayenne and let simmer for ten minutes. In another saucepan boil four tablespoonfuls of vinegar one tablespoonful of chopped onion, one teaspoonful of sugar rapidly for five minutes; then add it to the sauce and at the same time add one tablespoonful of chopped capers two tablespoonfuls of chopped pickle and one teaspoonful of tarragon vinegar. Stir well and let cook for two minutes to heat the pickles. If the sauce becomes too thick dilute it with a little water.

This sauce is excellent for baked fish and all roasts and boiled meats, besides being a fitting condiment for the chicken "al diavolo".

141

CHICKEN WITH HAM

(Pollo in porchetta)

Fill a chicken with thin strips of ham, about half an inch wide. Add three cloves (or sections) of garlic, two little bunches of fennel and a few grains of pepper. Season outside with salt and pepper and cook in a saucepan with butter, or preferably bake in the oven. Sausages cut lengthwise and previously skinned can be substituted for the ham.

142

CHICKEN SAUTÉ

(Pollo saltato)

Take a young chicken, remove the neck and trim the wings. Cut away the legs. Cut the chicken into six pieces. Remove some of the bones. Beat an egg with a teaspoonful of water and place in it the pieces of chicken after dipping them in flour and seasoning generously with salt and pepper. Leave the pieces in the egg until it is time for cooking. Then take the pieces one by one, sprinkle with bread crumbs and place a saucepan with a good piece of butter on the fire. When the butter begins to brown put in the pieces of chicken from the side of the skin, then turn them when browned to the other side. Let them on a good fire for about ten minutes. Serve with lemon. The chicken prepared in this way is good also when cold.

143

AFRICAN HEN

(Gallina di Faraone)

This fowl, that resembles the partridge, should not be too fresh, like all game.

The best way to cook the African hen is roasted at the spit. Put in the inside a ball of butter dipped in salt and wrap it in a piece of paper greased with butter and sprinkled with salt. This paper must be removed when the fowl is nearly cooked, and then the cooking is completed greasing with more butter and adding more salt.

144

TAME DUCK ROASTED

(Anatra domestica arrosto)

Salt it inside and bandage all the breast with slices of bacon, large and thin. Grease with oil and salt moderately when the cooking is almost complete. If you have a wild duck grease with butter, as the meat is drier.

145

TURKEY

(Tacchino)

The turkey has been imported to Europe from America, but it is nevertheless a well known dish in Italian families, although not enjoying the popularity that it has on this side of the ocean. When roasted it is generally larded moderately with little pieces of garlic and bay-leaf or rosemary and seasoned with a hash of corned beef or bacon, a little butter, salt and pepper, tomato sauce or tomato paste diluted in water. The breast, flattened until it is about half an inch thick and seasoned generously some hours before cooking with oil, salt and pepper, is excellent broiled on the grill.

146

LOIN OF PORK ROASTED

(Lombo di maiale arrosto)

The loin of pork, cut in little pieces forms an excellent roast at the spit. The pieces of pork are to be divided by little pieces of toast and greased with oil.

If the pork is to be baked, choose that piece of the loin that has its ribs and that may weigh six or eight pounds. Lard it with garlic, rosemary or bay leaf and a few cloves, but moderately, and season with salt and pepper.

This roast is very popular in Italy, where they call it =arista=.

147

LEG OF LAMB

(Agnello all'Orientale)

This is a way to cook lamb in use in the Orient and adopted by the Italians, especially in Southern Italy. The leg of lamb is to be larded with the larding pin with slices of bacon seasoned with salt and pepper, greased with butter or milk, or milk alone and salted when half cooked.

The Arabs, who are very fond of this dish, do not lard it, as pork is forbidden by their religion, but cook it with an abundance of milk.

148

BROILED PIGEON

(Piccione in gratella)

Take a young, but fat pigeon, divide it in two parts lengthwise and flatten it well with the hands. Then put it to brown in oil for four or five minutes, just to harden the meat. Season when still hot with salt and pepper, then arrange it as follows.

Melt in the fire, without boiling it, a piece of butter and mix the liquid butter with one beaten egg. Dip the pigeon in the butter and egg and keep it until it absorbs them. Then sprinkle with bread crumbs ground fine. Cook on a grill on a low fire and serve with a sauce or a side dish.

149

STEAK IN THE SAUCEPAN

(Bistecca nel tegame)

If you have a steak that does not appear to be too tender, put it in a saucepan with a little piece of butter and some good olive oil, with a taste of garlic and bay-leaf or rosemary. Add, if necessary, a little broth or water or tomato sauce and serve with potatoes cooked in the gravy that can be made more abundant with more broth, butter and tomato sauce.

150

VEAL KIDNEY WITH ANCHOVY

(Rognone alle acciughe)

Take a veal kidney, remove the fat, cut it open and cover with boiling water. When the water has cooled, remove the kidney, wipe with a cloth, and pass through it clean sticks to make it stay open. Season with melted butter, salt and pepper and leave it so prepared for an hour or two.

Then take another piece of butter and two or three anchovies. Clean the latter, chop and mix with the butter with the blade of a knife, making a ball. Cook the kidney on the grill, but not too much, in order to keep it tender, put it on a plate and grease when hot with the ball of butter and anchovies.

151

VEAL KIDNEY SLICED

(Rognone di vitello affettato)

Cut in thin slices one or two veal kidneys, removing the granulous part that is to be found in the middle, and put the slices in a saucepan with a piece of butter, a bunch of parsley chopped very fine together with a clove of garlic. Add a cup of hot broth; salt moderately and let it cook without boiling, until the sauce is reduced to about one third.

One tablespoonful of vinegar adds a pleasant taste to this dish.

152

BROILED MUTTON KIDNEY

(Rognone di montone alla graticola)

After washing the kidneys, remove the filmy skin that covers them and cut them in the middle without, however, detaching completely the two parts. Season with salt and pepper, grease with oil and put them on a strong fire on the grill. After ten or twelve minutes they will be broiled. Serve hot with parsley and slices of lemon.

153

MUTTON KIDNEY FRIED

(Granelli di montone fritti)

Wash, remove the skin that covers the kidneys and cut in very thin slices. Wipe with a cloth, dip first in ground bread crumbs, then in a beaten egg mixed with melted butter, then again in the bread crumbs. This must be done rapidly, at the time of frying, otherwise the bread crumbs absorb the moisture of the kidney and make them too hard.

Melt a piece of butter in a saucepan on a strong fire and when it begins to brown, dip the slices of kidney. Turn often, sprinkle with a little parsley chopped fine, salt and serve with lemon.

154

BEEF TONGUE BOILED

(Lingua di bue lessa)

The tongue is boiled like the beef. When half cooked remove the skin, which is not nice to see and has no nutritious elements, although it is served with a purée of peas, or spinach or potatoes or beans, etc. But it can be served simply with sprigs of parsley.

155

BEEF TONGUE WITH OLIVES

(Lingua di bue alle olive)

Scald the tongue and peel off the skin. Then put it back to boil until fully cooked.

Melt a piece of butter and brown half a medium sized onion cut in slices. When the onion is browned remove it from the butter and dilute in the latter a teaspoonful of flour. When the flour begins to brown, thin it with one or two cups of soup stock hot and passed through a sieve. Mix and boil for ten minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper.

When the sauce is prepared place the tongue in the saucepan containing it and let it cook again on a low fire for about an hour, turning it over frequently and keeping it moistened with the gravy. Cut some olives in a spiral to remove the stone and place it in the saucepan with the tongue. This becomes more tasty if left with the olives for one or two days.

156

STEWED BEEF TONGUE

(Lingua di bue in stufato)

Clean a fresh tongue of beef; put it in a plate, salt it generously and put it back in the ice-box or in the pantry, until the following day.

After twenty-four hours, scald it in boiling water, skin and lard with little pieces of bacon and put it in a kettle or a large saucepan in which the seasoning is already placed. This seasoning consists of 1/2 lb. bacon cut in very thin slices, 1/4 lb. butter, one or two thin slices of ham and two middle sized onions, sliced. Sprinkle the tongue with flour, surround it with chopped meat and place the saucepan on the fire. When the tongue begins to brown, pour five or six cups of soup stock and one cup of water. Add the usual bunch of greens, two or three cloves, salt, a pinch of pepper and one of cinnamon.

Cover the saucepan tightly, boil for about four hours, rub the sauce through a sieve and serve everything hot.

157

VEAL SWEETBREADS

(Animelle di vitello)

Keep in fresh water for an hour. Then place them in a skimmer (ladle with holes) and dip in boiling water or broth. After a brief boiling remove and cool in cold water. Then remove the veins and gullet, taking care not to tear them. The sweetbreads are prepared in various ways and here we give some of the best known:

=Sweetbreads with butter.=--Boil in broth or water, clean and cut into slices. Brown a piece of butter with salt and pepper. Then place the sliced sweetbreads and brown them. Before serving squeeze on a little lemon juice. The sweetbreads prepared in this way are served preferably with rice or vegetables.

=Sweetbreads with white sauce.=--Boiled, cleaned and cut into slices, they are placed in white sauce or =balsamella= (No. 54) adding a taste of nutmeg, pepper, salt and the juice of half a lemon.

=Sweetbreads in fricassee.=--Boil, trim and cut into pieces. Then brown in butter with a scallion chopped fine. Once browned, remove from the gravy in which pour a tablespoonful of flour, moistened with broth. The sauce that results is bound with egg-yolks and lemon juice.

=Sweetbreads fried.=--Boil and trim. Then cut in large slices, neither too thick nor too thin. Dip in beaten egg and in bread crumbs ground. Then fry in butter. Serve with vegetables.

158

TENDERLOIN WITH SPICES

(Filetto alla piemontese)