The Italian Cook Book, Maria Gentile [best classic literature txt] 📗

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,