Chapter III: Part 3

Peel two pounds of mushrooms, wash, drain, cut them into halves and pickle them for one hour in pure olive oil, salt and pepper. Put some pure olive oil into a clean frying-pan, throw in the mushrooms and add some finely chopped-up parsley. When done put them on slices of bread fried in fresh butter and serve hot.

_Mushrooms (Porcini[8]) Fried. No. 1._

[8] Boletus edulis.

Clean and wash some large mushrooms thoroughly; put them into a sauce-pan with a bay leaf, a clove of garlic (or an onion), a little thyme, salt, and a ladleful of water flavoured with a few drops of vinegar or lemon. Boil for two minutes, then drain, and cut them into slices. Throw the slices into a paste made of flour, one or two yolks of eggs, a little white wine (or water), and half a teaspoonful of pure olive oil. Fry in pure olive oil over a good fire, and serve up hot.

_Mushrooms (Porcini[9]) Fried. No. 2._

[9] Boletus edulis.

Choose porcini of a medium size, clean, and wash them well, but do not let them soak, as it spoils the flavour. Cut them into slices and flour well before throwing them into the frying-pan. Fry in pure olive oil, and season with salt and pepper while they are frying.

_Mushrooms (Porcini[10]) Grilled._

[10] Boletus edulis.

Remove the skin of some medium-sized heads of porcini (keep the stalks), clean, wash, and put them on a napkin to dry. Make a stuffing of the stalks, some parsley, a very little garlic (or onion), and put a small portion inside each mushroom head, salt according to taste, with a pinch of pepper; season with olive oil, place the heads thus prepared on a gridiron, and cook them over a slow fire for about a quarter of an hour. Serve very hot.

_Mushrooms (Porcini[11]) ‘all’ Intingolo.’_

[11] Boletus edulis.

Put several peeled mushrooms into a sauce-pan with two or four ounces of butter (according to the quantity of mushrooms used), add a small bunch of parsley and two or three small onions. Put them on the fire, mix with a little flour, a tumbler of soup, half a tumbler of white wine, the same of clear gravy, and boil for an hour. Then skim off the grease, add a little more gravy if required, dust with flour, and put back to cook with salt and pepper to taste. Serve up hot.

_Mushrooms (Prugnuoli[12]) ‘alla Spagnuola.’_

[12] Agaricus Georgii (or Tricholoma Georgii).

Wash and clean one pound of prugnuoli and put them into a sauté-pan with two ounces of butter, a little flour, salt and pepper, and cook over a brisk fire for ten minutes. Moisten well with chicken broth, and add a little sauce ‘Suprema’ (see Sauces, p. 125) (made with chicken broth). Prepare croûtons (fried bread) on a hot dish, and after sprinkling the juice of half a lemon over the mushrooms, put them on the bread and serve.

_Mushrooms (Dormienti[13]) ‘al Sugo.’_

[13] Hygrophorus Marzuolus.

Clean and wash well one pound of dormienti, put them into a sauté-pan with two ounces of butter, a little flour, salt and pepper; boil for a quarter of an hour, and add three tablespoonfuls of veal broth. Prepare croûtons (fried bread) on a hot dish, squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the mushrooms, place them on the bread and serve.

_Mushrooms (Pratajuoli[14]) on Toast._

[14] Agaricus campestris.

Choose large fresh mushrooms, peel, and break the stalks off level; sprinkle pepper and salt on them and place a small piece of butter on each. Melt some butter in a frying-pan and put the mushrooms in, covering the pan closely with buttered paper. Fry slowly for ten minutes, then place the mushrooms on buttered toast, and serve at once.

_Mushrooms (Porcini[15]) with Tomato Sauce._

[15] Boletus edulis.

Clean and cut the porcini into small pieces, wash, dry, and put them into a sauce-pan with one clove of garlic (or a little onion), and a little salt, adding some tomato conserve or the pulp of two raw tomatoes without skin or seeds, after pounding it well. Serve up hot.

_Mushrooms (Ovoli[16]) ‘Trippati.’_

[16] Amanita Caesarea.

Choose the ovoli young whilst still closed and of the form of an egg. Clean and wash them and cut them into thin slices. Fry in good butter, and season with salt, pepper, and grated Parmesan cheese. A little gravy is an improvement. Serve hot with croûtons (fried bread).

* * * * *

_Onions ‘Farcite.’_

Boil six large onions for an hour in their skins. After draining, peel them and cut out their centres. Meanwhile prepare the following stuffing: Chop up fine four ounces of ham, or tongue, add grated bread, some melted butter, one or two tablespoonfuls of cream, a little salt and pepper. Mix well into a paste and fill the centre of the onions with it, then put them into a frying-pan, sprinkle them with a Butter sauce, and grated bread, and cook them with fire above and below, or in the oven. Just before serving pour ‘Alla Panna’ sauce over them (see Sauces, pp. 122, 125).

_Onions Fried._

Peel and slice four medium-sized onions and put them into milk for a short time, then dip them in flour and fry them in very hot fat for eight or ten minutes. Strain, put them on a napkin to dry, and serve on a hot dish garnished with fried parsley.

_Onions ‘Glacées.’_

Peel twelve large onions and put them into boiling water for about twenty minutes. Then drain, throw them into cold water, remove the two outer skins, and cut out their centres. Stand the onions in a frying-pan and put a teaspoonful of sugar into the centre of each, add four ounces of butter and cook them slowly until soft and slightly browned. Add some strong broth, a little at a time, and let it cook until it becomes reduced, keeping the frying-pan covered. Sprinkle the onions with the sauce and they will be well glacées.

_Onions (Small White)._

Boil three-quarters of a pound of small white onions, then put them into a sauce-pan with two ounces of butter and a little flour, and cook them till they turn a good colour. Add about a quarter or half a pint of white wine or broth, and before they have finished cooking add some pepper and grated nutmeg. When the liquid is reduced, serve at once.

The onions can also be put into the oven, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and melted butter, and browned.

_Onions ‘in Stufato.’_

Peel two pounds of onions and, after putting them into cold water, place them in a sauce-pan and cover them with good broth, letting them cook slowly. If young, one hour will suffice, if old, allow two hours. When soft, strain, and put them on a dish. Melt two ounces of butter in a frying-pan, add a spoonful of flour, and three-quarters of a pint of broth, mixing well until it boils, then add a little salt and pepper, and pour it over the onions. Serve hot.

* * * * *

_Parsnips ‘alla Crema.’_

If the parsnips are young and tender they must be put into cold water immediately after being scraped, to keep them white. If old they must be peeled and cut lengthwise into four pieces. Boil young parsnips three-quarters of an hour, old ones one and a quarter hours. Then drain, arrange on a hot dish, and pour a sauce ‘Alla Panna’ over them (see Sauces, p. 125).

_Parsnips ‘al Forno.’_

Wash and peel six large parsnips, cut them in two and put them into a sauce-pan with enough boiling water to cover them, for one hour. Then drain, and place them on a hot dish. Meantime melt two ounces of butter in a frying-pan with three or four tablespoonfuls of flour, and stir to prevent browning. Add half a pint of hot water and boil for five minutes, stirring constantly. Add salt and pepper to taste, pour the sauce over the parsnips, sprinkle them with bread-crumbs and grated cheese, and bake for a quarter of an hour in a slow oven.

_Parsnips ‘Fritte.’_

Boil the parsnips till tender; drain, sprinkle with salt and pepper, dip them into butter, then into flour, and then sprinkle with sugar. Melt two or three tablespoonfuls of dripping in a frying-pan, put in the parsnips, and fry until browned on both sides.

_Parsnips ‘Sautés.’_

Mash six or seven parsnips, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and stir in one tablespoonful of flour and one egg. Make them up into small round cakes and fry in dripping, turning occasionally, until browned on both sides.

* * * * *

_Peas ‘all’ Antica.’_

Shell carefully three quarts of young peas and wrap them in a wet cloth until wanted. Wash and tie up a lettuce head, and put it with the peas into a sauce-pan, adding one tumbler of water, a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and a pinch of salt. Cook for a quarter of an hour, take out the lettuce, and before serving put in three tablespoonfuls of cream, mixed with the yolk of one egg, a spoonful of powdered sugar, and half a saltspoonful of white pepper. Boil for five minutes and serve hot.

_Peas ‘alla Borghese.’_

Put one quart of young shelled peas into a sauce-pan with a little browned onion, one or two slices of ham chopped up fine, one ounce of fresh butter, a bunch of sweet herbs, and a sprinkling of flour. Add a large ladleful of good stock and cook slowly. When done, mix in a cupful of milk, a little powdered sugar, and thicken with two yolks of eggs. Serve up hot.

_Peas ‘al Burro.’_

Put one quart of shelled peas into a sauce-pan with a little cold water and four ounces of fresh butter. Place them on a hot fire, add a cupful of boiling water, salt and pepper to taste, a spoonful of sugar, and a bunch of parsley. When reduced take out the parsley, add one or two ounces of fresh butter, and serve hot.

_Peas ‘alla Consommé.’_

Boil one and a half quarts of peas, and two carrots cut into small square pieces, in good broth, with a tablespoonful of powdered sugar, for about an hour. Just before serving put the peas on to croûtons (fried bread) fried in fresh butter.

_Peas ‘alla Crema.’_

Cook one pint of shelled peas in an earthen pot of salted boiling water for a quarter of an hour, then drain. Put two ounces of fresh butter into a sauce-pan with one tablespoonful of flour, then add half a pint of milk and mix until it boils. Add salt and pepper to taste, and then put in the peas. Cook in a Bain-marie for a quarter of an hour, and serve as a garnish to any baked meat.

_Peas ‘alla Francese.’ No. 1._

Take two young onions, cut them in half lengthwise, tie them up with a bunch of parsley leaves, and put them into a sauce-pan with one ounce of butter. When browned, pour a large cupful of broth over them and boil. As soon as the onions are quite soft rub them through a sieve together with the broth, and put them into a sauce-pan with one quart of peas and two heads of lettuce. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and boil slowly. When half done add one ounce more of butter mixed with a dessert-spoonful of flour, and a little more broth, if needed. Before serving take out the lettuce and thicken with two yolks of eggs mixed in a little broth.

_Peas ‘alla Francese.’ No. 2._

Cut two young onions into fine slices, and put them in a sauce-pan with one ounce of butter. When browned, mix in a sprinkling of flour, pour in one or two cupfuls of broth and let the flour cook. Put in one quart of young peas, season with salt and pepper, and when half-cooked add two heads of lettuce. Boil slowly, taking care that the gravy does not get too thick, and before serving take out the lettuce. Sugar can be added, but only in small quantities.

_Peas ‘al Buon Gusto.’_

Make a cross cut in an onion and put it into a sauce-pan with one ounce of butter; when browned, take it out and add a little flour to the butter. Mix and put in one quart of boiled peas, sprinkling them with salt and allspice. As soon as they have taken up the butter pour in a cupful of stock to finish the cooking, and serve.

_Peas ‘all’ Inglese.’_

Boil the peas in salted water with a bunch of parsley, drain when done. Just before serving turn them into the dish adding a few slices of fresh butter.

_Pea Omelette._

Boil one quart of shelled peas in salted water for fifteen minutes, then strain and keep them hot while preparing the omelette. Beat up four eggs, and add four tablespoonfuls of hot water, three-quarters of an ounce of fresh butter, and three or four drops of onion juice. Then put four ounces of butter into a frying-pan, brown it well and put in the eggs. Stir over a brisk fire till the eggs have set, then tilt the pan so that the butter passes under the omelette, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put two spoonfuls of the boiled peas into the middle of the omelette, turn one half of it over the peas, and put it on a very hot dish. Add a spoonful of Butter sauce to the rest of the peas and put them round the omelette. Serve up very hot.

_Pease-pudding._

Melt two ounces of fresh butter in a sauce-pan, when browned put in one quart of shelled peas, add salt to taste, and mix for three minutes. Then moisten with strong stock (for _maigre_ use fish soup) and add a little cinnamon and allspice. When the peas are soft to the touch rub them through a sieve. Meanwhile cook two ounces of butter in a sauce-pan, put in the purée of peas, stir, and add a tablespoonful of flour, and then (stirring all the time) two pounded maccaroons, and three yolks of eggs. Take the peas off the fire and let them cool before mixing lightly with them three whites of eggs well beaten up. Butter a shape, put in the peas, and cook in a Bain-marie with fire above and below.

_Peas in their Pods._

Take two pounds of very young peas in their pods and boil them in an earthen pot in salted boiling water for about half an hour. When cooked put them into a hot dish and pour sauce ‘Alla Panna’ over them (see Sauces, p. 125), or melted butter, salt, and pepper. Serve hot.

_Peas ‘allo Stufato.’_

Take one and a half or two pounds of shelled peas, and put them into a sauce-pan with some ham, two ounces of butter, a bunch of sweet herbs, and a little fried onion. Simmer gently till they are done, then blend with the yolks of two or three eggs. Serve hot.

_Peas ‘allo Zucchero.’_

Take one pound of shelled peas, put them into a sauce-pan with two ounces of butter, one tumbler of water, one ounce of sugar, and a sprinkling of salt. Cook them over a sharp fire for a quarter of an hour; when tender, take them off the fire and add the yolks of four eggs well beaten up with half a tumbler of cream. Put them on the fire again and stir continually to prevent them from boiling. As soon as the eggs are set serve at once.

* * * * *

_Polenta ‘Dabs.’_

Scald one pint of Indian corn flour in boiling water. Mix together one dessert-spoonful of butter, two lightly beaten-up eggs, one wine-glassful of cream and a little salt, add this to the corn flour, and drop the paste from a spoon into a well-buttered pan. Bake in a moderate oven.[17]

[17] This is an American recipe.

_Polenta ‘alla Parmigiana.’_

Stir one pound of Indian corn flour, a little at a time, into one pint of boiling salted water until smooth, then turn out into a dish to cool, in a layer about half an inch thick. When quite cold, cut into pieces of one inch long, and pile in layers in a baking-dish, sprinkling each layer well with grated Parmesan cheese and some melted butter. Bake in a slow oven and serve hot.

_Polenta with Sausages._

Make a polenta as above (alla Parmigiana) and while cooling boil two or three sausages in an earthen pot with very little water. When done, skin them, break them into small pieces, and add a little stock and tomato conserve. Lay the polenta in a baking dish, putting some sausage and grated Parmesan cheese between each layer with some bits of butter here and there. Then cook with fire above and below, or in the oven, and serve very hot.

* * * * *

_Potatoes Boiled._

Wash the potatoes well and peel off a piece of skin round each potato about half an inch wide to make them mealy. Put them in a sauce-pan, and cover them with cold water; add half a handful of salt, cover the sauce-pan, boil for forty-five minutes. Drain them well, place them in a napkin on a hot dish, and serve hot.

_Potatoes ‘alla Borghese.’_

Boil two pounds of potatoes, and put them in a covered dish to drain. When dry, peel and cut them into slices, then put them into a sauce-pan with four ounces of butter, some chopped parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Let them simmer over a slow fire, then squeeze the juice of two lemons over them and serve up hot.

_Potatoes ‘alla Campagnuola.’_

Boil two pounds of potatoes, peel, slice fine, and brown them slightly in a frying-pan with four ounces of butter. Toss them now and then, adding a little salt and grated nutmeg, and mix Béchamel sauce with them before serving hot (see Sauces, p. 119).

_Potatoes ‘in Casseruola.’_

Mix one pound of mashed potatoes, the yolks of four eggs, half a pint of cream, and two ounces of butter in a sauce-pan. Cook until hot, stir constantly until the paste is flaky and light, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange the paste in a circle round a dish and set it in the oven to colour. Then fill the circle with a fricassee of chicken or rabbit, or any kind of stew, mushrooms, or any cooked vegetables (peas, French beans, etc.) left over from the day before, or half a bottle of tomato conserve, or the pulp of six or seven fresh tomatoes.

_Potatoes ‘alla Crema.’_

Boil six or eight potatoes, and cut them into small pieces. Put four ounces of butter, a little flour, salt, pepper, half an onion, some parsley chopped up fine, and a pinch of grated nutmeg, into a sauce-pan. Mix well until it boils, then add a tumbler of cream. Stir constantly over a slow fire until it boils, and then add the potatoes. Stand the sauce-pan by the fire for a few minutes, and serve up very hot.

_Potato Croquettes. No. 1._

Boil two pounds of potatoes in salted water, when cool pound in a mortar, and mix with two or three eggs, and various sweet herbs chopped up (parsley, thyme, marjoram, chervil, etc.). Moisten with half a cup of cream and stir into a thick paste. Roll this into croquettes and fry in fresh butter. When they have taken a good colour serve up hot.

_Potato Croquettes. No. 2._

Put one pound of mashed potatoes, the beaten-up yolks of two eggs, a little onion juice, grated nutmeg, salt, two tablespoonfuls of cream, a pinch of cinnamon, one dessert-spoonful of minced parsley, and two ounces of butter, into a sauce-pan over a moderate fire. Cook until it comes away from the sides, then remove it from the fire. When cold it will break up into small pieces. Meanwhile beat up an egg with a little hot water, dip the pieces of potato into it, and then into grated bread-crumbs. Fry in boiling fat and serve hot with fried parsley.

_Potato ‘Farcite.’_

Wash and peel six or seven large potatoes, cut them in two lengthwise, scoop out the centres (leaving just enough of the potato to support the skin), and fill with forcemeat made of fresh pork minced, salt and pepper to taste, a pinch of grated nutmeg, and a little powdered thyme. Arrange the potatoes in a well-buttered baking-dish, and cook for half an hour in a slow oven until well browned.

_Potatoes ‘al Forno.’ No. 1._

Mash six or seven boiled potatoes and beat them up while hot with three tablespoonfuls of cream, two tablespoonfuls of butter, one raw egg, and salt to taste. Put a layer into a well-buttered baking-dish, then put a layer of thin slices of yolk of hard-boiled eggs, sprinkled with salt and pepper; put layers of potatoes and eggs until the dish is full. The top layer must be potato, over which strew bread-crumbs thickly. Cover the dish and bake until hot, then brown quickly, and serve in the baking-dish.

_Potatoes ‘al Forno.’ No. 2._

Roast six large potatoes in the oven with their skins on, cut them in two, remove the inside with a spoon, but take care to leave enough substance to preserve the shape of the potato. Put the inside of the potato in a dish and add two ounces of butter, half a pint of hot milk, salt and pepper to taste. Mix together until the paste is light, and then add the well-beaten whites of two eggs, and beat up the whole well. Fill the potato skins with the paste, first rolling it in the yolk of egg, then cook in the oven and serve as soon as the top is well coloured.

_Potatoes ‘in Frittata’ (Omelette)._

Mince up two boiled, cold, potatoes, sprinkle with pepper and salt, and put them into a frying-pan in which two ounces of butter have been melted. Spread the potatoes one-third of an inch deep in the pan, and cook slowly over a moderate fire for about a quarter of an hour. Then turn over (as you would any other omelette), and cook the other side. Serve hot.

_Potatoes ‘alla Semplicità.’_

Boil and peel eight large potatoes, and pound them in a mortar with two spoonfuls of chopped parsley, a little powdered cinnamon, and some salt. When fairly thick and consistent, make up the paste into fritters and fry in butter, turning them continually until they are a rich brown colour. If a richer dish is desired, add four eggs and two ounces of butter to the potato paste.

_Potatoes ‘Fritti alla Francese.’_

Wash thoroughly six large peeled potatoes, then cut them into small balls, and put them in boiling water to cook for five or six minutes. Drain, then fry them, a few at a time, in good roast-meat dripping until they are of a golden colour. When cooked, drain them, sprinkle with salt, and serve as a garnish to fish or meat.

_Potatoes ‘in Frittura.’_

Pound four or six cold, boiled potatoes in a mortar with two tablespoonfuls of chopped parsley, a little powdered cinnamon, and some salt. When the paste is well mixed and smooth, make it up into small round cakes and put them into fried fresh butter, turning them until they take a good yellow colour. Serve hot.

_Potato ‘Gnocchi.’_

Boil eight or ten potatoes for a few minutes, then peel; place them in the oven until they are quite soft, then pound them in a mortar with three-quarters of an ounce of grated cheese, five or six dessert-spoonfuls of flour, salt to taste, and three eggs. Knead well and make little rolls, cover them with flour, and put them into a large sauce-pan with salted boiling water. Boil for five or six minutes, then take them carefully out, and place them on a dish, sprinkle them with cheese, and pour some browned melted fresh butter over them with a taste of onion in it (if liked).

_Potatoes ‘all’ Italiana.’_

Wash eight potatoes thoroughly, peel off a strip of skin round each (to make them mealy), put them in a sauce-pan and cover them with cold salted water, put on the lid and boil for forty-five minutes. Then peel and mash them, put them in a sauce-pan, add one ounce of butter and a piece of fresh crumb of bread (about the size of a roll) which has been soaked in milk. Put in two tablespoonfuls of milk, three yolks of fresh eggs with their whites beaten to a froth, salt and pepper to taste, and a little grated nutmeg. Mix well together and pile it high in a baking-dish, pour a little melted butter over it, and sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese, then put it in the oven for about ten minutes. Serve as soon as it is of a good golden colour.

_Potatoes ‘alla Gran Duchessa.’_

Take one pound of mashed potatoes, add two ounces of butter, and salt to taste, one tablespoonful of powdered white sugar, and work up into a light paste, adding two well-beaten eggs. Make the paste into oval balls, roll them in melted fresh butter, and place them in the oven on greased paper until well cooked. They make a nice garnish.

_Potatoes ‘alla Lionese.’_

Boil two large potatoes, and when cold cut them into slices. Melt two ounces of butter in a frying-pan, add a sliced onion, and stir till well browned. Put in the potatoes and simmer gently until they are coloured, then sprinkle with a little salt. Place them on a hot dish and serve very hot.

_Potatoes ‘alla Maître d’Hôtel.’_

Boil four large potatoes and cut them into dice. Put them into a sauce-pan, add about one pint of stock, and cook slowly for a quarter of an hour, sprinkling with salt and pepper to taste, and then place them on a hot dish. Meanwhile fry two ounces of butter, one tablespoonful of chopped parsley, and the juice of one lemon, when done, pour over the potatoes and serve immediately.

_Potatoes ‘all’ Olandese.’_

Peel six large, cold, boiled potatoes, cut them into dice, and throw them into boiling water for five minutes. After draining, place them in a sauce-pan with two ounces of butter on a moderate fire, or in a slow oven, and shake them occasionally, until the potatoes have absorbed the butter and are soft. Serve on a hot dish with sauce ‘Olandese’ (see Sauces, p. 124).

_Potatoes ‘alla Panna.’_

Boil eight or ten large potatoes, and cut them up when cold into small dice. Melt four ounces of butter in an earthen dish with one tablespoonful of flour, then mix in one pint of fresh cream (or milk), a little salt and pepper, and a small pinch of nutmeg. Stir well together until it boils, then put in the potatoes, add some grated bread-crumbs and bits of fresh butter, and cook over a brisk fire until they have turned a good yellow colour. Serve up hot in the earthen dish.

_Potato Pudding._

Mash twelve large boiled potatoes in a sauce-pan with four ounces of butter, two tumblers of cream, a pinch of salt, and a tablespoonful of flour. Then rub through a sieve, adding four ounces of white powdered sugar, a little cinnamon, the yolks of four eggs, with their whites beaten to a froth. Mix well, put into a well-buttered mould thickly sprinkled with bread-crumbs, and bake for three-quarters of an hour until browned.

_Potato Pudding with Mushrooms (Budino con Prugnuoli)._

Peel eight or more potatoes, cut them into quarters, wash, and boil them in salted water with half a lemon; take them off the fire before they are over-cooked. Then strain through a sieve, put them into a large dish, and mash them well with a wooden spoon. Add two ounces of fresh butter, and pour in half a tumbler of cream (a little at a time). Beat up well with the spoon until the paste is smooth, then add three or four well-beaten-up yolks of eggs. Butter a mould and pour in the potato paste, make a hole in the centre, put small whole mushrooms into it, cover them with a piece of the paste, and cook in the oven. When baked, turn out the pudding on to a dish and serve hot.

_Potatoes ‘in Ragoût.’_

Cut six fine potatoes into dice, and put them into boiling water with six sliced leeks. Boil for ten minutes, then drain. Boil half a bunch of asparagus, drain, cut off their heads, and add them to the potatoes and leeks, mixing well together. Meanwhile put two ounces of butter, one pint of milk, one tablespoonful of chopped chervil, pepper and salt to taste, into a sauce-pan, mix slowly over the fire until hot, then pour over the potatoes, leeks, and asparagus, and boil the whole together. Serve very hot.

_Potatoes ‘Arrostite’ (Roasted)._

Choose two pounds of young, round, and equal-sized potatoes. Put them into a sauce-pan with four ounces of butter, salt to taste, and cover hermetically. Place over a slow fire and shake frequently. After three-quarters of an hour the potatoes will have a brown crust, and inside they will be white and tender.

_Potatoes ‘Sautées.’_

Cut three or four cold, boiled potatoes into dice, and put them, a few at a time, so that they shall not overlap one another, into a frying-pan with fresh butter. (Allow one tablespoonful of butter for each potato.) Brown them well, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve immediately.

_Potatoes ‘in Stufato.’_

Cut ten large potatoes into dice and put them into cold water for a quarter of an hour. Drain, and cook in boiling water for about ten minutes, then dry in a cloth and put them into a sauce-pan; sprinkle them with flour, add one pint of milk and two ounces of butter. Cover tightly and let them simmer slowly for ten or fifteen minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve up very hot.

_Potatoes ‘Tartufate.’_

Cut three or four parboiled potatoes into thin slices and lay them one by one, with thin slices of truffles mixed with grated Parmesan cheese, in an earthen dish. Add two ounces of butter in bits, salt and pepper to taste, and when the potatoes begin to cook moisten with broth or gravy. Before serving, squeeze a little lemon juice over them, and serve hot in the earthen dish.

_Potatoes ‘all’ Umido.’_

Boil five or six large potatoes, let them get cold, and then cut them into dice. Put them into a baking-dish with two ounces of butter and enough cream to cover them. Cook until nicely browned, and serve very hot.

* * * * *

_Pumpkins ‘alla Fiorentina.’_

Take twelve very young pumpkins (about one and a half inches long), cut them in half, and put them in cold water. Have a sauce-pan ready with four quarts of salted water. When boiling put in the pumpkins. When they are cooked put them again into cold water. Just before serving place them in a sauce-pan with four ounces of butter, heat for three minutes, then add two tablespoonfuls of veal broth, two of cream, and a squeeze of lemon. Heat again and serve.

_Pumpkins ‘Fritti.’_

Take young pumpkins (about the size of your two fists), peel them, cut them in half, and take out seeds and pulp. Cut them into thin strips (one and a half or two inches long, and as wide as your finger), and put them into a dish with salt for some hours. Then squeeze out the water with your hands, and throw them into flour, taking care to separate and cover each strip with flour, shake the superfluous flour off them in a sieve, and put them into a frying-pan with plenty of boiling lard or oil. Serve at once.

_Pumpkin Pudding (Bodino)._

Cook (but not too much) two and a half pounds of pumpkin with two ounces of butter, a little pepper, allspice, and salt, and pass through a sieve, adding some crumb of bread soaked in milk or cream, some powdered cinnamon, several pounded bitter almonds, a handful of grated bread, and three yolks of eggs. Mix thoroughly and put it into a well-buttered shape with thin slices of buttered bread arranged round the inside, and cook with a fire above and below until thoroughly browned. Serve up hot.

_Pumpkins ‘Ripiene.’ No. 1._

Cut six young and small pumpkins (about two and a half inches long) in two, and take out the pulp. Meanwhile mince fine the breast of a fowl (or any tender white meat you have over from the day before), one slice of tongue, and one of ham; put them into a sauce-pan with three tablespoonfuls of veal broth, the yolk of an egg, a pinch of salt, and one of pepper; parboil; therewith fill the pumpkins. Butter a sauté-pan, lay the stuffed pumpkins in, and cook with fire above and below, occasionally adding some broth. Serve as soon as cooked.

_Pumpkins ‘Ripiene’ (maigre). No. 2._

Take young pumpkins (about the size of your fist), scoop out their insides, and fill them with minced tunny fish preserved in oil, yolk of egg, a pinch of Parmesan cheese, a little of the soft pulp of the pumpkin, and a little allspice and pepper, but no salt. Cook the pumpkins in butter, and when brown serve with Tomato sauce (see Sauces, p. 126).

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_Rice (How to cook)._

Place a large sauce-pan with water on a hot fire; it is necessary that the water should boil violently in order to keep the grains of rice separate. Wash the rice in several waters so as to remove the floury coating, which makes it pasty. Drain, and drop it gradually into the sauce-pan, so as not to stop the boiling. Then boil hard for a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes. When the rice is soft to the touch, it is done. Then drain off every drop of water, sprinkle with salt, cover the sauce-pan with a thin napkin, and leave it by the fire to steam and get dry. (The rice can also be put into a cullender to drain, and then into an open oven to dry; or butter the interior of a stew-pan, put in the rice, put on the lid tight, and stand the pan on a trivet in the oven, or by the fire.)

_Rice ‘alla Casalinga.’_

Wash eight ounces of rice, and blanch it in a sauce-pan with two quarts of water for five minutes, then strain and let it cool. Meanwhile fry four ounces of lean bacon cut up into small pieces, and when browned, add one and a half pints of stock and a small teaspoonful of white pepper. Put in the rice, cook for twenty minutes, stirring every now and then, take it off the fire, add half a tumbler of Tomato sauce (see Sauces, p. 126), or conserve, and mix well. Turn out the rice on to a hot dish, and garnish with small sausages.

_Rice Croquettes._

Boil a cupful of rice in weak chicken broth, drain, stir in two beaten-up eggs, one teaspoonful of butter, a slight sprinkling of flour, pepper, and a pinch of grated lemon-peel. Flour your hands, and make the rice, when cold, into small sausages (or croquettes), roll each in raw egg, and then in bread crumbs, and fry to a golden brown.

_Rice with Tomatoes. No. 1._

Boil one cupful of rice soft in hot water, shake it now and then, but do not stir it. Drain, and add a little milk in which a beaten egg has been mixed, one teaspoonful of butter, and a little pepper and salt. Simmer for five minutes, and if the rice has not absorbed all the milk, drain it again. Put the rice round a dish, smooth it into a wall, wash it over with the yolk of a beaten-up egg, and put it into the oven till firm. Take half a bottle of tomato conserve (or the strained juice and pulp of seven or eight tomatoes), season with pepper, a little salt, sugar, and half a chopped onion, stew for twenty minutes, then stir in one tablespoonful of butter and two tablespoonfuls of fine bread-crumbs. Stew three or four minutes to thicken, and then pour the tomato into the dish in the middle of the rice, and serve.

_Rice with Tomatoes. No. 2._

Boil one cupful of rice as directed in ‘How to boil Rice’; add half a cupful of Tomato sauce (see Sauces, p. 126), season with some butter, salt, and pepper to taste, and one or two bay leaves. Toss, or mix lightly with a fork, being careful not to mash the grains. Serve hot. This makes a nice dish for winter.

_Rice with Prawns._

Mince up half an onion, one clove of garlic, one carrot, half a head of celery, and a bunch of parsley, and brown in pure olive oil. Then put six or seven ounces of prawns into the sauce-pan, and season with salt and pepper. Turn them often, and when all are red put in two or three tablespoonfuls of Tomato sauce (or conserve), and add enough hot water to cook fourteen or fifteen ounces of rice in afterwards. Do not boil too much, as prawns cook fast. Take the prawns out, dry them, choose about a third of the finest, shell and lay them aside. Pound the others in a mortar (shells and all), rub them through a sieve, and mix again with the water in which they were cooked. Meanwhile put some butter into a sauce-pan, add the rice, stir well, and as soon as it has taken up the butter, pour the water little by little on to it. When half-boiled add the shelled prawns, and before serving sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the whole.

_Rice with Quails._

Mince up two or four slices of ham and a quarter of an onion, and brown in a sauce-pan, then put in four quails ready drawn. Sprinkle with pepper and salt, and as soon as they are browned, parboil them in broth, then add fourteen ounces of rice, and boil all together. Powder with grated Parmesan cheese and serve on a hot dish.

_Rice ‘alla Ristori.’_

Cut two ounces of bacon into small pieces, and put them into a sauce-pan with chopped-up cabbage. Steam for half an hour and add a little salt, pepper, and chopped parsley; then throw in a quarter of a pound of rice and half a pint of veal broth. Cook for fifteen or eighteen minutes, and serve with grated Parmesan cheese sprinkled over it.

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_Risotto ‘alla Milanese.’ No. 1._

Melt two ounces of good fresh butter in a sauce-pan over a sharp fire, add one onion chopped fine, brown a deep golden colour, then add about ten ounces of clean rice (Italian if possible) and two large truffles chopped up. Stir without stopping for one and a half minutes, and add one quart of boiling veal broth, stir and let it cook for fourteen minutes. Add six chopped-up mushrooms, and, a little at a time, one more quart of broth, stirring constantly over a sharp fire for ten minutes more. Put in half a teaspoonful of salt, a little pepper, one and a half ounces of grated Parmesan cheese, and a teaspoonful of saffron soaked in two tablespoonfuls of hot broth, and strained. Cook three or four minutes longer, stirring all the time, then pour into a deep dish, and serve hot with some grated Parmesan cheese separate. It is an improvement to put a tablespoonful of marrow into the centre just before serving.

_Risotto ‘alla Milanese.’ No. 2._

Cut up an onion and cook it with one and a half ounces of beef marrow, and the same quantity of good butter; when browned put in one pound of rice and add three-quarters of a glass of good white wine and broth enough to cook the rice. Before taking off the fire add one and a half ounces of butter and some grated Parmesan cheese, and serve with more grated cheese separately.

_Risotto with Peas._

Mince up one small onion, brown it in two ounces of butter, then put in one pound of rice, and stir with a ladle until the rice has taken up all the butter. Add hot water (a cupful at a time), sprinkle with salt, and let it boil dry, adding two ounces of butter. Before taking it off the fire add peas cooked ‘alla Borghese’ omitting the milk and eggs. Mix, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese, and serve hot.

_Risotto ‘alla Poggio Gherardo.’_

Mince an onion, put it into a three-quart sauce-pan, and brown with three ounces of good butter. Take out the onion, put in one pound of rice, and half a wineglassful of Marsala. Reduce over a brisk fire, then add one quart of stock, and boil hard so as to reduce in eighteen minutes. Then take it off the fire and season with one ounce of good butter, one ounce of grated Parmesan cheese, three or four fowls’ livers and mushrooms minced up fine, and some good gravy. Serve hot.

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SALADS.

_Artichoke Salad._

Boil some small and tender artichokes and leave them to cool. Just before serving drop into the middle of each, one drop of onion juice, lay them on lettuce leaves, and pour sauce Mayonnaise (see Sauces, p. 123) over them.

_Beetroot Salad._

Slice two or three cold, boiled beetroots and place them in a salad-bowl. Pour half a pint of sauce Tartara (see Sauces, p. 126) over them and serve up with a garnish of parsley leaves.

_Broccoli Salad._

Boil one or two heads of broccoli in salted water, then strain them and dry with a cloth. Make a sauce of pure olive oil, white wine vinegar, very little salt and pepper, one tablespoonful of capers, and two or three anchovies chopped up with some parsley. Pour over the broccoli when cold and serve.

_Cabbage Salad._

Cut the heart of a white cabbage and half a head of celery into shreds. Boil half a teacup of vinegar with one tablespoonful of butter, add one tablespoonful of sugar, salt and pepper to taste, and put in the cabbage, but do not let it boil. Meanwhile beat up two eggs, mix them in one cupful of hot milk, and boil to a custard. Then put the cabbage into a salad-bowl, pour the custard over it, and mix well. Place in the ice-box until wanted.

_‘Alla Cardinale’ Salad._

Wash and dry well two lettuces and a bunch of water-cresses, cut two large cold, boiled beetroots into strips, add twelve radishes, six hard-boiled eggs chopped up, and one sliced cucumber. Arrange the lettuce leaves round a salad-bowl, mix all the rest with half a pint of sauce Mayonnaise (see Sauces, p. 123) and serve.

_Cauliflower Salad._

Boil a large cauliflower, then put it in cold water; when quite cold, break it into pieces, and put these to dry on a napkin before placing in the salad-bowl. Add two shalots and some parsley chopped up, salt and pepper to taste, and pour half a pint of sauce Mayonnaise (see Sauces, p. 123) over it before serving.

_Celery Salad._

Cut the white stalks into small pieces and add half a pint of sauce Mayonnaise (see Sauces, p. 123) to every pound of celery. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, mix well with the sauce, and serve the dish trimmed with the green leaves of the celery.

_Cucumber and Tomato Salad._

Peel and slice two cucumbers, dry them on a napkin, then peel and slice two large tomatoes. Cover the bottom of the salad-bowl with lettuce leaves, and then alternate layers of the cucumbers and tomatoes, pour sauce ‘alla Francese’ (see Sauces, p. 123) over and serve.

_‘All’ Egiziana’ Salad._

Wash the curly inside leaves of two heads of endive, dry them well, put them into a salad-bowl, pour three tablespoonfuls of good olive oil over them, and add a finely chopped shalot. Mix one tablespoonful of honey (or sugar), one of vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste, in a cup, and pour over the salad just before serving.

_French Beans Salad._

Boil one pound of French beans until tender, drain, and put them in cold water. Dry them on a napkin, and cut them lengthwise into four pieces. Pour sauce ‘alla Francese’ (see Sauces, p. 123) over them just before serving.

_‘All’ Italiana’ Salad._

Cut one carrot and one turnip into slices and cook them in boiling soup. When cold mix them with two large cold, boiled potatoes, and one beetroot cut into strips. Add a very little chopped leeks, or onion, pour some sauce ‘Lombarda’ (see Sauces, p. 123) over the salad, and garnish with water-cress.

_Lettuce Salad._

Use only the tender leaves, and let them stand in cold water until wanted. Wipe them quite dry, then break with the fingers into the following sauce: Two or three yolks of hard-boiled eggs beaten up with one tablespoonful of pure olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, two more tablespoonfuls of oil added gradually, and one of white wine vinegar, and one teaspoonful of mustard. Mix well and garnish the salad-bowl with nasturtium (Tropæolum) flowers.

_Lettuce Salad ‘alla Francese.’_

Put the tender leaves of lettuce into cold water till wanted; then wipe them dry and stand them in circles in the salad-bowl. Sprinkle them with half a teaspoonful of chopped taragon, the same of chervil, of parsley and of chives, and pour the following sauce over them: mix in a cup one tablespoonful of pure olive oil, one saltspoonful of salt, and half a saltspoonful of pepper, stir well; add two more tablespoonfuls of oil, and one of vinegar (if liked add two drops of onion juice). The salad must not be mixed till wanted, and can be garnished with small radishes or nasturtium flowers.

_Lettuce Salad with Veal (or Fish)._

Slice up a head of lettuce and chop up two boiled eggs in large pieces, add half a pound of cold veal (or fish), cut into strips one inch long, and mix in a salad-bowl. Then beat up the yolks of two raw eggs, add a very little salt, and mix in gradually four tablespoonfuls of pure olive oil, and one of white wine vinegar; a few drops of taragon vinegar is an improvement.

_‘Alla Macedoine’ Salad._

Cut into small pieces one cold boiled beetroot and half an onion, add some cold boiled French beans, two ounces of cold boiled asparagus heads, two tablespoonfuls of cold cooked peas, one cold boiled carrot, and one head of celery. Mix them well together, pour sauce Mayonnaise (see Sauces, p. 123) over them, add the juice of a lemon, and serve.

_‘Alla Pollastra’ Salad._

Chop up six lettuce leaves, and three stalks of celery; cut the remains of a cold boiled fowl into small pieces and mix with one tablespoonful of white wine vinegar and salt and pepper to taste, in a salad-bowl. Pour a cupful of sauce Mayonnaise (see Sauces, p. 123) over; and garnish with quarters of hard-boiled eggs, one tablespoonful of capers, twelve stoned olives, and some small tender lettuce leaves.

_Potato Salad. No. 1._

Boil six potatoes; peel, slice them fine, mix with one or two small onions cut into quarters, and half a tumbler of red wine; add salt and pepper to taste, four or five tablespoonfuls of oil, and half a tablespoonful of white wine vinegar, one tablespoonful of chervil chopped fine, and some thin slices of anchovies, or, if preferred, smoked herring. Stir well, but before serving take out the onions.

_Potato Salad. No. 2._

Boil some fine potatoes, peel and slice them. Slice some truffles (boiled in white wine) very thin and put them in alternate layers with potatoes into a salad-bowl. Season with four or five tablespoonfuls of good olive oil, one dessert-spoonful of white wine vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with slices of anchovies, stoned olives, and (if liked) a few young chives.

_Potato Salad. No. 3._

Slice some boiled (or baked) potatoes thin, add one teaspoonful of chopped parsley; mix apart six tablespoonfuls of good olive oil, two of white wine vinegar, one teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, and pour over the potatoes. Add six or more (according to taste) boned anchovies cut into strips, and twelve stoned olives. Thin slices of cold beef or fowl can be mixed in this salad with advantage.

_Potato Salad. No. 4._

Boil six fine potatoes, slice them and place them to cool. Slice three hard-boiled eggs, and mince four ounces of pickled tunny-fish fine. Place alternate layers of minced tunny, and sliced potato and egg, in the salad-bowl, sprinkle the last layer with chopped chervil, and season the dish with pure olive oil, white wine vinegar, pepper and a very little salt, mixed separately and poured over before serving.

_‘Alla Russa’ Salad._

Cut up two boiled carrots, one small turnip, half a bunch of asparagus (the green part) one small beetroot, and some cold chicken or partridge, into dice, take some cold boiled young French beans, and green peas, one tablespoonful of capers, some stoned olives, slices of anchovies, and some prawns. Make a sauce of pure olive oil (a good deal), a little vinegar, pepper, half a pinch cayenne, some mustard, a spoonful of caviare, and one finely chopped shalot.

_Spanish Onion Salad._

Peel and slice two large Spanish onions and two cucumbers. Put them into iced water for twenty minutes, then drain, and dry them well on a cloth. Arrange the slices of onion and cucumber alternately on a dish, pour sauce ‘alla Francese’ (see Sauces, p. 123), over them and serve.

_N.B._--Cucumbers should if possible always be kept on ice, and never be put into salted water.

_Summer Salad. No. 1._

Take three heads of fresh lettuce, one of celery, a little chopped taragon and chervil, and one or two shalots. Season with five tablespoonfuls of pure olive oil, two of white wine vinegar, one teaspoonful of salt, and half a teaspoonful of pepper. Stir well before serving. Cold, boiled haricot beans are a good addition, and also half a pound of cold meat cut in very thin slices.

_Summer Salad. No. 2._

Take two large cucumbers, and one head of celery, peel and slice; add a bunch of red radishes. Add six cold, boiled young artichokes cut into quarters. Sprinkle with finely chopped chervil, mix, and pour sauce ‘alla Francese’ (see Sauces, p. 123) over just before serving.

_Tomato Salad. No. 1._

Scald[18] and peel ripe tomatoes and put them in ice. Cut them into thin slices and put on a flat dish. In the centre of each slice put one teaspoonful of sauce Mayonnaise (see Sauces, p. 123), and garnish with sprigs of parsley. Or the tomato can be cut in two, laid on a young lettuce leaf, and sauce Mayonnaise poured over them.

[18] Put the tomatoes in a wire basket and plunge them into boiling water for one minute. If left too long in the water they get soft.

_Tomato Salad. No. 2._

Scald and peel twelve or eighteen small yellow tomatoes. Pile them on a dish like plums, garnish with young lettuce leaves, and pour the following sauce over them: mix well in a cup one tablespoonful of pure olive oil, one saltspoonful of salt, and half a saltspoonful of pepper, add, stirring all the time, two tablespoonfuls of oil, and one of vinegar, and, if the flavour is liked, add two drops of onion juice.

_Tomato Salad. No. 3._

Peel round red tomatoes of equal size, and scoop out a bit of the fruit from the stem end. Keep them on ice till wanted, then fill them high with sauce Mayonnaise (see Sauces, p. 123) and celery cut into shreds of half an inch long. Place each on a young lettuce leaf on which a little sauce Mayonnaise has been put, and arrange on a flat dish. (Chopped hard-boiled eggs and lettuce may be used instead of celery.)

_Tomato Salad. No. 4._

Scald and peel six fine tomatoes and put them in ice, cut them into very thin slices in a salad-bowl so as to keep the juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste, two tablespoonfuls of oil, one of vinegar, and, if liked, one small teaspoonful of chives. Mix well and serve as cold as possible.

_Tomato Salad. No. 5._

Take round tomatoes (not too big), fill them as in No. 3, but do not let the stuffing stand out beyond the fruit. Then put small moulds, or cups, on ice, and pour in one-eighth of an inch of clear aspic jelly; when set, place a tomato (the filled side uppermost) into each mould, and pour more jelly round it and over it. Ice well, turn out the tomatoes on a dish garnished with sliced lettuce or watercress, and serve with sauce Mayonnaise (see Sauces, p. 123) separate.

_Tomato Jelly Salad._