The Italian Cook Book.
by Maria Gentile.
PREFACE
One of the beneficial results of the Great War has been the teaching of thrift to the American housewife. For patriotic reasons and for reasons of economy, more attention has been bestowed upon the preparing and cooking of food that is to be at once palatable, nourishing and economical.
In the Italian =cuisine= we find in the highest degree these three qualities. That it is palatable, all those who have partaken of food in an Italian =trattoria= or at the home of an Italian family can testify, that it is healthy the splendid manhood and womanhood of Italy is a proof more than sufficient. And who could deny, knowing the thriftiness of the Italian race, that it is economical?
It has therefore been thought that a book of PRACTICAL RECIPES OF THE ITALIAN CUISINE could be offered to the American public with hope of success. It is not a pretentious book, and the recipes have been made as clear and simple as possible. Some of the dishes described are not peculiar to Italy. All, however, are representative of the =Cucina Casalinga= of the peninsular Kingdom, which is not the least product of a lovable and simple people, among whom the art of living well and getting the most out of life at a moderate expense has been attained to a very high degree.
1
BROTH OR SOUP STOCK
(Brodo)
To obtain good broth the meat must be put in cold water, and then allowed to boil slowly. Add to the meat some pieces of bones and "soup greens" as, for instance, celery, carrots and parsley. To give a brown color to the broth, some sugar, first browned at the fire, then diluted in cold water, may be added.
While it is not considered that the broth has much nutritive power, it is excellent to promote the digestion. Nearly all the Italian soups are made on a basis of broth.
A good recipe for substantial broth to be used for invalids is the following: Cut some beef in thin slices and place them in a large saucepan; add some salt. Pour cold water upon them, so that they are entirely covered. Cover the saucepan so that it is hermetically closed and place on the cover a receptacle containing water, which must be constantly renewed. Keep on a low fire for six hours, then on a strong fire for ten minutes. Strain the liquid in cheese cloth.
The soup stock, besides being used for soups, is a necessary ingredient in hundreds of Italian dishes.
2
SOUP OF "CAPPELLETTI"
This Soup is called of "=Cappelletti=" or "little hats" on account of the shape of the "=Cappelletti=".
First a thin sheet of paste is made according to the following directions:
The best and most tender paste is made simply of eggs, flour and salt, water may be subst.i.tuted for part of the eggs, for economy, or when a less rich paste is needed. Allow about a cup of flour to an egg. Put the flour on a bread board, make a hollow in the middle and break in the egg. Use any extra whites that are on hand. Knead it thoroughly, adding more flour if necessary, until you have a paste you can roll out. Roll it as thin as an eighth of an inch. A long rolling pin is necessary, but any stick, well scrubbed and sand papered, will serve in lieu of the long Italian rolling pin.
Cut from this sheet of paste rounds measuring about three inches in diameter. In the middle of each circle place a spoonful of filling that must be made beforehand, composed of cooked meat (chicken, pork or veal) ground very fine and seasoned with grated cheese, grated lemon peel, nutmeg, allspice, salt. The ground meat is to be mixed with an equal amount of curds or cottage cheese.
When the filling is placed in the circle of paste, fold the latter over and moisten the edge of the paste with the finger dipped in water to make it stay securely closed.
These =cappelletti= should be cooked in chicken or beef broth until the paste is tender, and served with this broth as a soup.
3
BREAD SOUP
(Panata)
This excellent and nutritious soup is a G.o.dsend for using the stale bread that must never again be thrown away. It is composed of bread crumbs and grated bread, eggs, grated cheese, nutmeg (in very small quant.i.ty) and salt, all mixed together and put in broth previously prepared, which must be warm at the moment of the immersion, but not at the boiling point. Then place it on a low fire and stir gently. Any vegetable left over may be added.
4
GNOCCHI
This is an excellent soup, but as it requires boiled or roast breast of chicken or turkey it is well to make it only when these ingredients are handy.
Prepare a certain quant.i.ty of boiled potatoes, the mealy kind being preferred. Mash the potatoes and mix them with chicken or turkey breast well ground, grated cheese (Parmesan or Swiss), two or more yolks of eggs, salt and a small quant.i.ty of nutmeg. Pour the compound on the bread board with a quant.i.ty of flour sufficient to make a paste and roll it in little sticks as thick as the small finger. Cut the sticks in little pieces about half an inch long and put them in boiling water.
Five or six minutes" cooking will be sufficient.
5
VEGETABLE SOUP
(Zuppa Sante)
Any kind of vegetables may be used for this soup: carrots, celery, cabbage, turnips, onions, potatoes, spinach, the outside leaves of lettuce or greens of any variety.
Select three or four kind of vegetables, shred or chop coa.r.s.ely cabbage or greens, and slice or cut in cubes the root vegetables. Put them over the fire with a small quant.i.ty of cooking oil or b.u.t.ter subst.i.tute, and let them fry until they have absorbed the fat. Then add broth and cook until the vegetables are very tender. Fry croutons of stale bread in oil and serve them in the soup.
6
QUEEN"S SOUP
(Zuppa Regina)
This is made with the white meat of chicken, which is to be ground in a meat grinder together with blanched almonds (5 or 6) for one quart of chicken stock. To the meat and almond add some bread crumbs, first soaked in milk or broth, in the proportion of about one fifth of the quant.i.ty of the meat. All these ingredients are to be rubbed to a very smooth paste and hot broth is to be added to them. If you wish the soup to be richer and have a more milky consistency, use the yolk of an egg, which should be beaten, and have a few tablespoonfuls of hot broth stirred into it before adding to the soup. Do not let the soup boil after the egg is added or it will curdle.
One slice of stale bread may be cut into cubes, fried in deep fat, and the croutons put in the soup. Send it to the table with a dish of grated cheese.
7
BEAN SOUP
(Zuppa di f.a.giuoli)
One cup of dried beans, kidney, navy or lima is to be soaked over night.
Then boil until tender. It is preferable to put the beans to cook in cold water with a pinch of soda. When they come to boil, pour off this water and add fresh.
Chop fine 1/4 onion, one clove of garlic, one sprig of parsley and one piece of celery and put them to fry in 1/4 cup of oil with salt and a generous amount of pepper. When the vegetables are a delicate brown add to them two cups of the broth from the beans and 1 cup of tomatoes (canned or fresh). Let all come to a boil and pour the mixture into the kettle of beans from which some of the water has been drained, if they are very liquid. This soup may be served as it is or rubbed through a sieve before serving. Croutons or triangles of dry toast make an excellent addition.