put it into a covered earthen pan on a brisk fire. Stir now and then to
prevent its burning, and after fifteen minutes put in one tablespoonful
of salt. Cook five minutes more, then drain, and when dry chop it up
very fine. Mix one and a half tablespoonfuls of fresh butter, and one
of flour, in an earthen pot, and when half-cooked add the spinach and a
little salt and pepper. Cook for five minutes, pour in half a cupful of
good cream, and cook five minutes more, stirring constantly to prevent
burning. Serve with croûtons (fried bread), or hard boiled eggs sliced.
_Spinach Croquettes._
Take two pounds of boiled spinach, strain, and chop it up fine. Put it
into an earthen pan with four ounces of butter, some sweet marjoram
chopped up, allspice, sugar, and grated lemon peel. Mix well over
the fire, then put in one tumbler of milk, and when it boils add two
beaten-up eggs. When thick and cooled roll up into croquets, meanwhile
make the following batter: two handfuls of flour, one tablespoonful of
good olive oil, half a glass of white wine, and a little salt, well
mixed together. Roll the croquets in this and fry. Serve hot.
_Spinach ‘Ravioli alla Fiorentina.’_
Clean and wash eight bunches of spinach, cook them in salted boiling
water, and then put them into cold. Dry well, chop up very fine, put
them into a sauce-pan and mix well with four ounces of butter, eight
ounces of fresh curds (out of which all the water has been pressed),
two tablespoonfuls of grated Parmesan cheese, and three yolks of eggs.
When cold make small balls or rolls of the spinach, flour them well,
and throw them into boiling water. As they rise to the surface take
them out with a strainer, pour melted butter over them, sprinkle with
grated Parmesan cheese, and serve at once.
_Spinach Fried._
Put two or three bunches of spinach into an earthen pot with a finely
chopped up shallot, and two ounces of butter, and mix well. When
cooked, take off the fire, chop up very fine, add one egg, one ounce
of grated cheese, a pinch of allspice, and roll up into balls or
croquets; sprinkle with flour, and fry over a quick fire. Serve very
hot garnished with fried parsley. (_N.B._--Any vegetable, cardoon,
cauliflower, etc., which is left over, can be fried in this way.)
_Spinach Pudding with Mushrooms. (Bodino con Funghi.)_
Wash a sufficient quantity of spinach well, boil it in salted water
for a few minutes, drain and squeeze out the water thoroughly; then
pound it in a mortar and finally rub it through a sieve. Then put it
in an earthen pot with a good-sized piece of butter and a few drops of
lemon juice; leave it to boil for a short time, then empty it into a
dish, and when cold add the yolks of two or three well-beaten-up eggs.
Put it into a well-buttered shape, leave an empty space in the middle,
and cook slowly in a Bain-marie for one hour with fire above and
below. When cooked, turn out on a dish and fill the empty space with
small mushrooms cut up into little pieces, which have been previously
prepared as in the recipe ‘alla Spagnuola’ (p. 75).
_Spinach ‘in Riccioli.’_
Boil a bunch of spinach and rub it through a sieve. Beat up two eggs,
season them with salt and pepper, and mix enough spinach with them
to make them green. Put a little oil into the frying-pan, and when
well heated pour a little of the egg in, turning the pan about so that
the pancake should be as thin as a piece of paper, and dry. Toss if
necessary. Take it out, repeat with the rest of the egg, then take
the pancakes, place them one on the top of the other, and cut them
into pieces the width of a finger and about two inches long. Fry them
in butter and grate a little Parmesan cheese over them. They make an
effective garnish.
_Spinach Soufflé._
Take a cupful of spinach prepared as in ‘Spinach alla Crema.’ Beat
up one yolk of an egg, mix with the spinach and stir over the fire
until the egg is set. Then let it cool, and before serving stir the
well-beaten whites of three eggs lightly into it. Fill china cups, or
buttered paper forms, half full, put them into a hot oven for ten or
fifteen minutes, and serve at once. If too little baked, or not served
at once, the soufflé will be spoiled.
* * * * *
_Tomatoes Broiled._
Slice large ripe tomatoes (without peeling them), broil or toast them
until slightly browned. Place them on a hot dish and pour boiling
melted butter, mixed with a very little good wine vinegar, salt,
pepper, and mustard, over them.
_Tomatoes ‘in Conchiglia.’_
Cut five or six tomatoes in half (do not peel them), put them in an
earthen pan with bits of butter, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake for about one hour, or until the tomatoes are soft. Meanwhile
prepare squares of buttered toast, place a half tomato on each square
of toast, pour sauce ‘alla Panna’ (see Sauces, p. 125) round them, and
serve.
_Tomatoes ‘al Forno.’ No. 1._
Scald, peel, and mash up eight or ten tomatoes, add one teaspoonful
of salt, and one saltspoonful of pepper. Put a layer of bread-crumbs
into a shallow baking-dish, lay the tomatoes on them, and sprinkle with
one tablespoonful of sugar, and a few drops of onion juice. Then cover
the tomatoes with a large cupful of bread crumbs moistened with one
tablespoonful of melted butter. Bake half an hour in a hot oven, and
serve in the baking-dish.
_Tomatoes ‘al Forno.’ No. 2._
Scald and peel six or eight tomatoes, slice off their tops, and scoop
out a little of the inside. Drop a little oil into each tomato and a
small pinch of salt and pepper, replace their tops, sprinkle them with
grated bread, salt and pepper, place each on a slice of bread in a
tinned dish, add a little pure olive oil, and bake for twenty minutes.
_Tomatoes ‘al Forno.’ No. 3._
Scald and peel six or eight tomatoes, take out their seeds, and place
them in a tinned dish. Meanwhile mix one tablespoonful of flour, one
of fresh butter, four or five fresh mushrooms, some parsley chopped
up with one shallot, a little salt and pepper, and some thick purée
(or conserve) of tomatoes in a sauce-pan, and stir well. Fill each
tomato with this, sprinkle them with grated bread, put four or five
tablespoonfuls of pure olive oil in the tin dish, and bake for ten
minutes, then brown with a salamander.
_Tomatoes ‘Fritti.’_
Cut six fine ripe tomatoes in half and put them in a shallow pan with
the peel downwards. Add four ounces of butter, sprinkle with pepper and
salt, and put them in the oven for ten minutes, then fry them slowly on
the fire (do not turn them). When cooked place them carefully on a hot
dish, put the pan on the fire again, and brown the butter, adding two
tablespoonfuls of flour, mix well, then add one pint of milk, and stir
until it boils. Season with salt and pepper, pour it over the tomatoes
and serve hot.
_Tomatoes ‘alla Graticola.’_
Cut four or five tomatoes in half without peeling them. Put them on
the gridiron, dust them with salt and pepper, and cook over a moderate
fire. Then place them on a hot dish and pour a white sauce over them.
Serve with croûtons (fried bread).
_Tomatoes Iced._
Scald and peel small round tomatoes, ice them, and serve them whole
with sauce ‘Francese’ (see Sauces, p. 123) separate.
_Tomatoes ‘all’ Indiana.’_
Wash half a pint of rice in several waters. Take two pounds of boiled
and strained tomatoes (or tomato conserve), season with a little salt
and allspice. Put alternate layers of tomato and of rice in a pie-dish,
and finish off with a layer of tomato covered with grated bread-crumbs
moistened with melted butter. Bake in a moderate oven for a good
half-hour, and serve in the pie-dish.
_Tomatoes ‘al Pane.’_
Peel and cut in slices six or more (according to the size of your dish)
ripe tomatoes, and lay them in a baking-dish with alternate layers of
bread-crumbs and bits of good butter. Season each layer of tomatoes
with sugar, pepper, and salt. The upper layer must be bread-crumbs
moistened with melted butter. Bake in a moderate oven for half an hour,
and serve in the baking-dish.
_Tomato Pudding._
Scald, peel, and slice eight tomatoes. Squeeze out three-quarters of
their juice into a bowl through a cloth, then chop them up with two
tablespoonfuls of breadcrumbs, a little salt, sugar, and pepper, and a
tablespoonful of melted butter. Pour them into a well-buttered mould
and put on the lid. Place the mould in a pot of boiling water, and boil
hard for one hour; then turn out on a dish. Meanwhile heat the tomato
juice, season with sugar, salt, and pepper, mix in one tablespoonful of
butter rolled in flour, boil one minute, then pour over the pudding and
serve.
_Tomato Purée._
Scald and peel about eighteen ounces of ripe tomatoes, and take out
the stem end. Cut them up and put them in an earthen pan with a little
salt, pepper, a bouquet, and one sliced onion. Stir over a moderate
fire, parboil, and then rub through a sieve. Make a roux with one
ounce of good butter and one tablespoonful of flour, cook for five
minutes, then pour the tomatoes into the roux, add two ounces of meat
jelly, and reduce for five minutes. Strain through a cullender and put
into a Bain-marie until wanted.
_Tomatoes ‘Ripieni.’_
Choose twelve large and smooth tomatoes, cut off the stem end and take
out the seeds. Put four ounces of grated bread, one quarter of an onion
minced, a little salt, and two ounces of butter into a frying-pan; mix
well and then fill the tomatoes with it. Put them in an earthen pan and
cook for half an hour over a hot fire, serve very hot.
_Tomatoes ‘al Riso.’_
Take the pulp of six tomatoes and put it in a sauce-pan with two ounces
of butter. Cook thoroughly, then strain through a sieve, add one large
cupful of consommé, and cook till reduced one quarter. Meanwhile cook
some rice in consommé, when done add the tomatoes, stir, and serve hot.
_Tomatoes Stewed._
Scald and peel six large fresh tomatoes and cut each into six pieces.
Cook in an earthen pot slowly for twenty minutes with one and a half
ounces of fresh butter, one teaspoonful of salt, one of pepper, and
half a teaspoonful of grated nutmeg. Then add half a teaspoonful of
powdered sugar, stir well, cook for two or three minutes, and serve hot.
_Tomatoes ‘in Umido.’_
Scald, peel, and cut into bits twelve fine tomatoes, put them into
an earthen pan and cook slowly for about half an hour. Then add one
tablespoonful of butter, a pinch of sugar, some drops of onion juice,
and a little pepper and salt. Cook for twenty minutes, and serve hot.
_Tomatoes ‘con Uova.’_
Choose round tomatoes of about equal size, and peel them. Cut off their
tops, take out their insides, and drop a raw egg into each, replace the
top as cover. Put the tomatoes into a baking-dish, and bake for about
ten minutes (until the eggs have set). Serve up on the baking-dish very
hot, with a sauce Béchamel (see Sauces, p. 119), or some brown gravy.
* * * * *
_Truffles in Champagne._
Wash and brush well twelve truffles in warm water, then rinse them in
cold water and drain. Lay slices of bacon in the bottom of a stew-pan,
and place the truffles on them. Put in a bouquet, sprinkle with a
little salt, add some good stock, half a bottle of champagne, and boil.
Cover the pan well, put fire above and below, and cook for one hour.
See whether they are done (they should yield to the touch), then drain
well, and serve in a folded napkin.
_Truffles and Cheese._
Wash, brush, and clean eight ounces of truffles, and slice them.
Meanwhile fry four ounces of butter with one or two tablespoonfuls of
pure olive oil; put in the sliced truffles with four ounces of good
Swiss cheese cut in fine slices. Mix well together over a brisk fire
for ten minutes. Season with pepper and salt, and serve very hot with
croûtons (fried bread).
_Truffles (Maigre)._
Wash, brush, and clean some truffles, cut them in slices, and put them
in a stew-pan with some fish soup. Add a bouquet, season with pepper
and salt, and stew over a small fire. When done thicken the sauce with
a maigre roux, take out the bouquet, and serve hot.
_Truffles in Omelette._
Beat up eight fresh eggs for an omelette, add a very little salt and a
pinch of grated nutmeg. Cut up fine four ounces of truffles already
boiled in Madeira wine, warm up with one pint of good gravy reduced
with Madeira wine. Make the omelette, and put the truffles in as you
turn it over.
_Truffles ‘alla Panna.’_
Wash, brush, peel, and clean twenty or twenty-four truffles, and put
them into an earthen pan with four ounces of butter, a little salt, one
glass of white Rhine wine, and three tablespoonfuls of reduced stock.
Put a layer of sauce ‘alla Panna’ (see Sauces, p. 125) in the bottom of
a silver (or enamelled) sauce-pan, then a third of the truffles, cover
them again with a layer of sauce, add half the remaining truffles, and
some more sauce; at last the rest of the truffles must be covered with
sauce sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese and browned quickly with
the salamander just before serving. The truffles may be cooked and
served in shells instead of a sauce-pan.
_Truffles Sautés._
Wash, brush, and clean about one pound of truffles, cut them in thin
slices, and put them into a stew-pan with a quarter of a pound of
butter, one teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of sugar, and
a saltspoonful of grated nutmeg. Warm over the fire, then add one
gill of broth, and half a tablespoonful of flour mixed with half a
tablespoonful of butter. Stir well, boil, and serve on toast.
_Truffles Stewed._
Wash, brush, and clean some truffles, cut them in slices, and put them
into a small stew-pan with three or four slices of ham, a pinch of
pepper, one cupful (or more) of good gravy, and a bouquet. Stew gently
over a small fire until the truffles are tender, take out the ham and
the bouquet, add some good brown gravy, and serve.
_Truffles ‘sul tovagliolo.’_
Wash, brush, and clean some truffles thoroughly, boil with veal stock
and a glass of Madeira wine. Then serve in a napkin with good fresh
butter separate.
Printed by T. and A. CONSTABLE, Printers to Her Majesty at the
Edinburgh University Press