The Italian Cook Book Part 5

43

CHICKEN WITH SAUSAGES

(Pollo colle salsicce)

Chop fine half an onion and put it in a saucepan with a piece of b.u.t.ter and four or five slices of ham, half an inch wide. Over these ingredients place a whole chicken, season with pepper and a little salt and place on the fire. Brown it on all sides and, when the onion is all melted, add water or broth and three or four sausages freshly made. Let it cook on a low fire, seeing that the sauce remains liquid and does not dry up.

44

CHICKEN WITH EGG SAUCE

(Pollo in salsa d'uova)

Break into pieces a young chicken and put it in the saucepan with a piece of b.u.t.ter. Season with salt and pepper. When it is half browned sprinkle with a pinch of flour to give it color, then complete the cooking with broth. Remove it from the same and put it on a plate. Beat the yolk of one egg with the piece of half a lemon and pour it on the sauce of the chicken, allowing it to simmer for some minutes. Then pour on the chicken and serve hot.

45

CHICKEN b.r.e.a.s.t.s SAUTeS

(Petti di pollo alla saute)

Cut the breast of a fowl in very thin slices, give them the best possible shape and make a whole piece from the little pieces that will remain, cleaning well the breast-bone, crus.h.i.+ng and mixing these. Season with salt and pepper and dip the slices in beaten eggs, leaving them for a few hours. Sprinkle with bread crumbs ground fine and saute in b.u.t.ter.

Serve with lemon.

If you want this dish more elaborate prepare a sauce in the following way: Put some good olive oil in a frying pan, just enough to cover the bottom, and cover the oil with a layer of dry mushrooms. Sprinkle over a small quant.i.ty of grated cheese and some bread crumbs. Repeat the same operation three or four times, according to the quant.i.ty, and finally season with olive oil, salt and pepper and small pieces of b.u.t.ter. Put the pan over the fire and when it has begun to boil pour a small cup of brown stock or broth and a little lemon juice. Remove the same from the fire and pour it on the chicken breast that have been browned as described above.

46

WILD DUCK

(Anitra selvatica)

Clean the duck, putting aside the giblets, and cut off the head and legs. Chop fine a thick slice of ham with both lean and fat together, with a moderate amount of celery, parsley, carrot and half medium sized onion. Put the chopped ham and vegetables in a saucepan and lay the duck on the whole, seasoning with salt and pepper. Brown on all sides and add water to complete the cooking.

Cabbage or lentils, cooked in water and afterward allowed to complete the cooking in the sauce obtained from the duck, form a good addition.

To remove the "gamey" taste from the wild duck, either wash it in vinegar before cooking or scald it in boiling water.

47

STEWED SQUABS

(Piccioni in umido)

Garnish the squabs with whole sage leaves and place them in a saucepan over a bed of small slices of ham containing both lean and fat, season with salt, pepper and olive oil. Place on the fire and when they begin to be browned, add a piece of b.u.t.ter and complete the cooking by pouring in some good broth. Before removing from the fire squeeze one lemon over them and garnish with squares or diamonds of toasted bread. Take care not to add too much salt on account of the ham and the broth both containing salt.

=Note=--Many of these dishes, it will be noticed, are made with broth.

When meat broth is not available, it can be prepared with bouillon cubes or with Liebig or Armour Extracts. It is, however, always preferable to use broth made with fresh meat.

48

RAGOUT OF SQUABS

(Manicaretto di piccione)

Cut two or more squabs at the joints, preferably in four parts each, and put them on the fire with a slice of ham, a piece of b.u.t.ter, and a bunch of parsley. When they begin to dry, add some broth and--before they are completely cooked--their giblets and fresh mushrooms cut in slices.

Continue pouring in broth and allow the whole to simmer on a low fire.

Add another piece of b.u.t.ter over which some flour has been sprinkled, or flour alone. Before serving, remove the ham and the bunch of greens and squeeze some lemon juice over the squabs.

Some sweetbread may be added with good effect, but it must be first scalded and the skin removed.

49

SQUAB TIMBALE

(Timballo di piccioni)

Chop together some ham, onion, celery and carrot, add a piece of b.u.t.ter and place on the fire with one or two squabs, according to the number of guests. Add the giblets from the squabs and some more of chicken, if at hand. Season with salt and pepper, and when the pigeons are browned, pour over some broth to complete the cooking, taking care, however, that the sauce does not become too liquid. Remove the latter and place in it some macaroni that has been half cooked and drained. Keep the macaroni in the sauce on the fire, stirring them. Make a well reduced Bechamel sauce, then cut the squabs at the joints, removing the neck, the legs and the bones of the back, when you would not bone them entirely, which would be better. Cut the giblets in small pieces and remove the soft part of the onion.

When the macaroni have absorbed the sauce, season them with grated cheese, pieces of b.u.t.ter, diamonds or squares of ham, a taste of nutmeg and some truffles or dry mushrooms previously softened in water. Add finally the Bechamel sauce and mix the whole.

Take a sufficiently large mold, b.u.t.ter it and line it with soft pastry.

Put everything in the mold, or timbale, cover it with the same pastry and put in the oven. Take out of the mold and serve hot. Three quarters of a pound of macaroni and two pigeons are enough for ten persons.

50

SALMI OF GAME

(Uccelli in salmi)

Roast the game completely, seasoning with salt and pepper. If the game be small birds, leave them whole, if big cut them in four parts. Remove all the heads and grind them together with some pieces of birds, or some whole little birds. Put in a saucepan one tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter one half pound of bacon or ham cut into dice, brown stock or broth, one tablespoonful each of chopped onion and carrot, one tablespoonful each of salt, thyme and sage. Allow the sauce to simmer for half an hour then rub it through a sieve and place in it the roasted game. Make it boil until the cooking is completed and serve with toasted diamonds of bread.

51

STEWED HARE

(Stufato di lepre)

Take half of a good sized hare and, after cutting it in pieces, chop fine one medium sized onion, one clove of garlic, a stalk of celery and several leaves of rosemary. Put on the fire with some pieces of b.u.t.ter, two tablespoonfuls of olive oil and four or five strips of bacon or salt pork, when the whole has been browning for four or five minutes, put the pieces of hare inside the saucepan and season them with salt, pepper and spices. When it is browned, put a winegla.s.s of white wine, some fresh mushrooms, or dry mushrooms previously softened in water. Complete the cooking with broth and tomato sauce and, if necessary, add another piece of b.u.t.ter.