<h2>THE ITALIAN COOK BOOK</h2>
<h3>The Art of Eating Well</h3>
<h4>PRACTICAL RECIPES</h4>
<h4>OF THE</h4>
<h4>ITALIAN CUISINE</h4>
<h4>PASTRIES</h4>
<h4>SWEETS, FROZEN DELICACIES</h4>
<h4>AND SYRUPS</h4>
<h3>COMPILED BY</h3>
<h3>MRS. MARIA GENTILE</h3>
<p><span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_3" id="Page_3"></SPAN></span></p>
<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><SPAN name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></SPAN>PREFACE</h2>
<p>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.</p>
<p>In the Italian <b>cuisine</b> we find in the highest degree these three
qualities. That it is palatable, all those who have partaken of food in
an Italian <b>trattoria</b> 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?</p>
<p>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 <b>Cucina
Casalinga</b> 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
<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_4" id="Page_4"></SPAN></span><br/><span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</SPAN></span>high degree.</p>
<h4><br/><br/>1</h4>
<h4>BROTH OR SOUP STOCK</h4>
<h4>(Brodo)</h4>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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
<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_6" id="Page_6"></SPAN></span>fire for ten minutes. Strain the liquid in cheese cloth.</p>
<p>The soup stock, besides being used for soups, is a necessary ingredient
in hundreds of Italian dishes.</p>
<h4>2</h4>
<h4>SOUP OF "CAPPELLETTI"</h4>
<p>This Soup is called of "<b>Cappelletti</b>" or "little hats" on account of the
shape of the "<b>Cappelletti</b>".</p>
<p>First a thin sheet of paste is made according to the following
directions:</p>
<p>The best and most tender paste is made simply of eggs, flour and salt,
water may be substituted 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.</p>
<p>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,<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_7" id="Page_7"></SPAN></span>
nutmeg, allspice, salt. The ground meat is to be mixed with an equal
amount of curds or cottage cheese.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>These <b>cappelletti</b> should be cooked in chicken or beef broth until the
paste is tender, and served with this broth as a soup.</p>
<h4>3</h4>
<h4>BREAD SOUP</h4>
<h4>(Panata)</h4>
<p>This excellent and nutritious soup is a godsend 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
quantity) 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.</p>
<h4>4</h4>
<p>GNOCCHI</p>
<p>This is an excellent soup, but as it requires boiled or roast breast of
chicken or turkey it is<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_8" id="Page_8"></SPAN></span> well to make it only when these ingredients are
handy.</p>
<p>Prepare a certain quantity 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 quantity of nutmeg. Pour the compound on the
bread board with a quantity 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.</p>
<h4>5</h4>
<h4>VEGETABLE SOUP</h4>
<h4>(Zuppa Santé)</h4>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Select three or four kind of vegetables, shred or chop coarsely cabbage
or greens, and slice or cut in cubes the root vegetables. Put them over
the fire with a small quantity of cooking oil or butter substitute, 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.<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_9" id="Page_9"></SPAN></span></p>
<h4>6</h4>
<h4>QUEEN'S SOUP</h4>
<h4>(Zuppa Regina)</h4>
<p>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
quantity 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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<h4>7</h4>
<h4>BEAN SOUP</h4>
<h4>(Zuppa di fagiuoli)</h4>
<p>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.<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_10" id="Page_10"></SPAN></span></p>
<p>Chop fine ¼ onion, one clove of garlic, one sprig of parsley and one
piece of celery and put them to fry in ¼ 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.</p>
<p>The bean soup is made without meat or chicken broth, and it belongs
consequently to that class of soup called by the Italians "<b>Minestra di
Magro</b>" or "lean soup," to be served preferably on Friday and other days
in which the Roman Catholic Church prohibits the use of meats.</p>
<h4>8</h4>
<h4>LENTIL SOUP</h4>
<h4>(Zuppa di lenticchie)</h4>
<p>The lentil soup is prepared in the same way as the bean soup, only
substituting lentils for beans. A good combination is that of lentils
and rice. The nutritive qualities of the lentils are not sufficiently
known in this country, but all books on dietetics speak very highly of
them.<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_11" id="Page_11"></SPAN></span></p>
<h4>9</h4>
<h4>VEGETABLE CHOWDER</h4>
<h4>(Minestrone alla Milanese)</h4>
<p>Cut off the rind of ½ lb. salt pork and put it into two quarts of
water to boil. Cut off a small slice of the pork and beat it to a paste
with two or three sprigs of parsley, a little celery and one kernel of
garlic. Add this paste to the pork and water. Slice two carrots, cut the
rib out of the leaves of ¼ medium sized cabbage. Add the carrots,
cabbage leaves, other vegetables, seasoning and butter to the soup, and
let it boil slowly for 2½ hours. The last ½ hour add one small
handful of rice for each person.</p>
<p>When the pork is very soft, remove and slice in little ribbons and put
it back.</p>
<p>The minestrone is equally good eaten cold.</p>
<h4>10</h4>
<h4>RAVIOLI</h4>
<p>Put on the bread board about two pounds of flour in a heap; make a
hollow in the middle and put in it a piece of butter, three egg-yolks,
salt and three or four tablespoonfuls of lukewarm water. Make a paste
and knead it well, then let it stand for an hour, wrapped or covered
with a linen cloth. Then spread the paste to a thin sheet, as thin as a
ten-cent piece.<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_12" id="Page_12"></SPAN></span></p>
<p>Chop and grind pieces of roast or boiled chicken meat: add to it an
equal part of marrow from the bones of beef and pieces of brains, three
yolks, some crumbs of bread soaked in milk or broth and some grated
cheese (Parmesan or Swiss). Rub through a sieve and make little balls as
big as a hazel-nut, which are to be placed at equal distances (a little
more than an inch) in a line over the sheet of paste.</p>
<p>Beat a whole egg and pass it over the paste with a brush all around the
little balls. Cover these with another sheet of paste, press down the
intervals between each ball, and then separate each section from the
other with a knife. Moisten the edges of each section with the finger
dipped in cold water, to make them stick together, and press them down
with the fingers or the prongs of a fork. Then put to boil in water
seasoned with salt or, better still, in broth. The ravioli are then to
be served hot seasoned with cheese and butter or with brown stock or
tomato sauce.</p>
<h4>11</h4>
<h4>PAVESE SOUP</h4>
<h4>(Zuppa alla Pavese)</h4>
<p>Cut as many thin slices of bread as are needed in order that each person
may have at least two of them. These slices are then to be toasted and
browned with butter. Poach two eggs for each<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_13" id="Page_13"></SPAN></span> person, one on each slice
of bread and place the slices on a large and deep dish (not in a soup
tureen). Pour hot broth in the plate, taking care not to break the eggs,
season with Parmesan or Swiss cheese, and serve.</p>
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