<h4>114</h4>
<h4>ASPARAGUS</h4>
<h4>(Sparagi)</h4>
<p>Asparagus can be prepared in many different ways, but the simplest and
best is that of boiling them and serving them seasoned with olive oil
and vinegar or lemon juice. However there are other ways as, for
instance, the following: Put them whole to brown a little with the green
part in butter and, after seasoning them with salt, pepper and a pinch
of grated cheese, pour over the melted butter when it is browned. Or
else divide the white from the green part and place them as follows in a
fireproof plate: Dust the bottom with grated cheese and dispose over the
points of the asparagus one near the other; season with salt, pepper,
grated cheese and little pieces of butter. Make another layer of
asparagus and, seasoning in the same way, continue until you have them.
Be moderate in the seasoning. Cross the layers of asparagus like a
trestle, put on the oven and keep until the seasoning, is melted. Serve
hot.</p>
<p>If you have some brown stock, parboil them first and complete the
cooking with brown stock,<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_86" id="Page_86"></SPAN></span> adding a little bust and dusting moderately
with grated cheese.</p>
<h4>115</h4>
<h4>FISH WITH BREAD CRUMBS</h4>
<h4>(Pesce col pane grattato)</h4>
<p>This, which can also be served as a side-dish, is made especially when
you have boiled fish of good quality left over.</p>
<p>Cut it into little pieces, remove carefully all the bones, then put it
in the <b>balsamella</b> (No. 54) and season with enough salt, grated cheese
and some mushrooms chopped fine. If dried mushrooms soften in water
first. Then take a fireproof plate, grease it evenly with butter and
dust with bread crumbs ground fine; pour into it the fish prepared as
above and cover with a thin layer of bread crumbs. Finally put over a
piece of butter, brown in the oven and serve hot.</p>
<h4>116</h4>
<h4>STEWED FISH CUTLETS</h4>
<h4>(Pesce a taglio in umido)</h4>
<p>The fish that can be used for this dish are the tunny, the umber or
grayling, the sword fish and any piece of fish of large size and good
savor. A pound may be sufficient for four or five persons.<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_87" id="Page_87"></SPAN></span></p>
<p>Remove the scales, clean and dry well, dip in flour and put to brown in
a little oil. Remove dry, throw away the oil that remains and clean the
saucepan. Make a hash, chopped very fine, with half a middle sized
onion, a piece of white celery and a good pinch of parsley. Put this to
brown on the fire with sufficient oil and season with salt, pepper and
one whole clove. When it is browned put abundant tomato sauce (No 12) or
tomato paste diluted in broth or water. Let it simmer for a while, then
place the fish to complete the cooking, turning it over frequently. The
fish must be served with this thick gravy that ought to be abundant.</p>
<h4>117</h4>
<h4>WHITING WITH ANCHOVY SAUCE</h4>
<h4>(Merluzzo alla Palermitana)</h4>
<p>Take one whiting, one pound or a little more, and trim all the fins,
leaving the tail and the head. Split it to remove the bone, and season
with a little salt and pepper. Turn it on the back, grease with oil,
season with salt and pepper, dust with bread crumbs then lay it with two
tablespoonfuls of oil on a fireproof plate or baking tin.</p>
<p>Take three or four good sized anchovies, bone and clean them, chop them
and put on the fire with two tablespoonfuls of oil, but do not allow<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_88" id="Page_88"></SPAN></span> it
to boil. With this sauce cover the back of the fish and dust it all with
bread crumbs, putting also some leaves of rosemary. Bake in the oven,
allowing a little crust to form over, but see that it doesn't dry up,
pouring over to this purpose more oil. Before removing from the tin
squeeze half a lemon over.</p>
<p>This dish can be served surrounded by little toast with caviar, or
anchovies and butter.</p>
<h4>118</h4>
<h4>STEWED EEL</h4>
<h4>(Anguille in umido)</h4>
<p>For this dish it is preferable to have good sized eels that must not be
skinned, but cut in small pieces.</p>
<p>Chop some onion and parsley, put it on the fire with oil, salt, and
pepper, and when the onion is browned, add the pieces of eel. Wait until
it has absorbed the taste of the onion sauce and then complete the
cooking with tomato sauce (No. 12).</p>
<p>See that there is plenty of gravy and serve with little squares or
diamonds of toast.</p>
<h4>119</h4>
<h4>EELS WITH PEAS</h4>
<h4>(Anguille coi piselli)</h4>
<p>Cook the eels as above with the onion sauce and when it is cooked remove
it dry to cook the<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_89" id="Page_89"></SPAN></span> green peas in the sauce. The pieces of eel should be
put back in the sauce to be warmed. No tomato sauce is necessary here.</p>
<h4>120</h4>
<h4>MUSSELS WITH EGG SAUCE</h4>
<h4>(Arselle in salsa d'uovo)</h4>
<p>A good washing with fresh water is sufficient for mussels that do not
have any sand to be cleaned away. Put them on the fire with a sauce of
oil, garlic, parsley and a pinch of pepper. Shake them and keep the
saucepan covered seeing that they do not absorb all of the sauce. Take
them out when they are open and prepare the following sauce: one or more
yolks of egg, according to the quantity, lemon juice, one teaspoonful of
flour, broth and some of their own juice. Cook this sauce until it
becomes a smooth cream and pour it on the mussels when they are served.</p>
<h4>121</h4>
<h4>MUSSELS WITH TOMATO SAUCE</h4>
<h4>(Arselle alla livornese)</h4>
<p>Chop fine half an onion and put it on the fire with oil and a pinch of
pepper. When the onion begins to brown add a pinch of parsley chopped
not very fine and after put in the mussels with<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_90" id="Page_90"></SPAN></span> tomato sauce (No. 12)
or tomato paste diluted in water. Shake them often and when they are
open, put them over slices of toast prepared beforehand and arranged on
a plate.</p>
<h4>122</h4>
<h4>CODFISH</h4>
<h4>(Baccalá)</h4>
<h4>I</h4>
<p>Freshen and soak the codfish in cold water, changing the water two or
three times, or, better, keeping it for some time in a vase under
running cold water. Then cut it into pieces as large as the palm of the
hand and dip them in flour until they are well covered. Then put a
kettle or a saucepan on the fire with plenty of oil and two or three
cloves of garlic, whole but a little crushed. When the garlic begins to
brown put in the codfish and brown it on both sides, stirring it often,
so that it doesn't burn. Salt is not necessary, or at least only a
little after tasting, but a little pepper will not be amiss. Finally
pour over some tomato sauce (No. 12) or tomato paste diluted in water,
let it boil a little more and serve.<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_91" id="Page_91"></SPAN></span></p>
<h4>123</h4>
<h4>II</h4>
<p>The following is another way to prepare the codfish, slightly different
from the preceding. Cut the codfish as above, then put it as it is in
saucepan with some olive oil. Spread over it a hash of garlic and
parsley and season with a pinch of pepper, oil and little pieces of
butter. Cook on a good fire and turn it with care, because, not being
sprinkled with flour, it breaks easily. When it is cooked, squeeze a
lemon over and serve.</p>
<h4>124</h4>
<h4>FRIED CODFISH</h4>
<h4>(Baccalá fritto)</h4>
<p>Place the codfish on the fire—after washing as explained in No. 107—in
a kettle with cold water and as salt, and as soon as the water boils,
remove the codfish.</p>
<p>After boiling cut it in little pieces and remove all the bones. Sprinkle
some flour and dip in a frying paste composed of water, flour and a
little oil. Fry in oil and serve hot.</p>
<h4>125</h4>
<h4>CODFISH CROQUETTES</h4>
<h4>(Cotolette di baccalá)</h4>
<p>Boil as explained above and, if the quantity is one pound or a little
more put together two<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_92" id="Page_92"></SPAN></span> anchovies and some parsley, chopping everything
together very fine. Add some pepper, a tablespoonful of grated cheese,
three or four tablespoonfuls of pap, composed of bread crumbs in large
pieces, water and butter, and two eggs. Give the compound the form of
several flat cutlets, dip them in beaten egg and in ground bread crumbs.
Fry in oil and serve with lemon, or tomato sauce.</p>
<h4>126</h4>
<h4>FRIED DOG-FISH</h4>
<h4>(Palombo fritto)</h4>
<p>Cut the dog-fish in slices, not very thick, and place it in a plate with
beaten eggs somewhat salted. Leave for some hours until half an hour
before frying, dip the slices in a mixture of bread crumbs, grated
cheese, garlic and parsley chopped fine, salt and pepper. A clove of
garlic is sufficient for one pound of fish. Fry in oil and serve with
lemon.</p>
<h4>127</h4>
<h4>STEWED DOG-FISH</h4>
<h4>(Palombo in umido)</h4>
<p>Cut the dog-fish in rather big pieces and then make a hash of garlic,
parsley and very little onion. Put this hash on the fire with oil and<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_93" id="Page_93"></SPAN></span>
when it is sufficiently browned, put the pieces of dog-fish and season
with salt and pepper. When the fish is cooked pour over some tomato
sauce (No. 12), let this simmer for a while, then serve.</p>
<h4>128</h4>
<h4>ROAST-BEEF</h4>
<h4>(Arrosto)</h4>
<p>Although roast-beef is not an Italian dish, still it is prepared in a
peculiar way by the Italians, and hence this recipe finds its place
here.</p>
<p>To obtain a good roast-beef not less than two pounds ought to be cooked
on a strong fire. It ought to be covered with good olive oil and finally
with cup of soup stock which with the oil and the juice from the meat
will form a rich gravy. Salt it only when it is half cooked and do it
moderately, because the beef is already tasty by itself.</p>
<p>Put it on the fire half an hour before the soup is served and the meal
begins. This will be sufficient if the piece is not very big. To
ascertain the cooking prick it in the bigger part with a thin
larding-pin, but not often, in order not to allow too much juice to
escape. The juice must neither be of the color of the blood nor too
dark.</p>
<p>If baked it is to be seasoned with salt, oil and a piece of butter,
surrounded by raw potatoes<span class='pagenum'><SPAN name="Page_94" id="Page_94"></SPAN></span> peeled. Pour in the kettle a cup of broth or
of water. If you do not like cold roast beef, cut it into slices and
warm with butter and brown stock or tomato sauce.</p>
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