Simple Italian Cookery | Page 9

a time, adding each time
gravy and cheese, and covering them well. Put a layer of grated cheese
sprinkled on top. Serve with meat, or as a first course.
GNOCCHI OF MILK--A DESSERT
1 cup of milk 1 level tablespoon of powdered starch 2 or 3 drops of
vanilla extract 2 yolks of eggs 2 tablespoons of sugar
Put all these ingredients together into a saucepan and mix together with
a wooden spoon for a few moments. Then put onto the back of the
stove where it is not too hot, and cook until the mixture has become
stiff. Cook a few moments longer, stirring always; then turn out onto a
bread-board and spread to a thickness of a finger and a half. When

cold, cut into diamonds or squares the width of two fingers. Butter a
baking-dish, and put the squares into it overlapping each other. Add a
few dabs of butter here and there. Put another layer of the squares in the
dish, more dabs of butter, and so on until the dish is full. Brown in the
oven.

SAUCES
ROUX FOR SAUCES
Roux is necessary to thicken and give body to sauces. Put one
tablespoon of flour and one of butter into a saucepan and cook until the
flour has lost any raw taste. Then put the saucepan on the back of the
stove and add slowly the stock or milk, one cup for every tablespoon of
butter or flour, and stir until smooth. For white sauces take care the
flour does not color; for dark sauces let it brown, but take care it does
not burn.
AGRO DOLCE SAUCE
Take two tablespoons of sugar (brown or white), one-half a cup of
currants, a quarter of a bar of grated chocolate, one tablespoon of
chopped candied orange, one of lemon-peel, one of capers, and one cup
of vinegar. Mix well together and let soak for two hours; pour it over
venison or veal, and simmer for ten minutes.
BECHAMEL SAUCE NO. 1
Put two ounces of butter and two tablespoons of flour into a saucepan
and stir for five minutes. Pour one and one-half pints of boiling milk
gradually in, beating well with a whisk. Add some nutmeg, a few
peppercorns, a pinch of salt, and some chopped mushrooms. Cook for
one-quarter of an hour, and rub through a fine sieve.
BECHAMEL SAUCE NO. 2
Mix three tablespoons of butter and three of flour to a smooth paste, put

some peppercorns, one-half an onion, one-half a carrot sliced, a small
piece of mace, two teacups of white stock, a pinch of salt and of grated
nutmeg, in a stew-pan; simmer for one-half an hour, stirring often, then
add one teacup of cream; boil at once, and strain and serve.
TOMATO SAUCE NO. 1
Take ten fresh tomatoes, remove the skins, cut them up; put them into a
saucepan and boil them until soft. Then pass them through a sieve. Put
their juice into a saucepan with one heaping tablespoon of butter or
one-half tablespoon of good lard, salt and pepper, and boil again,
adding water if the sauce becomes too thick. This sauce can be kept in a
bottle for several days. It can be used for macaroni, etc., in place of the
tomato paste.
TOMATO SAUCE NO. 2
Mince one-quarter of an onion, one-half a stalk of celery, a few leaves
of sweet basil, and a bunch of parsley up fine. Add one-half cup of
olive-oil, a pinch of salt and one of pepper, and cut eight or nine
tomatoes into slices. Boil until the sauce is as thick as cream, stirring
occasionally, then strain through a sieve and serve.
TOMATO SAUCE NO. 3
Take four pounds of tomatoes, cut them in two, and put them into a
two-quart saucepan with two wine-glasses of water, two saltspoons of
salt, one of pepper, cover the saucepan, and boil for forty minutes,
stirring often to prevent burning; then strain. Make a roux in another
saucepan with one ounce of butter and three-quarters of an ounce of
flour. Cook for three minutes, mixing well. Take roux off the fire, and
pour the tomatoes into it a little at a time, stirring to keep it smooth.
Add two wineglasses of stock, put on the fire, and cook for twenty
minutes, stirring all the time.
BUTTER SAUCE
Take eight ounces of butter, one tablespoon of salt, one of pepper, and

two tablespoons of lemon juice. Stir with a wooden spoon over the fire
until the butter is half melted, then take it off and continue to stir until it
is quite liquid. By taking the butter off the stove before it is all melted it
will have a pleasant taste of fresh cream; this is all lost otherwise.
LOMBARDA SAUCE
Put two tumblers