Part 14 (1/2)

_Mode_.--Throw the macaroni and b.u.t.ter into boiling water, with a pinch of salt, and simmer for 1/2 an hour. When it is tender, drain and cut it into thin rings or lengths, and drop it into the boiling stock. Stew gently for 15 minutes, and serve grated Parmesan cheese with it.

_Time_.--3/4 hour. _Average cost_, 1s. per quart.

_Seasonable_ all the year.

_Sufficient_ for 8 persons.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MACARONI.]

MACARONI.--This is the favourite food of Italy, where, especially among the Neapolitans, it may be regarded as the staff of life. ”The crowd of London,” says Mr. Forsyth, ”is a double line in quick motion; it is the crowd of business. The crowd of Naples consists in a general tide rolling up and down, and in the middle of this tide, a hundred eddies of men. You are stopped by a carpenter's bench, you are lost among shoemakers'

stalls, and you dash among the _pots of a macaroni stall_.” This article of food is nothing more than a thick paste, made of the best wheaten flour, with a small quant.i.ty of water. When it has been well worked, it is put into a hollow cylindrical vessel, pierced with holes of the size of tobacco-pipes at the bottom.

Through these holes the ma.s.s is forced by a powerful screw bearing on a piece of wood made exactly to fit the inside of the cylinder. Whilst issuing from the holes, it is partially baked by a fire placed below the cylinder, and is, at the same time, drawn away and hung over rods placed about the room, in order to dry. In a few days it is fit for use. As it is both wholesome and nutritious, it ought to be much more used by all cla.s.ses in England than it is. It generally accompanies Parmesan cheese to the tables of the rich, but is also used for thickening soups and making puddings.

SOUP MAIGRE (i.e. without Meat).

136. INGREDIENTS.--6 oz. b.u.t.ter, 6 onions sliced, 4 heads of celery, 2 lettuces, a small bunch of parsley, 2 handfuls of spinach, 3 pieces of bread-crust, 2 blades of mace, salt and pepper to taste, the yolks of 2 eggs, 3 teaspoonfuls of vinegar, 2 quarts of water.

_Mode_.--Melt the b.u.t.ter in a stewpan, and put in the onions to stew gently for 3 or 4 minutes; then add the celery, spinach, lettuces, and parsley, cut small. Stir the ingredients well for 10 minutes. Now put in the water, bread, seasoning, and mace. Boil gently for 1-1/2 hour, and, at the moment of serving, beat in the yolks of the eggs and the vinegar, but do not let it boil, or the eggs will curdle.

_Time_.--2 hours. _Average cost_, 6d. per quart.

_Seasonable_ all the year.

_Sufficient_ for 8 persons.

[Ill.u.s.tration: LETTUCE.]

THE LETTUCE.--This is one of the acetarious vegetables, which comprise a large cla.s.s, chiefly used as pickles, salads, and other condiments. The lettuce has in all antiquity been distinguished as a kitchen-garden plant. It was, without preparation, eaten by the Hebrews with the Paschal lamb; the Greeks delighted in it, and the Romans, in the time of Domitian, had it prepared with eggs, and served in the first course at their tables, merely to excite their appet.i.tes. Its botanical name is _Lactuca_, so called from the milky juice it exudes when its stalks are cut. It possesses a narcotic virtue, noticed by ancient physicians; and even in our day a lettuce supper is deemed conducive to repose. Its proper character, however, is that of a cooling summer vegetable, not very nutritive, but serving as a corrective, or diluent of animal food.

MILK SOUP (a Nice Dish for Children).

137. INGREDIENTS.--2 quarts of milk, 1 saltspoonful of salt, 1 teaspoonful of powdered cinnamon, 3 teaspoonfuls of pounded sugar, or more if liked, 4 thin slices of bread, the yolks of 6 eggs.

_Mode_.--Boil the milk with the salt, cinnamon, and sugar; lay the bread in a deep dish, pour over it a little of the milk, and keep it hot over a stove, without burning. Beat up the yolks of the eggs, add them to the milk, and stir it over the fire till it thickens. Do not let it curdle.

Pour it upon the bread, and serve.

_Time_.--3/4 of an hour. _Average cost_, 8d. per quart.

_Seasonable_ all the year.

_Sufficient_ for 10 children.

ONION SOUP.

138. INGREDIENTS.--6 large onions, 2 oz. of b.u.t.ter, salt and pepper to taste, 1/4 pint of cream, 1 quart of stock No. 105.

_Mode_.--Chop the onions, put them in the b.u.t.ter, stir them occasionally, but do not let them brown. When tender, put the stock to them, and season; strain the soup, and add the boiling cream.

_Time_.--1-1/2 hour. _Average cost_, 1s. per quart.