Part 6 (1/2)

ONIONS ”ALLA PARMEGIANA”

Take six onions. Take out the centers with an apple-corer and fill them up with the following stuffing: One tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese mixed with two hard-boiled eggs and chopped parsley. Boil them first, then roll them in flour and fry them in olive-oil or b.u.t.ter.

Then put them in a baking-dish with one-half tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese and one tablespoon of melted b.u.t.ter. Put them in the oven and bake until golden.

ONIONS ”ALLA VENEZIANA”

Take six small onions, remove the centers with an apple-corer. Boil them for a few moments, drain them, and stuff them with the following: Take a piece of bread, dip it in milk, squeeze out the milk, and mix the bread with one tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese, the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs. Mix well together, then add some fine-chopped parsley, a pinch of sugar, salt and pepper, and the yolk of one raw egg; mix again well, and then stuff the onions with the mixture. Then dip them in flour and in egg, and fry them in lard. Put them on a platter and serve with a piquante sauce, made as follows: Chop up fine some pickles, capers, and pickled pepper, and add one-half cup of water. When these are cooked, add one tablespoon of b.u.t.ter and cook a little while longer, then pour over the onions and serve.

LIMA BEANS WITH HAM

Take three-quarters of a pound of lima beans, very tender young ones.

Put them in boiling water for about five minutes to whiten them. Then put into a saucepan one heaping tablespoon of b.u.t.ter, some chopped parsley, and one small onion chopped up fine. When the onion is fried, add three ounces of raw ham, also chopped up. When the ham is fried put in the lima beans, and a little while before they are cooked add two or three tablespoons of stock. Serve with dice of fried bread.

FRIED SQUASH, PARSNIPS, CELERY, AND MUSHROOMS

Take two small squash, the smallest size possible; cut off the two ends, divide them in two, and slice them in fine slices lengthwise.

Put them in an earthen dish and sprinkle well with salt. Take one parsnip, sc.r.a.pe it, wash it, and boil it slightly, slice it, add it to the squash with more salt. Take the heart of celery, boil for a moment, and slice as with the other vegetables. Lastly, take some mushrooms, not very large ones, clean them, boil them a moment, and add them to the rest. Then dry all the vegetables with a clean towel, mix them all together, roll them thoroughly in flour, dip in egg, and fry in hot lard, dropping them in carelessly. Serve them in a hot dish with a napkin under them.

PUMPKIN ”ALLA PARMEGIANA”

Take a slice of pumpkin, remove the rind and the seeds, cut into square pieces, and then slice these into slivers about the thickness of a ten-cent piece. Boil these for a moment in salted water, drain and put them into a saucepan, and fry in b.u.t.ter, with a little salt and a pinch of allspice. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese and melted b.u.t.ter. Or, if preferred, when the pumpkin is fried, put it in a baking-dish, add thin slices of cheese (Parmesan or Gruyere), and put it into the oven until browned.

FRIED PUMPKIN

Take a slice of pumpkin, remove the rind and the seeds. Cut it into strips as for French fried potatoes, only finer. Roll in flour and dip in egg, and fry in boiling lard or olive-oil.

If desired as garnis.h.i.+ng for meat, cut the pumpkin exceedingly fine, roll in flour, but not in egg, and fry.

SPINACH ”ALLA ROMANA”

Clean and prepare the spinach. Put one pint of cold water with one tablespoon of salt on to boil, and when it boils put in the spinach.

When the spinach is cooked--in about ten minutes--drain it in a colander, and turn onto it the cold water from the faucet for a few moments. Then squeeze out all the water with the hands. Put three tablespoons of olive-oil into a frying-pan; when this is thoroughly hot add the spinach, salt, and pepper. Cook for a few moments, stirring well with a fork and spoon, so the oil will permeate the spinach; then serve. Do not chop the spinach.

SPINACH SOUFFLE

Wash the spinach in several waters, put it in a covered saucepan on a good fire. Stir now and then to prevent burning, and after fifteen minutes add one tablespoon of salt. Cook five minutes more; drain and squeeze out the water. Then chop up very fine. Put into a saucepan one generous tablespoon of b.u.t.ter, three-quarters tablespoon of flour, stir, and when they are half cooked, add the spinach and a little salt and pepper. Cook for five minutes, then pour in four or five tablespoons of cream, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Take a cup of spinach, prepared as above, beat up the yolk of one egg, mix it with the spinach, and stir over the fire until the egg is set; then let it cool, and before serving stir the well-beaten whites of three eggs lightly into it. Fill china cups or b.u.t.tered papered forms half full, put them into a hot oven for ten or fifteen minutes, and serve at once. If too little baked or not served at once, the souffle will be spoiled.

SPINACH ”IN RICCIOLI”

Boil the spinach and pa.s.s it through a fine colander. Beat up two eggs, add salt and pepper, and mix enough spinach into them to make them green. Put a little olive-oil into a frying-pan, and when it is thoroughly heated (but not boiling), pour a little of the egg, turning the pan about so that the pancake should be as thin as a piece of paper and dry. Toss if necessary. Take it out; repeat with the rest of the egg. Then take the pancakes, place them one on top of the other, and cut them into pieces the width of a finger and about two inches long. Fry them in b.u.t.ter, and grate a little Parmesan cheese over them. They make a very nice garnish.