Classic Italian Recipes, Vegetables

Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.

“Vegetables” from The Cook's Decameron: A Study in Taste, Containing Over Two Hundred Recipes for Italian Dishes by W.G. Waters, 1901.

No. 154. Asparagi alia salsa Suprema (Asparagus)

Ingredients: Asparagus, butter, nutmeg, salt, supreme sauce (No. 16), gravy, lemon, Parmesan.

Cut some asparagus into pieces about an inch long and cook them in boiling water with salt, then drain and put them into a saute pan with one and a half ounce of melted butter and sautez for a few minutes, but first add salt, a pinch of nutmeg, and a dust of grated cheese. Pour a little supreme sauce over them, and at the last add a little gravy, one ounce of fresh butter, and a squeeze of lemon juice.

No. 155. Cavoli di Bruxelles alia Savoiarda (Brussels Sprouts)

Ingredients: Brussels sprouts, butter, pepper, stock, Béchamel sauce, Parmesan, croutons.

Take off the outside leaves of half a pound of Brussels sprouts, wash and boil them in salted water. Let them get cool, drain, and put them in a pie-dish with two ounces of fresh butter, a quarter pint of very good stock, a little pepper, and a dust of grated Parmesan. When they are well glazed over, pour off the sauce, season with three tablespoonsful of boiling Bechamel sauce (No. 3), and serve with croutons fried in butter.

No. 156. Barbabietola alia Parmigiana (Beetroot)

Ingredients: Beetroot, white sauce, Parmesan, Cheddar.

Boil a beetroot till it is quite tender, peel it, cut into slices, put it in a fireproof dish, and cover it with a thick white sauce. Strew a little grated Parmesan and Cheddar over it. Put it in the oven for a few minutes, and serve very hot in the dish.

No. 157. Fave alia Savoiarda (Beans)

Ingredients: Beans, stock, a bunch of herbs, Bechamel sauce.

Boil one pound of broad beans in salt and water, skin and cook them in a saucepan with a quarter pint of reduced stock and a bunch of herbs. Drain them, take out the herbs, and season with two glasses of Bechamel sauce (No. 3).

No. 158. Verze alia Capuccina (Cabbage)

Ingredients: Cabbage or greens, anchovies, salt, butter, parsley, gravy, Parmesan.

Boil two cabbages in a good deal of water, and cut them into quarters. Fry two anchovies slightly in butter and chopped parsley, add the cabbages, and at the last three tablespoonsful of good gravy, two tablespoonsful of grated Parmesan, salt and pepper, and when cooked, serve.

No. 159. Cavoli fiori alia Lionese (Cauliflower)

Ingredients: Cauliflower, butter, onions, parsley, lemon, Espagnole sauce.

Blanch a cauliflower and boil it, but not too much. Cut up a small onion, fry it slightly in butter and chopped parsley, and when it is well coloured, add the cauliflower and finish cooking it, then take it out, put it in a dish, pour a good Espagnole sauce (No. 1) over it, and add a squeeze of lemon juice.

No. 160. Cavoli fiori fritti (Cauliflower)

Ingredients: Cauliflower or broccoli, gravy, lemon, salt, eggs, butter.

Break up a broccoli or cauliflower into little bunches, blanch them, and put them on the fire in a saucepan with good gravy for a few minutes, then marinate them with lemon juice and salt, let them get cold, egg them over, and fry in butter.

No. 161. Cauliflower alia Parmigiana

Ingredients: Cauliflower, butter, Parmesan, Cheddar, Espagnole, stock.

Boil a cauliflower in salted water, then sautez it in butter, but be careful not to cook it too much. Take it off the fire and strew grated Parmesan and Cheddar over it, then put in a fire-proof dish and add a good spoonful of stock and one of Espagnole (No. 1), and put it in the oven for ten minutes.

No. 162. Cavoli Fiori Ripieni

Ingredients: Cauliflower, butter, stock, forcemeat of fowl, tongue, truffles, mushrooms, parsley, Espagnole, eggs.

Break up a cauliflower into separate little bunches, blanch them, and put them in butter, and a quarter pint of reduced stock. Make a forcemeat of fowl, add bits of tongue, truffles, mushrooms, and parsley, all cut up small and mixed with butter. With this mask the pieces of cauliflower, egg and breadcrumb them, fry like croquettes, and serve with a good Espagnole sauce (No. 1).

No. 163. Sedani alia Parmigiana (Celery)

Ingredients: Celery, stock, ham, salt, pepper, Parmesan.

Cut all the green off a head of celery, trim the rest. Cut it into pieces about four inches long, blanch and braize them in good stock, ham, salt, and pepper. When cooked, drain and arrange them on a dish, sprinkle with grated Parmesan and Cheddar, and add one and a half ounce of butter, then put them in the oven till they have taken a good colour, pour a little good gravy over them and serve.

No. 164. Sedani fritti all’ italiana (Celery)

Ingredients: Same as No. 163, eggs, bread crumbs, tomatoes.

Prepare a head of celery as above, and cut it up into equal pieces. Blanch and braize as above, and when cold egg and breadcrumb and sautez in butter. Serve with tomato sauce.

No. 165. Cetriuoli alia Parmigiana (Cucumber)

Ingredients: Cucumber, butter, cheese, gravy, salt, cayenne.

Cut a cucumber into slices about half an inch thick, boil for five minutes in salted water, drain in a sieve, and fry slightly in melted butter, then strew a little grated Parmesan over it, and add a good thick gravy, put it into the oven for ten minutes to brown, and serve as hot as possible.

No. 166. Cetriuoli alia Borghese (Cucumber)

Ingredients: Cucumber, cream, salt, Bechamel sauce, butter, Parmesan, cayenne pepper.

Cook a cucumber as in No. 165, braize it for five minutes, add to it a good rich Bechamel (No. 3), mixed with cream and grated Parmesan. Spread this well over the cucumber, and put it into the oven for ten minutes, keeping the rounds of cucumber separate, so as to arrange them in a circle on a very hot dish. Care should be taken not to cook the cucumber too long, or it will break in pieces, and spoil the look of the dish.

No. 167. Carote al sughillo (Carrots)

Ingredients: Carrots, stock, salt, butter, sausage, pepper.

Boil some young carrots in stock, slice them up, and put them in a stewpan with a sausage cut up; cook for quarter of an hour on a slow fire, then stir up the fire, and when the carrots and sausage are a good colour add a good Espagnole sauce (No. 1), and serve.

No. 168. Carote e piselli alia panna (Carrots and Peas)

Ingredients: Young carrots, peas, cream, salt.

Half cook equal quantities of peas and young carrots (the carrots should be cut in dice, and will require a little longer cooking), then put them together in a stewpan with three or four tablespoonsful of cream, and cook till quite tender. Serve hot.

No. 169. Verze alia Certosina (Cabbage)

Ingredients: Cabbage, butter, salt, leeks or shallots, sardines, cheese.

Any vegetable may be cooked in the following simple manner:—Boil them well, then slightly fry a little bit of leek or shallot and a sardine in butter; drain the vegetables, put them in the butter, and cook gently so that they may absorb all the flavour, and at the last add a dust of grated cheese and a tiny pinch of spice.

No. 170. Lattughe al sugo (Lettuce)

Ingredients: Lettuce, Parmesan, bacon, stock, butter, croutons of bread, gravy.

Take off the outside leaves of a lettuce, blanch and drain them well. Put on each leaf a mixture of grated Parmesan, salt, little bits of chopped bacon or ham, add a little good stock, cover over with buttered paper, and cook in a hot oven for five minutes. Then drain off the stock and rollup each leaf with the bacon, &c., put them on croutons of fried bread and pour some good thick gravy over them.

No. 171. Lattughe farcite alia Genovese (Lettuce)

Ingredients: Lettuce, forcemeat of fowl or veal, ham, Espagnole sauce.

Prepare a lettuce as above, and spread on each leaf a spoonful of forcemeat of fowl or veal, add a little cooked ham chopped up, roll up the leaves, and cook as above. Drain them on a cloth, arrange them neatly on a dish, and pour some good Espagnole sauce (No. 1) over them.

No. 172. Funghi cappelle infarcite (Stuffed Mushrooms)

Ingredients: Mushrooms, bread, stock, garlic, parsley, salt, Parmesan, butter, eggs, cream.

Choose a dozen good fresh mushrooms, take off the stalks and put the tops into a saucepan with a little butter. See that they lie bottom upwards. Then cut up and mix together half the stalks of the mushrooms, a little bread crumb soaked in gravy, the merest scrap of garlic and a little chopped parsley. Put this into a separate saucepan and add to it two eggs, half a gill of cream, salt, and two tablespoonsful of grated Parmesan. Mix well so as to get a smooth paste and fill in the cavities of the mushrooms with it. Then add a little more butter, strew some bread crumbs over each mushroom, and cook in the oven for ten to fifteen minutes.

No. 173. Verdure miste (Macddoine of Vegetables)

Ingredients: Cauliflower, carrots, celery, spinach, butter, cream, pepper, Parmesan.

Boil some carrots, cauliflower, spinach, and celery (all cut up) in water. Then put them in layers in a buttered china mould, and between each layer add a little cream, pepper, and a little grated Parmesan and Cheddar. Fill the mould in this manner, and put it in the oven for half an hour, so that the vegetables may cook without adhering to the mould. Turn out and serve.

No. 174. Patate alia crema (Potatoes in cream)

Ingredients: Potatoes, butter, Parmesan, white stock, cream, pepper, salt.

Boil two pounds of potatoes in salted water for a quarter of an hour, peel and cut them into slices about the size of a penny, then arrange them in layers in a very deep fireproof dish (with a lid), and on each layer pour a little melted butter, a little good white stock and a dust of grated Parmesan. Reduce a pint and a half of cream to half its quantity, add a little pepper, and pour it over the potatoes. Put the dish in the oven for twenty minutes. Serve as hot as possible.

No. 175. Cestelline di patate alia giardiniera (Potatoes)

Ingredients: Potatoes, white stock, salt, butter, peas, asparagus, sprouts, beans, &c.

Choose some big sound potatoes, cut them in half and scoop out a little of the centre so as to form a cavity, blanch them in salted water and cook for a quarter of an hour in good white stock and a little butter. Then fill in the cavities with a macedoine of cooked vegetables and add a little cream to each.

No. 176. Patate al Pomidoro (Potatoes with Tomato Sauce)

Ingredients: Potatoes, butter, salt, tomatoes, lemon, stock.

Peel three or four raw potatoes, cut them in slices about the size of a five-shilling piece, then put them into a stewpan with two ounces of melted butter, and cook them gently until they are a good colour, add salt, drain off the butter, then glaze them by adding half a glass of good stock. Arrange them on a dish, pour some good tomato sauce over them, and add a little butter and a squeeze of lemon juice.

No. 177. Spinaci alia Milanese (Spinach)

Ingredients: Spinach, butter, Velute sauce, salt, pepper, flour, stock.

Wash three pounds of spinach at least six times, boil it in a pint of water, then mince it up very fine, pass it through a hair-sieve, and put it in a saucepan with one and a half ounces of butter, add a cupful of reduced Velute sauce (No. 2) with cream, salt, and pepper, add a dessert-spoonful of flour and butter mixed, and boil until the spinach is firm enough to make into a shape, garnish with hard-boiled eggs cut into quarters, and pour a good Espagnole sauce (No. 1) round the dish.

No. 178. Insalata di patate (Potato salad)

Ingredients: New potatoes, oil, white vinegar, onions, parsley, tarragon, chervil, celery, cream, salt, pepper, tarragon vinegar, watercress, cucumber, truffles.

Steam as many new potatoes as you require until they are well cooked, let them get cold, cut them into slices and pour three teaspoonsful of salad oil and one of white vinegar over them. Then rub a salad bowl with onion, put in a layer of the potato slices, and sprinkle with chopped parsley, tarragon, chervil, and celery, then another layer of potatoes until you have used all the potatoes; cover them with whipped cream seasoned with salt, pepper, and a little tarragon vinegar, and garnish the top with watercress, a few thin slices of truffle cooked in white wine, and some slices of cooked cucumber.

No. 179. Insalata alia Navarino (Salad)

Ingredients: Peas, beans, onions, potatoes, tarragon, chives, parsley, tomatoes, anchovies, oil, vinegar, ham.

Mix a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, a teaspoonful of chopped onion, a teaspoonful of tarragon and chopped chives with half a gill of oil and half a gill of vinegar. Put this into a salad bowl with all sorts of cooked vegetables—peas, haricot beans, small onions, and potatoes cut

up, and mix them well but gently, so as not to break the vegetables. Then add two or three anchovies in oil, and on the top place three or four ripe tomatoes cut in slices. A little cooked smoked ham cut in dice added to this salad is a great improvement.

No. 180. Insalata di pomidoro (Tomato Salad)

Ingredients: Tomatoes, mayonnaise, shallot, horseradish, gherkin, anchovies, fish, cucumber, lettuce, chervil, tarragon, eggs.

Mix the following ingredients: two anchovies in oil boned and minced, a gill of mayonnaise sauce, a little grated horse-radish, very little chopped shallot, a little cold salmon or trout, and a small gherkin chopped. With this mixture stuff some ripe tomatoes. Then make a good salad of endive or lettuce, a teaspoonful of chopped tarragon and chervil, season it with oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper (the proportions should be three of oil to one of vine-gar), put a layer of slices of cucumber in the salad, place the tomatoes on the top of these, and decorate them with hard-boiled eggs passed through a wire sieve.

No. 181. Tartufi alia Dino (Truffles)

Ingredients: Truffles, fowl forcemeat, champagne.

Allow one truffle for each person, scoop out the inside, chop it up fine and mix with a good forcemeat of fowl. With this fill up the truffles, place a thin layer of truffle on the top of each, and cook them in champagne in a stewpan for about half an hour. Then take them out, make a rich sauce, to which add the champagne you have used and some of the chopped truffle, put the truffles in this sauce and keep hot for ten minutes. Serve in paper souffle cases.

Waters, W.G. The Cook's Decameron: A Study in Taste, Containing Over Two Hundred Recipes for Italian Dishes. W. Heinemann, 1901.

W. G. Waters

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