MACCARONI AND OTHER PASTES.
Maccaroni ‘alla Béchamel.’
Take three-quarters of a pound of blanched maccaroni (see p. [3]) and put it into a sauce-pan with three ounces of good fresh butter, tossing until the butter is thoroughly absorbed. Then add five or six tablespoonfuls of grated cheese, one spoonful of salt, a little pepper and grated nutmeg, and quarter of a pint of sauce ‘[alla Béchamel]’ (see Sauces, p. [119]). Toss well together, without stirring, and heat for five minutes. Place in a deep dish and serve up hot.
Maccaroni ‘alla Crema.’
Boil three-quarters pound of fresh maccaroni in plenty of salted water for three quarters of an hour, with an onion stuck with two cloves and half an ounce of butter. Drain it well (taking out the onion) and put it back in a sauce-pan with four ounces of butter, four ounces of grated Swiss cheese, and four of grated Parmesan cheese, a small pinch of nutmeg, and a pinch of pepper. Add half a pint of veal broth, and four or five tablespoonfuls of cream. Cook for five minutes, stirring well, and as soon as the maccaroni is ropy serve up hot.
Maccaroni ‘al Forno.’ No. 1.
Boil three-quarters of a pound of maccaroni as in above recipe. When drained, put it into a baking dish, sprinkle with bread-crumbs and grated Parmesan cheese, pour a little clarified fresh butter over it, and place it in the oven for ten minutes. When of a golden colour serve up at once.
Maccaroni ‘al Forno.’ No. 2.
Break some large maccaroni into pieces about four inches long, and stew it in consommé or veal broth until tender. Put a layer of maccaroni in a dish, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and Gruyère cheese grated fine. Repeat the layers until the dish is full, then cover the top with a thick layer of the cheese, some finely grated bread-crumbs, and small bits of fresh butter. Bake long enough to brown the top, and serve at once.
Maccaroni ‘al Forno.’ No. 3.
Break enough maccaroni into bits one and a half or two inches long to half-fill a pie-dish. Put it into salted boiling water, and boil for twelve or fifteen minutes until perfectly soft. Shake the sauce-pan often, or the maccaroni will stick to the bottom. Drain it well, then put it into the dish with butter, salt, and grated cheese. Fill the dish with milk, so as to cover the maccaroni, and bake until the milk is absorbed and the top browned. For every half-pound of maccaroni one and a half tablespoonfuls of melted butter must be used. Middle-sized maccaroni is the best for this dish.
Maccaroni ‘au Gratin.’
Take three-quarters of a pound of blanched maccaroni (see p. [3]). Make a good white sauce, mix in plenty of grated Parmesan cheese, and add salt and pepper to taste. Place the maccaroni and sauce in a dish, and bake in a moderate oven until browned.
Maccaroni ‘all’ Italiana.’
Prepare three-quarters of a pound of fresh maccaroni as in ‘alla Crema.’ Then place it in a sauce-pan with a gill of Vellutata sauce (see Sauces, p. [127]), to which add a little Marsala, and a quarter of a pound of grated Parmesan cheese. Add very little salt, some pepper and nutmeg, and cook slowly for ten minutes, tossing frequently. Serve on a hot dish with grated Parmesan cheese separately.
Maccaroni ‘al Latte.’
Parboil three-quarters pound of long maccaroni in salted water, then drain it well. Put half an ounce of flour and two ounces of butter into a sauce-pan and stir them well; when they begin to colour, pour one and a quarter to one and a half pints of milk in gradually, and boil for ten minutes. Then put in the maccaroni and one ounce of grated Gruyère cheese, stand the sauce-pan on the edge of the fire to simmer, and let the maccaroni absorb the milk. When cooked, add one and a half ounces more butter and one and a half ounces of grated Parmesan cheese, put the maccaroni into a baking dish and cover it with grated bread-crumbs. Place it in an oven and serve when browned.
Maccaroni ‘alla Napolitana.’
Boil and prepare three-quarters of a pound of maccaroni as in ‘alla Crema.’ Drain, and put it in a sauce-pan with half a pint of sauce ‘Suprema,’ half a pint of Tomato sauce (see Sauces, pp. [125], [126]), a quarter of a pound of grated Parmesan cheese, two truffles, six mushrooms, and half an ounce of tongue, all cut up into small pieces. Cook over a sharp fire for ten minutes, tossing well all the time, and serve hot.
Maccaroni ‘alla Quaresima.’
Parboil twelve ounces of maccaroni and drain it well. Put one onion, a little parsley, and six anchovies all finely chopped up, into a frying-pan with butter, and fry for six or eight minutes; add this to the maccaroni with half a tumbler of white wine, one of fish soup (or water), and a pinch of white pepper, boil over a slow fire for twenty minutes, and serve at once sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese.
Maccaroni ‘alla Semplice.’
Boil twelve ounces of maccaroni in salted boiling water, then drain well and put them on a hot dish. Pour four ounces of fresh melted butter over them and mix in gradually six ounces of grated Swiss cheese. Stir with two forks, and sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese thickly over before serving hot.
Maccaroni ‘alla Siciliana.’
Blanch (see p. [3]) and strain about three-quarters of a pound of fresh maccaroni and cut it into small pieces, then mince one pound of roast veal, four ounces of ham, slice four hard-boiled eggs, and mix with one and a half tablespoonfuls of finely chopped-up sweet herbs, add salt and pepper to taste. Butter a mould, and sprinkle it well with bread-crumbs, then line it with thin paste; put in alternate layers of maccaroni sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese, and of force-meat, until the mould is full; add half a pint of good stock, cover with paste and bake in a slow oven for about forty minutes. Serve hot.
Maccaroni ‘Timbale alla Milanese.’
Take one pound of flour, one pound of butter, a quarter of an ounce of salt, and one wineglassful of water, and work the paste well; roll it out thin and cover carefully the inside of a timbale shape. If any air bubbles remain between the paste and the shape, prick them to let out the air. Cook three-quarters of a pound of maccaroni in salted boiling water, drain, and put it into a sauce-pan with some good gravy, two ounces of butter, a little grated nutmeg, and some grated Gruyère cheese; mix well, pour into the mould, and cover with a piece of paste which fits, passing some white of egg with a brush round the join. Bake in the oven for three-quarters of an hour, turn the timbale carefully out of the shape and serve. The timbale can be enriched by adding thin slices of hare, veal, or sweetbread, truffles and small mushrooms to the maccaroni.
Maccaroni ‘Timbale alla Napolitana.’
Boil half a pound of maccaroni as in ‘alla Crema.’ Prepare a timbale shape about seven inches in diameter and butter it. Arrange long maccaroni round and round the mould inside until it is covered, and then stand it in the ice-box until wanted. Put the remaining maccaroni into a sauce-pan with two ounces of good butter, tossing well for five minutes, then add a tablespoonful of salt and a little cayenne pepper, five tablespoonfuls of grated Gruyère cheese, and a quarter of a pint of Tomato sauce (see Sauces, p. [126]), and again toss all well together. Add some thin slices of truffles and boiled tongue, toss for two minutes, and take it off the fire to cool for a quarter of an hour. Then fill the mould with the maccaroni, taking great care not to disturb the inside coil of maccaroni. Put the mould into a large sauce-pan, filled to only half the height of the mould with water, and place it in a moderate oven to cook for one hour. When done turn the timbale carefully out of the mould on to a hot dish, pour a little hot Tomato sauce round it, and serve.