Boil one or two pounds of potatoes, cut them into slices, and put them into a sauce-pan with four ounces of fresh butter and a tumbler of cream (or milk). Cook until the potatoes are quite soft, mash them, and pass them through a cullender. Then mix six yolks, and four beaten-up whites of eggs, and two and a half ounces of white powdered sugar, with the potatoes, and put the whole into a buttered shape, well covered with bread-crumbs (and holding more than the quantity of potatoes). Cook with fire above and below for about half an hour (or in an oven). A Béchamel sauce (see Sauces, p. [119]) can be served with the Flan.
Flan of Vegetables.
Wash, strain, boil, and cut up fine about two pounds of different vegetables, potatoes, spinach, cardoons, etc., and sweet herbs. Boil them in a sauce-pan with some good stock; when cooked, add a teacupful of cream (or milk), stir well together and leave them to cool. Then add four yolks of eggs, some grated cheese, and the white of the eggs beaten up. Put the vegetables into a buttered shape, well covered with bread-crumbs, cook with fire above and below, or in the oven.
(Flans can be made of any other vegetables, such as fennel, French beans, cauliflower, etc.)
Fritto ‘Misto.’
Cut one or two young green pumpkins in thin slices about as long as a finger and half as wide, and lay them on a plate with a little salt. Mix three ounces of butter and three tablespoonfuls of flour in a sauce-pan and boil for two minutes, add half a tumbler of cream, half a tumbler of chicken broth, and boil till it is a stiff Béchamel. Then mince three breasts of cooked chicken, two slices of tongue, and one small truffle, mix with the Béchamel and roll into small balls, then dip into egg and grated bread and put aside till wanted. Take ten or twelve pumpkin flowers, some young artichokes properly prepared and cut into quarters (if not quite young and tender they must be boiled first), some cauliflower and bits of cardoon, dip them in egg and dust them with flour. Do the same to some parboiled calves’ brains, flour the slices of pumpkin, and fry all together in pure olive oil. Use dripping or lard for frying if you have not got good oil. Season with a sprinkling of salt. Serve very hot.
Fritto of Vegetables.
Instead of chicken and calves’ brains mix minced mushrooms or truffles with the Béchamel and roll into balls. In winter, large yellow pumpkins and potatoes must be sliced.