Take seven ounces of curds (squeeze them through a cloth to extract all the water), one and a half ounce of Parmesan cheese, one egg, and one yolk of an egg, a little grated nutmeg and some allspice, a pinch of salt, and a little chopped-up parsley. Mix well together and put a spoonful on to little rounds of paste (about two and a half inches in diameter). Fold the paste over the curds, as you would a turnover, and put them into boiling salted water. Take them out with a strainer, season with butter and Parmesan cheese and serve hot. The quantities given ought to make about twenty-four tortelli.
Macedoine of Vegetables.
Cut one carrot and one turnip into small dice, balls, or any fancy shapes; take a quarter of a pint of green peas, a quarter of a pint of young flageolet beans, a quarter of a pint of French beans cut into slices half an inch long, and some small pieces of cauliflower. Boil each vegetable separate, and drain them well before mixing them together lightly with a sauce ‘Alla Panna’ or ‘Alla Béchamel’ (see Sauces, pp. [119], [125]), or a seasoning of melted butter, pepper, and salt.
Mushrooms (Pratajuoli[4]) ‘al Burro.’
[4] Agaricus campestris. The mushroom usually cultivated in England.
Take large mushrooms, clean them carefully, break off the stalks and peel the tops, put them on a gridiron, season with a little pepper and salt, turn them, and when done serve up on a very hot dish; put a good piece of fresh butter on to each, and a squeeze of lemon. Place them in a hot oven for a minute, or even in front of a hot fire, and serve on buttered toast.
Mushrooms (Porcini[5]) ‘alla Casalinga’
[5] Boletus edulis.
Peel two pounds of fine mushrooms and put them into fresh water. Melt four ounces of butter in a sauce-pan with two or three spoonfuls of pure olive oil, one or two leaves of mint, an anchovy finely chopped up, and a little pounded parsley. Stir well together, put the mushrooms into the sauce-pan, having first dried them well, and sprinkled them with salt, then cook slowly. Serve up on slices of bread fried in butter, and squeeze the juice of half a lemon over them.