(Arrosto morto lardellato)
Take a piece short and thick of beef or veal, quite tender and weighing about two pounds or a little more. Lard it with ham or bacon cut in little pieces. Tie with a string and put it in a stewpan with a piece of butter, one fourth of a middle-sized onion cut in two pieces, three or four ribs of celery half an inch thick and as many slices of carrot. Season with salt and pepper and when the meat begins to brown—turning it often—pour over one cup of water and complete the cooking on a low fire, leaving it to absorb great part of the gravy. See, however, that it doesn't dry up and become black. When you send to the table strain the juice that has remained and pour it on the meat, that may be surrounded with potatoes cut in pieces or kept whole if small, previously browned in butter or oil.
137
PIGEON SURPRISE
(Piccione a sorpresa)
The pigeon (or chicken) must be opened and stuffed with a cutlet of milk veal. Of course this cutlet must be of proportionate size. Beat it well to render it thinner and more tender, season with salt, pepper, a pinch of spices and little pieces of butter, roll it and put inside the pigeon sewing the opening. The liver and giblets of the pigeon can be cooked apart in brown stock or in butter, after being chopped. With the resulting gravy the cutlet can be smeared. In this way the different flavor of the two qualities of meat is better amalgamated.
138
STUFFED BEEF CUTLET
(Braciuola di manzo ripiena)
The ingredients for this dish are a slice of beef half an inch thick, weighing about one pound, half a pound or less of lean milk veal, two small slices of ham and two or three of tongue, one scant tablespoonful of grated cheese, a piece of butter, two chicken livers, one egg, a crumb of bread as large as a closed fist.