Italian Cooking

ITALIAN COOKING • Dorothy Daly SPRING BOOKS SPRING BOOKS SPRING HOUSE . SPRING PLACE . Printed in Chechoslovakia LONDON NW 5 Republished by Treasures Beyond Measure © Treasures Beyond Measure 2009 1 Contents Introduction 7 Some Useful Facts and Figures Flavourings, Trimmings «&: 10 Spices 12 Antipasti 20 Soups 29 Pasta 49 Ravioli & Gnocchi 67 Rice 74 Polenta 90 Omelettes, Egg & Cheese Dishes Fish 101 Meats Poultry 94 1 & Game 29 152 Vegetables 162 Salads 131 Sweets 134 Sauces 1 Index 93 22 [ 5 ]- Introduction thinking about Italian cooking, it's as well to give some thoughts to the good foods native to that sunny country. And before getting down to the food itself, give some con- Before — accompaniment south whether one travels by road sideration to what, in Italy, its is essential good wine. From north to or by rail, one doesn't travel far without seeing stretches of vineyards, and from the delightful Soave, produced in the vicinity of Verona, to the slightly spicy Orvieto of the Umbrian Hills, down to the delicate Lachrima Christi with which the visitor to Naples, Pompeii and Amalfi is regaled, there's no excuse in Italy for stinting the wine with which to cook or with which to eat the finished dish. Not all Italian wines travel well enough to allow them to be brought across to our own country, but a little patient exploration of the Italian wine shops of Soho will result in a fairly lengthy list of Italian wines that can be purchased here in England at a price sufficiently reasonable as to make it not an extravagance to use them when suggested in the recipe for a truly Italian dish, or to form the highly agreeable habit of taking a glass or two of 'Vino' with one's Pasta or Ossobuco. Make the acquaintance of your Italian wine merchant; talk to him about his various wines, ask him to suggest good wines for certain dishes get him talking about the different wines to be met with in different parts if he's a true Italian, his advice will of his beloved country be well worth taking, and the next time you visit his country you will order your wine by name, instead of mumbling something about 'half a bottle of that red stuff"'. And in spite of the long list of 'named' varieties, your Italian wine merchant will probably point to the wisdom of buying a carafe of the local wine, for many of these local wines, though they do not ; — travel well, are excellent when drunk in their own particular place of origin. Not only is Italy a country of wines, it is also a country of cheeses, cheeses of a staggering variety. There is no need at all in Italy to ruin an otherwise perfect dish by the addition of two [ 7 ] tablespoonfuls of grated 'mousetrap', nor is there any need in England nowadays to commit such a solecism when a fairly good range of Italian cheeses may be found in the best prov