Detailed Contents: Note-Cooking Pasta-Butter Sauce for Pasta-Milanaise Sauce-Romana Sauce-Cannelloni a la Toscana-Noodles with Aour Cream-Spaghetti Carbonara-Pennine with Ricotta-Macaroni and Chese-Spageti, Home Style-Spagetti and Meat Balls-Spagetti a la Caruso-Macaroni with Lobster and Shrimp Sauce-Macaroni shrimp Bake-Pennine a la Rustica-Rigatoni with Pork Chops-Spageti Marinara-Macaroni with Beef and Green Peppers-Pennine with Chicken Cacciatore sauce-Chicken and Noodles-Macaroni Amatriciana (an old Roman Recipe)-Basic Lasagna, My Way, with a touch of class-Lasagna Timballo-lasagna Verdi, Lenten Style-Fetticine with Ragout Bolognese-Linguine with Red Clam Sauce-Spaghetti with Tuna Fish Sauce-Spagetti Tetrazzini-Ravioli Pastitsio.
Note: Recipes of European origin, especially those for Italian food, will often call for veal or ground veal. Because of the number of bull calves born into the dairy industry, in Canada, one would think there would be much veal available. Such is not the case, however, as most of the veal is exported; or the calves are used for other purposes; with the result that veal is often totally unavailable in Canadian supermarkets.
In any case, our veal is not the same as the traditional milk fed, blue, (or often from unborn calves); European veal; and the substitution of suitable quality lean beef will make no noticeable difference to any of these recipes.
Mention Italian food and many of us immediately start thinking about, meatballs, pasta, or spaghetti, spaghetti sauces and of course pizza.
Readers of this book now know that none of these are truly Italian foods. Pasta was adopted from China.
Few, if any, of the pasta sauces; so popular in North America; are, or were, ever used in Italy. Surprisingly, since the tomato originated in South America, or not too, in view of some fairly recent archaeological discoveries; proving that the tomato was known in China a thousand years ago, many of these sauces are actually of Chinese origin.
The foundation for Pizza, now more American than anything else, may actually have been laid by Neanderthal man, the Phoenicians, the Greeks, or any other of the ancient peoples who learned to mix flour and water together to make a form of bread or hardtack.
But this is a Canadian cook book and we Canadians have always considered them as so being; and as I am also Canadian, hence for the purposes of this chapter, I do not believe I will be judged too harshly for treating them as being Italian. Below are some of the more popular macaroni or pasta styles- many a connoisseur claims that each has a distinctive taste all its own.
Pasta may be served in any or every course of a meal. Six men can eat one pound or three pounds.
Cooking Pasta
Packaged pasta usually comes with directions for cooking. As a rule, however, allow 3 to 4 quarts water and 4 teaspoons salt for each pound of pasta. Bring the water to a boil in a large kettle, add the salt, and add the pasta gradually so that the water maintains a brisk boil. Cook the pasta according to taste, 8-10 minutes for al dente, until it is firm to the teeth, or 10-15 minutes for more tender pasta. If the shapes are large, cook only a few at a time, to prevent them from sticking together. Drain the pasta in a colander, pouring boiling water over them to and add a little butter or margarine to keep the shapes separated. A little vegetable oil added to the water in which the pasta is boiled serves the same purpose.
Butter Sauce for Pasta
Mince a generous handful of fresh parsley picked from the stems. Add the parsley and ½ pound butter to 1 pound of any cooked pasta. Toss the pasta until the butter is completely melted, add grated Parmesan cheese to taste, and toss the pasta until the cheese is thoroughly mixed with the pasta
Melanise Sauce
Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet and sauté 1/4cup thinly sliced mushrooms and ¼ pound smoked ham, diced, for a few minutes. Pour the mixture over 1 pound cooked pasta and add 1 cup each of shredded Swiss cheese and hot tomato purée. Toss the pasta well and add salt and pepper to taste.
Romana Sauce
In a saucepan over low heat combine 1 pound cooked minced diced parsley, 1 Tbsp. minced fresh basil or 1 Tbsp. dried sweet basil, and 2 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced. Stir in grated Romano grated cheese and black pepper to taste. See also Tomato Sauces
Cannelloni a la Toscana
Sift 1 1/3 cups flour and a pinch of salt onto a pastry board, make a well in the center, and in it put 1 egg and 1 egg yolk, both well beaten. Using the fingers, mix the paste gradually until it is well blended. If all the flour is not incorporated, add a few drops of water; if the paste is too soft, add more flour. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic. Roll out the dough 1/16 inch thick, cut it into 3 ½ inch squares, and let the squares dry for 1 hour. Cook the squares in boiling salted water for 8 minutes, or until they are almost tender and drain them on damp towels.
Fill the cannelloni with this filling: Sauté 6 chicken livers with 1 onion and 1 garlic clove, all minced, in 3 Tbsps. Butter for about 5 minutes, or until the chicken livers are lightly browned. Put the mixture through the finest blade of a food grinder with 1 ½ cups diced cooked veal or chicken and season with ¼ tsp. thyme and salt and pepper to taste. Bind the mixture with 2 eggs. Put a little of the filling on each square and roll them to form tubes. Arrange the cannelloni, side by side, in a large shallow baking dish. Cover them with 1 ½ cups tomato sauce and sprinkle generously with grated Parmesan cheese. Bake in a moderately hot oven (350 F.) for 15 minutes, or until they are heated through.
Noodles with Sour Cream: Also a very popular dish with Russian and Ukrainian families.
Ingredients:
1-12 ozs. pkg. noodles
1cup dairy sour cream
2 Tbsps. soft butter or margarine
¼ cup diced fresh chive
¼ cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
Dash pepper
Dash paprika
Preparation:
Prepare noodles in a large amount of boiling salted water. Drain well and return to saucepan. Blend together remaining ingredients. Add to noodle
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