HOME COOKING

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29901, 15 August 1962, Page 3

HOME COOKING

RECIPES and KITCHENCRAFT

Macaroni And Spaghetti The Italian Way (Specially written for "The Press" by ALAN TREMAIN. member of the Cookery and Food Association of the Hotel and Catering Institute.) in 1760 a group of foppish and insolent young men mad< a thorough nuisance of themselves in London, gambling, drink ing, and duelling. They became notorious as the “Curse ol N auxhall Gardens.” However, these men have some claim or our gratitude. They had just returned from Italy, and hac formed a club for the express purpose of introducing an Italiar dish to London. It was called the Macaroni Club.

■ How long macaroni bad . been in Italy before London • had it so unpleasantly • brought to its notice is un- ■ certain; but pasta, in some . form, was served in Italy • during the fourteenth century. ’ Marco Polo died in 1324. and there is some evidence to • support the story that .it was • he who brought it to Italy ‘ from China, where it had . been eaten for some 2500 • years. But today we dis- ' regard this and do not hesi- ’ tate to call macaroni an . Italian dish. At least the real • art of its preparation is vir- • tually an Italian monopoly. • At this point I should ex- • plain the term, ‘ pates.’’ This ’ is an abbreviation of “pates . allmentaires comestibles • pastes," or Italian pastes. ’ Pates are made and| ■ stamped out in hundreds of • varied shapes—shells, stars, j pipes, and letters of the . alphabet. The best-known • pates are gnocchi, nouilles, ' macaroni, ravioli, spaghetti. ' and vermicelli. I The Favoured Wheat Geography favours the , Italians. Their climate is best ■ suited to the hard, semi- • translucent wheat from which the pasta is made. It is much richer in gluten than the softer wheat of northern • regions, and, once made into I pastes and cooked, lasts • almost indefinitely. • Their method of manufac- . ture is on the principle of • the toothpas’.e tube; the soft • paste is pushed out through I apertures at the end of a • heated cylinder and left to ■ dry in a warm place. The ’ characteristics of a first-class . macaroni or spaghetti, etc.. • are: a creamy, pale amber • colour, smooth appearance; it ’ should break with a clean . snap, leaving fresh, glossy • ends. I Plenty of salted water is • needed to cook macaroni. • The water should be fast ‘ boiling before it is put in. . Most varieties need about • seven minutes to cook, the • thicker types of spaghetti. ’ etc., about 15 to 20 minutes. . Always drain the macaroni • thoroughly and rinse in cold “ water, where the recipe , allows it. flint on Fruit Cakes.— lf • you use hot instead of cold I water when mixing a fruit ■ cake the mixture will rise quickly and the fruit will not sink. Hot water also prevents a fruit cake from becoming heavy.

The use of pasta in English cookery is becoming so widely popular that the housewife is demanding more recipes and information on how to cook it In England, believe it or not there is a Macaroni Advisory Bureau From my own experience as a chef in New Zealand, I believe the ingredients used for flavouring, and the exciting sauces, should be folded through the macaroni. This is certainly more acceptable to the New Zealand palate than a sauce that lies on top. Useful Recipes Here are a few ways to do justice to the agreeable character of pastes. The recipes are for macaroni, but can be used for all local varieties of spaghetti. NEAPOLITAN MACARONI Ingredients: 4oz mushrooms 4oz chopped liver 1 small onion Boz grated cheese 2 teaspoons salt 12oz cooked macaroni (retain 1 pint of the liquor) 2 tomatoes Method: Fry the liver, onion, and mushroom in 2oz butter for five minutes; add chopped tomatoes and a pint of macaroni water, salt to taste, and simmer for half an hour. This makes the gravy. Place the macaroni in a greased dish and mix in the cheese; add a pinch of oreganum; pour over this the gravy, and bake in a hot oven for 20 minutes. MACARONI CREOLE Ingredients: 6oz macaroni 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 large chopped onion 1 small tin tomato puree 1 heaped teaspoon Worcester sauce 1 dessertspoon brown sugar to pint of the cooking liquor Salt and pepper to taste Method: Cook the macaroni in fast boiling water; drain,? reserving half a pint of the liquor; rinse the macaroni in cold water and drain well; heat the oil in a pan and sweat off the chopped onion for five minutes; add the Worcester sauce, tomato puree, and sugar, and mix well; then add the macaroni water; season to taste, cover, and simmer gently for 20 minutes; add macaroni, bring to the boil, and serve.

MACARONI OR SPAGHETTI BOLOGNAISE Ingredients: 12oz cooked macaroni or spaghetti 1 onion 1 clove of garlic 3 tablespoons of oil 1 14oz can of tomatoes A little tomato puree 1 bay leaf Salt and pepper 1 wine glass of Madeira Method: Heat oil in saucepan. add chopped onion and garlic, sweat for a few minutes; then the rest of the ingredients; simmer for 35 minutes until meat is cooked. To serve: Toss the poached macaroni or spaghetti in foaming butter; sprinkle 2oz grated cheese, add the sauce, heat, and serve. And now I would like to answer a letter that was sent to me asking for a simple list of appropriate wines to serve with courses. This jingle might help: Drink sherry with your soup And Chablis with your fish. Take claret if the entree’s red. What more could palate wish? Or if the entree should be white, Then Chablis once again. With poultry you have sparkling hock Or possibly champagne. With game and meat comes Burgundy. And you’ll feel fine and dandy When port you've taken with your sweets, And with your coffee, brandy.

Higher Sponges.— lf your sponges do not rise as high as you wish, line the sides of the sandwich tin with greased paper, leaving it higher than the sides of the tin. The sponge mixture should rise as high as the paper.

Caramel Date Roll A quick pudding ufor the family seems to be the most sought after recipe of all. Although our imaginations seem equal to the task of bringing variety into the first part of the meal, sweets do seem to become wearisome with repetition. Here is a quick and easy sweet to be made when there seems to be nothing in the cupboard to make a -pudding from, for we usually do have scone ingredients and dates. It is sent in to us by a mother of three small boys who says it is their “most popular favourite.” Ingredients: 2oz butter 4oz brown sugar 1 cup water ciipS flour 1 heaped teaspoon baking • powder Pinch salt loz butter Milk 1 cup dates Method: In an ovenware dish, place 2oz butter, 4oz brown sugar and a cup of water and set into the oven to molt and heat. Into a bowl sift 1J cups of flour with a large heaped teaspoon of baking powder and good pinch of salt. Rub in one ounce of butter and mix to scone consistency with milk. * Turn onto a flouned board and roll lightly into a large rectangle. Cover with the cut up dates then roll up into a neat roll. Place into the hot caramel mixture in the dish and spoon some of the liquid over fee roll. 1 Bake in a moderate oven 375 degrees, for 45 minutes.

Confetti Jelly If you are planning a children's party for the August school holidays, start the catering problem by making up three packets of different coloured jelly crystals—red. yellow and green—a few days ahead and store in the refrigerator. Giving them a gay. confetti touch will only take minutes before the guests arrive. Ingredients: 1 packet raspberry jelly 1 packet lemon jelly 1 packet lime jelly % pint whipped cream Method: Make up the three jellies separately. Pour threequarters of the contents of each bowl into separate jelly moulds. Pour the remaining quarter of each into flat tins. Store in a refrigerator till needed. When ready to serve, unmould the jellies on to separate dishes. Finely chop the jellies from the flat tins and mix lightly together till they look like confetti. Reserve a little of this and mix with whipped cream for topping. Arrange the rest of the “confetti” round the moulds and cap them with the jelly and cream mixture shortly before serving.