Dishes made without meat

Macaroni and Spaghetti

To Boil.—Macaroni or spaghetti should be boiled in the same way as rice, namely, thrown into boiling salted water, and should never under any circumstances be soaked or placed in cold water previously. They should be tested occasionally with a fork, and when tender a teacupful of cold water should be thrown into the pan to stop the boiling, the pan should then be lifted from the fire, the macaroni or spaghetti drained of all liquid and returned to the hot dry pan and kept hot until wanted. The time for boiling is from 20 to 30 minutes. The following dishes can be made of either preparation:—

Macaroni à la Napolitaine (Hot)

Boil 3 oz. of macaroni in the manner described above, and after it has been returned to the pan in which it was boiled, stir into it 2 oz. of Parmesan cheese finely grated and 1 oz. of butter. The cheese should be stirred in half at a time and well shaken amongst the macaroni. Season with black pepper and salt and serve at once very hot.

Macaroni à la Italienne (Hot)

Follow the preceding recipe for boiling the macaroni, and having returned it to the pan, stir into it 1 oz. of cheese finely grated, 1 oz. of butter, and then ½ pint of tomato purée (see page 18). Mix well and serve very hot piled on a dish.

Macaroni au Gratin (Hot)

Boil the macaroni by the directions given above, then mix into it 1 oz. of grated cheese and 1 oz. of butter, stir well and place the mixture neatly in a fireproof dish, sprinkle over it ½ oz. of grated cheese and the same amount of dried breadcrumbs. Melt ½ oz. of butter and pour it over the whole. Place in the oven (until a light brown colour) for 10 minutes, then serve.

Macaroni Cheese (Hot)

Butter a fireproof dish and in it place 3 oz. of macaroni previously boiled, dust it with pepper and salt. Make a good white sauce and add to it 2 oz. of grated cheese. Pour this all over the macaroni and sprinkle the top with grated cheese and a few dried breadcrumbs. Place in the oven and cook until a golden brown and serve in the dish in which it is cooked.

Macaroni au Jus (made with Meat Stock) (Hot)

Boil 3 oz. of macaroni for 10 minutes, drain off the water and pour into the pan ½ to ¾ pint of brown stock, simmer the macaroni until tender, pour off the stock; but should the macaroni have absorbed it all, take enough to moisten the whole, thicken it in the usual way, and add browning to colour it. Place the macaroni on a hot dish—it should be kept hot in the pan while the sauce is making; pour the gravy over it and serve.

Buttered Macaroni (Hot)

Boil 2 oz. of macaroni and drain it well. Put 2 oz. of butter into a thoroughly warmed pie dish, put the macaroni on top of this, and mix it all well together with two forks, sprinkling in at the same time freshly-grated cheese and coralline pepper. When thoroughly mixed and the butter all absorbed, sprinkle it with more pepper and cheese, and serve at once.

Poached Eggs and Macaroni (Hot)

Break some macaroni up into inch pieces, rinse it well; put 2 oz. of butter into a fireproof dish, put the macaroni in, and pour enough milk over it to thoroughly cover it, stirring it now and again. When three-quarters cooked, lift it out, and put it into another dish, seasoning it well with pepper and salt, and pour over it ½ pint of good brown gravy, then put it back in the oven again and leave it till cooked. When ready lay some poached eggs on it, sprinkle liberally with Parmesan cheese, coralline pepper, and serve.

Macaroni Cutlets (Hot)

4 oz. macaroni, 4 oz. grated cheese, 1 oz. flour, ½ oz. flour, ½ pint of milk, 1 teaspoonful French mustard, breadcrumbs, 1 egg, cayenne and salt. Boil the macaroni in water until it is quite tender, then cut it into pieces of half an inch in length. Melt the butter in a stewpan, add the flour gradually, stirring until there are no lumps, add the milk and stir over the fire until the sauce thickens. Mix the macaroni, cheese, mustard, pinch of cayenne and salt to taste, with the sauce, then turn out on to a plate and leave until cold. Form into cutlets or small rolls, roll in breadcrumbs, then dip in beaten egg, and again roll in crumbs. Fry the cutlets in boiling fat until they are a golden brown colour, then serve with a garnish of fried parsley. If the mixture is formed into cutlet shape place a small piece of raw macaroni at the thin end to represent the bone.

Fish and Macaroni (Hot)

Cook the macaroni until quite tender, then cut it into small pieces; meanwhile flake ½ lb. of cooked fish, free from shin and bones, and make a good stock from the bones and trimmings of the fish. Melt 1 oz. of butter, stir into this ½ oz. of flour, strain in ½ pint of the fish stock, and bring it all to the boil; then put in the fish and macaroni, season to taste with salt and pepper, turn into a buttered fireproof dish, and bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

Macaroni with Tomatoes

Remove the stalks of the tomatoes, cut each one into four pieces, then put them into a saucepan with a little water, a bayleaf, and a sprig of basil, and season with pepper and salt to taste; now boil till thoroughly done, when you turn them out on to a hair sieve, allowing them to stand for a minute or so, in order that all the water may drain off and be thrown away; then pass the tomatoes through a sieve with a wooden spoon, heat up the pulp well with a good lump of butter, and then dress the previously-boiled macaroni with this, and plenty of grated Parmesan, or any good, strongly flavoured cheese which will grate well.

Italian Cake (Hot) (made with Suet)

Boil 2 oz. of macaroni till tender, drain well and cut into small pieces, then pound it with 2 eggs, 8 oz. of grated Parmesan cheese, 4 oz. mutton suet, and season to taste with pepper and salt; steam in a basin or mould for 70 minutes. Turn out and serve with tomato or any other savoury sauce to taste. 2 beaten yolks of egg may be substituted for the suet.

Spaghetti Pudding (Hot)

Cook 4 oz. of spaghetti as previously directed, drain it and place half of it in a pie dish, grate 2 oz. of cheese (a good cooking one should be chosen), and sprinkle some of it over the spaghetti, slice 4 or 5 small tomatoes and place them on the bed of macaroni, sprinkling them with cheese, pepper and salt, and finish with the remainder of the macaroni, placing the rest of the cheese on the top. Pour carefully over this ½ pint of milk and cover the dish with a plate or small dish, cook in a moderate oven. A fireproof dish with a fitting cover would be useful for this dish, but if not procurable a pie dish can quite well be used.

Baked Tomatoes and Macaroni (Hot)

Cut 4 or 5 tomatoes of the same size into halves and place them in a baking-tin with a small piece of butter on each and dust them with black pepper and nutmeg. Bake from 15 to 20 minutes. Have ready 6 oz. of macaroni boiled and hot, place this in a circle on a hot dish, arrange the tomatoes inside this and pour over the spaghetti a rich cheese sauce. Serve very hot.

Spaghetti à l’Indienne (Hot)

Make a curry sauce by slicing 2 small onions and frying them in butter until a light brown, add to them 2 teaspoonsful of curry powder and a tablespoonful of lemon juice or rather less of vinegar, a tablespoonful of sugar, a pinch of salt and two raw apples chopped very finely, stir in 1½ pints of water and simmer until the ingredients have become a pulp. Place ½ lb. of spaghetti in boiling water, and when partly cooked remove it, drain, and finish cooking it in the sauce. Serve very hot.