One pound of veal or more, bone included
A piece of butter or some olive oil
Half a medium sized onion
One small carrot
Two celery stalks, cut in small pieces
Salt and pepper
Flour and some tomato paste
Dried mushrooms

"The stock from this dish may very well be used to season macaroni or boiled rice. Care must be taken, however, not to draw away all the juice of the meat in order to have a sauce too rich at the expense of the principal dish. Place in a saucepan one pound of veal or more, bone included, a piece of butter or some olive oil (or the two together) half a medium sized onion, one small carrot, two celery stalks cut in small pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Put it on a low fire, turn the meat over often and when

browned add a pinch of flour and some tomato paste, bringing it to full cooking with water poured little by little. The flour is used to keep the sauce together and give it color, but care must be taken not to burn it, because in that case the sauce would have an unpleasant taste and a black, instead of a reddish color. The addition of dried mushrooms, previously softened in the water and

slightly boiled in the sauce will add greatly to its

taste. As has been said the sauce can well be used to season spaghetti or risotto. The stewed veal can be served with some vegetable."

This recipe was taken from "The Italian Cook Book: the Art of Eating Well, Practical Recipes of the Italian Cuisine" by Mrs. Maria Gentile. It was published in the U.S. in 1919. For the entire copyright-free cookbook see www.archive.org. A variety of recipes from this cookbook can also be found on this website.... Photo: Mary Melfi.

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