1 cake-shaped bread loaf
cold stock

stuffing
1 pound and a half beef
1/2 pound kidney
1 chopped fried onion
4 ounces butter
1 1/2 pints stock
3 ounces conserve of tomatoes
pinch of spice
pepper and salt to taste
4 hard boiled eggs, cut up

topping
beaten egg
grated cheese

Take a cake-shaped loaf, cut off a small piece of the top crust, scoop out the crumb, scrape the crust lightly with a knife, dip the loaf in cold stock, have ready the following mixture, one pound and a half beef, and half pound kidney cut into very small square pieces.

Put in pan with one chopped fried onion, fry in four ounces butter for 15 minutes, turning the pieces, add one pint and a half stock, in which dissolve three ounces conserve of tomatoes, pinch of spice, pepper and sat to taste, stew over slow fire for one hour and a quarter, fill the loaf, mixing in four cut up hard boiled eggs, pour in quarter pint of the liquor, replace the top of the loaf previously soaked in stock, brush over with egg, cover thickly with grated cheese, bake in slow oven for about 30 minutes.

A good and economical dish.

The recipe in this entry was first published in "Recipes of Italian Cookery" translated and arranged by Maria Gironci (London: Gaskill & Webb, 1900). This recipe is one of the strangest I have come across, but it is interesting. I tried it but I didn't follow it to the letter; I didn't use any kidney meat. The end result was not all that appetizing, but it was an unconventional way of making a "meat loaf." I suspect that this recipe could easily be updated, and in the hands of a chef turned into something really tasty. If one didn't use the stock to moisten the bread, the dish would end up being less mushy (It definitely is mushy!); on the other hand one can risk burning the bread if one doesn't use it, so what is the answer? I don't know the answer, all I do know is that it can be improved. Photo and comments: Mary Melfi.

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