Ribbon Macaroni*

For meat sauce
A piece of ham fat
A piece of onion
A piece of celery
A piece of carrot
Three-quarters of a pound of meat, either lamb,
veal, beef, or fresh pork, cut it into several pieces
Salt and pepper
A pinch of allspice
Two tablespoons of red or white wine
One tablespoon of tomato paste
Fresh tomatoes

Two tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese

*In Isola's cookbook "ribbon macaroni" is seen as home-made fettuccini (For her recipe see "Pasta Fatta in Casa/Fettuccini"). This recipe was in the meat section of "Simple Italian Cookery" rather than with the pastas.

"Take a piece of ham fat, one finger high and four fingers wide, chop up fine with a piece of onion, piece of celery, piece of carrot, and put into a saucepan. Take three-quarters of a pound of meat, either lamb, veal, beef, or fresh pork, cut it into several pieces, salt and pepper it, and put a pinch of allspice, then put it into the saucepan; cook it until it is well colored, then add two tablespoons of red or white wine. When it is absorbed add one tablespoon of tomato paste, dissolved in water, or tomato sauce of fresh tomatoes (receipt Tomato Sauce No. 1). Cook over a moderate fire, one hour longer if the meat is veal or lamb, and one and one-half hours to two hours for pork or beef, adding water if necessary. This meat can be served with Ribbon Macaroni. Put the meat in the middle, the macaroni around it, and the sauce over all, adding two tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese to the macaroni after it is boiled, and mixing well before putting it on the platter. Sprinkle on a little more cheese before carrying to the table. This dish can be made equally well with left-over meats of any kind, turkey being especially good served this way."

This recipe was taken from "Simple Italian Cookery" written by Antonia Isola (pen name for Mabel Earl McGinnis). It was published in the United States by Harper and Brothers in 1912. It is believed to be the first American cookbook that contains Italian recipes. For the complete 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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