Ingredients
For cooking macaroni
Macaroni
Water
Salt
For Tomato Sauce
A good slice of ham fat, cut very fine
A piece of onion
A piece of celery
Some parsley
A small lump of butter
Two tablespoons of tomato paste dissolved in a little hot water
Alternative Tomato Sauce
One-quarter of an onion
A piece of celery
Two or three basil-leaves
A small bunch of parsley
Seven or eight tomatoes (fresh or canned), sliced
Salt and pepper
Four tablespoons of olive-oil
For garnish
Three tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
Boil the water until it makes big bubbles. Add salt, then BREAK THE MACARONI and put it in. Cover the saucepan and boil for fifteen minutes. The sauce-pan should not be too small, otherwise the macaroni will stick to the bottom.
Prepare the sauce as follows: Take a good slice of ham fat, and chop very fine with it a piece of onion, a piece of celery, and some parsley. Then put this into a frying-pan and cook until the grease is colored. (If desired, add a small lump of butter.) When well colored add two tablespoons of tomato paste dissolved in a little hot water. Boil all together for fifteen minutes. Drain the macaroni, and put it into the frying-pan with the sauce, mix well with fork and spoon over the fire, so that the macaroni will be thoroughly seasoned, then add three tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese, mix again, and serve. If no tomato paste is available make the tomato
sauce as follows: Chop up fine one-quarter of an onion, a piece of celery the length of a finger, two or three basil-leaves, and a small bunch of parsley. Slice seven or eight
tomatoes (fresh or canned), add salt and pepper, and put all on together to cook in four tablespoons of good olive-oil. Stir occasionally, and when it becomes as thick as cream, strain, and add the macaroni as before directed."
Notes
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....P.S. It is not clear in Isola's cookbook what is meant by "macaroni." Nowadays, the word generally refers to short pasta, but it seems this was not the case in the early part of the 20th century. In this recipe which appeared as the very first one in the section of Isola's cookbook that is entitled "Macaroni and Other Pastas" (page 9 of the original text)the cookbook author tells the home cook "to break the macaroni" suggesting that the word, "macaroni," refers to spaghetti or fettuccine..... Photo: Mary Melfi. |
