Polenta
Onion
Butter
Salt
Stock
Parmesan

"Make a somewhat firm polenta with half a pound of ground maize and a pint and a half of salted water, add a small onion cut up and fried in butter, and stir the polenta until it is sufficiently cooked. Then take it off the fire and arrange it by spoonsful in a large fire-proof dish, and give each spoonful the shape and size of an egg. Place them one against the other, and when the first layer is done, pour over it some very good gravy or stock, and plenty of grated Parmesan. Arrange it layer by layer. Put it into the oven for twenty minutes and serve very hot."

This recipe (#189) was taken from "The Cook's Decameron: a Study in Taste, containing over two hundred recipes for Italian dishes," by Mrs. W.G. Waters. It was published by William Heineman in 1920. For the entire copyright-free cookbook see www.archive.org. A variety of recipes from this cookbook can be found on this website.... Photo: Mary Melfi.

Back to main list