Neapolitan Sauce
An onion
Butter
Some ham, cut up
A glass of Marsala
A bone of veal
A spring of thyme
A bay leaf
Four peppercorns
A clove
A tablespoonful of mushroom cuttings
Two cups of Espagnole sauce
One cupful of tomato sauce
Half a cup of game stock or essence

Espagnole or Brown Sauce
Good stock, with bones of fowl or game
Two ounces of butter
Slices of lean veal, ham, bacon, cuttings of beef, fowl, or game trimmings
Three peppercorns
Mushroom trimmings
A tomato
A carrot
A turnip
An onion stuck with two cloves
A bay leaf
A spring of thyme, parsley and marjoram
A tablespoonful of flour
A quarter pint of good stock

Neapolitan Sauce

"Fry an onion in butter with some bits of cut-up ham, then pour a glass of Marsala over it, and another of blond of veal, add a spring of thyme, a bay leaf, four peppercorns, a clove, a tablespoonful of mushroom cuttings, and reduce half. In another saucepan put two cups of Espagnole sauce, one cupful of tomato sauce, and half a cup of game stock or essence. Reduce a third, and add the contents of the first saucepan, boil the sauce a few minutes, and pass it through a sieve. Warm it up in a bain-marie before using.



Espagnole or Brown Sauce

"The chief ingredient of this useful sauce is good stock, to which add any remnants and bones of fowl or game. butter the bottom of a stewpan with at least two ounces of butter, and in it put slices of lean veal, ham, bacon, cuttings of beef, fowl, or game trimmings, three peppercorns, mushroom trimmings, a tomato, a carrot, and a turnip cut up, an onion stuck with two cloves, a bay leaf, a spring of thyme, parsley and marjoram. Put the lid on the stewpan and braize well for fifteen minutes, then stir in a tablespoonful of flour, and pour in a quarter pint of good boiling stock and boil very gently for fifteen minutes, then strain through a tamis, skim off all the grease, pour the sauce into an earthenwaren vessel, and let it get cold. If it is not rich enough, add a little Liebig or glaze. Pass through a sieve again before using."

This recipe (#12) 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.... P.S. Of all the "Neapolitan" Sauces presented in the 6 books on www.archive.org's list, this surely is the most complicated. I suspect this sauce was cooked up by some master chef in some a five-star restaurant in some Northern region of Italy and presented as an authentic Southern Italian sauce. Or, maybe not. As Mrs. Waters gives no clue as how she collected her recipes, it's all conjuncture on my part. Photo and notes: Mary Melfi.

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