One pint of lentils
A bouquet of sweet herbs
Some ham
A little onion
Butter
Two ladlefuls of good stock
Salt and pepper

For garnish
Boiled beef or pork

"After boiling one pint of lentils with a bouquet of sweet herbs, strain them. Meanwhile mince some ham with a very little onion and put it to brown with some butter; then add one or two ladlefuls of good stock, boil, and strain. Pour this sauce over the lentils with a good piece of butter, salt and pepper to taste, heat them, and garnish boiled beef or pork with them."

This recipe was taken from "Leaves from our Tuscan Kitchen or, How to Cook Vegetables" by Ann Janet Ross. The book was published by JM Dent & Co. in 1900 (London). For the complete cookbook see www.archive.org. For a variety of recipes from this cookbook see Italy Revisited/ "XXX Cookbooks in the Public Domain".... Photo: Mary Melfi.

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