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Boiled Macaroni a l'Italienne
Macaroni being a national article of food, the mode of cooking it is best understood in Italy. A better acquaintance with the Italian mode will, we hope, enable English cooks to convert a dish of macaroni into a wholesome and delicious preparation, such as is met with on the Continent. Dishes of macaroni, with tomatoes, truffles, game, or fish, are all good, and there is a great variety to be found. But one rule should be observed in the boiling of the macaroni. The following recipe, if properly attended to, will insure success: Put 5 or 6 ounces of the best Italian macaroni into plenty of boiling water, not less than 3 pints, 1 saltspoonful of salt, and 1 of fine pepper; simmer for twenty minutes, and drain. After this first boiling, which should be observed in the preparation of all dishes, return the macaroni to the stewpan, with 1/2 a pint of gravy or broth, according to the richness required, and simmer until the macaroni has imbibed all the liquid. Have ready grated of Parmesan and Gruyere cheese, mixed, 1/4 of a pound. Put half the quantity with the macaroni until nearly melted, then add the rest, and 1 ounce of butter. Move the contents of the pan round in one direction until the cheese has been well incorporated and dissolved in the macaroni. Turn it out on a hot dish, and serve. In this way macaroni is eaten at most of the best tables in Leghorn and Florence. Time, three-quarters of an hour. Sufficient for six or seven persons.
A Victorian English rendering of what is essentially pasta finished in broth and cheese — closer to a risotto method than to boiling and saucing. Two things need adjusting: the water quantity and the boiling time.
- The hinge: undercook the first boilingThe macaroni will absorb half a pint of broth afterwards, so it should come out of the water still firm; modern dried pasta will generally need far less than twenty minutes here — start checking around 6 to 8. Nineteenth-century macaroni was a coarser, more robustly dried product than today's extruded pasta, which may be why so long a simmer was specified.
- WaterThree pints (about 1.7 litres) for 6 ounces is close to the modern rule of a litre per 100 g, so it is adequate; a little more — 4 to 5 pints, about 2.3 to 2.8 litres — salted well gives less sticking.
- A saltspoonfulAbout a quarter teaspoon. That is very little salt for three pints of water; salt the water properly to taste, and hold the pepper back until the cheese goes in.
- "Gravy or broth"Meat stock, not thickened gravy in the modern sense. Half a pint is 10 fl oz (about 300 ml); a good chicken or beef stock, or the strained juices from a roast, is what is meant. Add it in two or three additions so the pasta drinks it steadily.
- CheeseA quarter pound is 4 ounces (about 115 g) of Parmesan and Gruyere mixed, grated fine. Take the pan off direct heat before the second half goes in — cheese added over high heat splits and turns stringy.
- "Move round in one direction"This is emulsifying, and it matters. Steady stirring with the butter and the last of the cheese brings the starch, fat and liquid together into a glossy coating rather than a puddle of oil; the insistence on one direction is traditional rather than functional.
- Timing and yieldThe stated three-quarters of an hour covers bringing the water to the boil and the whole finishing process. Six ounces of pasta for six or seven people is a small first course by modern portions — count on 2 to 3 as a main dish, or scale up threefold to serve six properly.