© 2018 Mandragora
All rights reserved
First edition 2001
Mandragora s.r.l. via Capo di Mondo 61 50136 Florence www.mandragora.it
isbn 978-88-7461-258-1
Editor Maria Cecilia Del Freo
English translation
Eve Leckey
Art director
Paola Vannucchi, Matteo Bertelli
Photographs
Lorenzo Mennonna
Printed in Italy by Grafiche Martinelli, Bagno a Ripoli
Bound by Legatoria Firenze, Florence
Sandra Rosi
What could there be of interest in a new edition of The Art of Cookery? What more could there be to add to the clarity, rigor and completeness with which, in its time, recipes and suggestions were collected in what has now become a classic of the Italian gastronomic culture and publications on cuisine? On first glance, it would seem little or nothing. However, as Sandra Rosi has done so vivaciously in the book you have in hand, any aspect that could make it contemporary and very current could certainly be enhanced to make it a competitive book that triumphs over the dozens of major and minor works that have crowded and continue to crowd the bookshelves over the last few years. It would not be rash to think that many of these editions have benefited greatly by riding the wake of certain television shows and some of cuisine’s better-known celebrities. The Art of Cookery’s success has more to do with composure than the glare of television studio lights; and it is with this fundamental seriousness that Sandra began to repropose the recipes of the Florentine culinary tradition, enhancing their simplicity, capturing their modern aspects, veering some of them towards an accuracy in the procedures to ensure that those who try the recipes – and then those who are lucky enough to taste them – will discover the presence and taste of each individual ingredient. All organized within the time frames of today’s schedules. We should not be scandalized if the procedures cemented in the historical memory of domestic walls are made faster through the use of appliances now routinely used in the kitchen. So bring on the pressure cookers, mixers, blenders and immersion robots and other electric and electronic gadgets if they can help to free up a bit of time and a bit of happy effort in favor of imagination and creativity. In Sandra’s meticulous work, each of the dishes has been put to rigorous tests in the successful attempt to select, skim off, and clarify the abuses and misrepresentions of the terms commonly used in the kitchen. The result, philologically correct, without having betrayed the work’s original inspiration and without having modified its organization and spirit, is available to readers and experimenters. Because after all, cooking with passion is a game that continually puts us to the test, with results that only our guests can judge.
Leonardo Romanelli
The quantities given in the recipes are for a convivial gathering of six people and each includes instructions, equipment and timing as well as some interesting traditions and customs.
When not otherwise indicated in the text, the oil is extra virgin olive oil, the sugar granulated, the salt fine, the flour type 00, the mozzarella fiordilatte, the milk fresh, the onion purple, the vinegar wine, the citrus fruits untreated and the pine nuts and walnuts are peeled.
Preparation time: 30 minutes. Cooking time: 30 minutes.
1.5 kg of medium-sized squid
500 g tomatoes
1.2 kg Swiss chard
3 cloves garlic
5 tbsp oil salt
Clean, wash and cook the chard. Clean the squid, removing the contents of the sac, or buy them ready-prepared. Chop the sac into rings about one centimetre thick. Put in a pan or casserole with the oil and garlic and leave to absorb the flavours. Squeeze the liquid out of the the vegetables and chop. Add to the squid and heat through with the peeled and diced tomatoes and a pinch of salt. Cook over a medium heat for 20 minutes. Remove the garlic cloves and serve the squid hot on a warmed serving dish.
Alternatively, the whole dish could be cooked in an earthenware casserole and brought straight to the table.
This is one of the most characteristic Florentine fish dishes, but Artusi, who was from Romagna, clearly was not enthusiastic about it, grumbling that, “The Florentines in particular, are so keen on green vegetables that they put them in absolutely everything. Consequently they add chards to this dish, which is about as suitable as soup at Holy Mass”.
Preparation time: 20 minutes. Refrigeration time: 1 hour.
500 g mascarpone
4 eggs
1 espresso coffee
300 g savoy biscuits or ladyfingers
150 g sugar
2 tbsp whisky cocoa powder
Beat the egg yolks and sugar together until thick and frothy; add the mascarpone and blend carefully. Whisk the egg whites until firm and fold through, mixing well. Dip the savoy biscuits into the coffee and whisky and line a rectangular serving dish with a single layer. Spread a good helping of the mascarpone cream on top and sprinkle with cocoa powder. Repeat the layers until all the cream is used up. Put in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.
You can adapt this recipe to make a speedy and delicious dessert in individual goblets. Make the mascarpone cream, crumble three amaretti biscuits into each goblet and top with a helping of the cream.
This is not an originally Florentine recipe, but it has become one of the most popular desserts throughout Italy, especially in winter time. It is best made the day before and left in the fridge overnight to let the flavours mingle well.