A Historic Menu from 1934

It is March 14, 1934. The head of the Italian government hosts a lunch in honor of the Austrian and Hungarian Ministries who are on an official visit to Italy. The guests are invited to Palazzo Venezia in Rome.

The meal is to be catered by the Hotel Excelsior and served in the Palazzo Venezia, which was frequently used for official meetings during the Ventennio. The menu is 4 by 6 inches with a gold-trimmed border. The Italian coat of arms in embossed onto the menu in gold as well.

The formal menu is organized “by the book” and highlights typical Italian products and specialties. The menu is intentionally and exclusively written in Italian.
The meal opens classically with caviar, followed by another classic dish: a reduced stock served in a cup. The Scampi del Quarnaro are served with a traditional Salsa Aurora.
After the fish, two meat courses are served, beginning with Filetti di Bue, garnished with Spoleto Truffles and accompanied by seasonal vegetables. The next dish is a Rifreddo di Quaglie with celery, served with aged Chianti. Asparagus also appears on this menu as well, but here it is sourced from the Riviera di Ponente – an area renowned for its asparagus. Crema al Pistacchio, other sweets and fruit are served with Italian sparkling wine to finish the meal.

The menu is part of a series of about one hundred pieces. The Maitre d’Hotel Excelsior wrote the date, location and guests’ names on each menu with an ink pen. The careful annotation and conservation of these menus gives us a clear idea of the official culinary style of the period.  The graphics and design of the menus are elegant and formal, in keeping with all the official Italian government functions around those years.

This food is far simpler and more classical than the wedding menu from the previous century, which was more extravagant due to the occasion.  However, both menus are similar in terms of the structure of the meal and the ingredients: the soup, truffles, game and asparagus.

Gastronomic Library
L. CARRARA, Come mangiavamo: gli Italiani e il cibo negli anni Cinquanta, Parma, Academia Barilla, 2006, 111 pp. ill., (Biblioteca Gastronomica Academia Barilla, AC 9.26.10).
L. CERINI DI CASTEGNATE, Il menu tra storia ed arte, Catalogo della mostra in Asti, Palazzo Mazzetti, dal 26 maggio al 16 giugno 1990, Costigliole, All'insegna del Lanzello, 1990, 166 pp. ill., (Biblioteca Gastronomica Academia Barilla, AC 9.94.03).
L. CERINI DI CASTEGNATE, I menu famosi, Milano, BE-MA, 1988, 142 pp., ill., (Biblioteca Gastronomica Academia Barilla, AC 9.94.13).

The recipes

Quails in Aspic

Prepare a dozen quails, bind their legs, blanch them in boiling water, dry them well and lard with thin strips of lard and truffle.

Put the ingredients for the aspic into a casserole, proportioning the quantity to the need, and after boiling for two hours, place the quails into it, cover with a sheet of greased paper and its lid and after about five quarters of an hour of simmering remove the quails, degrease and clarify the aspic, and spread it on several pieces of sliced toast.

Place the quails on a plate; dress with the aspic and serve.

Taken from: G. NELLI, Il re dei cuochi, Milan, Legros & C., 1880, p. 445, no. 963 [BIGAB AC 1. 115. 1/80].

Fillet Steak with Truffles

The evening before, marinate the beef fillet in the Madeira, chopped shallots, a bay leaf and the oil. The day of the meal, remove the fillet from the marinade and put this to one side. Roast the fillet salted and peppered in a very hot oven for forty minutes.

Prepare the sauce: brown the sliced mushrooms in the butter, pour in the marinade, season with salt and pepper and simmer over a low heat for thirty minutes. Remove from the heat and add the foie gras in pieces; pass through a chinois, check the seasoning and add two chopped truffles.

Serve the fillet in slices, with a roundel of truffle on each slice and accompanied by the sauce served piping hot on the side.

Taken from: T. BEAUVERT, Musica per il Palato: a tavola con Rossini, Milan, Mondadori, 1997, p. 176 [BIGAB AC 6. 34. 3].

Pistachio Cream

In a stone mortar, finely crush a pound of pistachios, together with a generous spoonful of French Cognac and some spoonfuls of sugar.

Put everything into a casserole with a full litre of cream, blend in one by one seven or eight egg yolks and leave to cook over low heat, stirring carefully. As soon as the mixture begins to thicken, remove it from the heat.

Take care it never boils, as otherwise the eggs would begin to congeal and would separate the mixture.

Recipe taken from: V BOSSI, L'Imperatore dei cuochi, Rome, Perino, 1894, p. 148, no. 51 [BIGAB AC 1. 115. 10/94].