The European cookbook for American homes (from Italy, Spain, Portugal and France)

2 tablespoons olive oil 5 peppercorns, crushed 2 cloves garlic, minced % bay leaf 2 tomatoes, chopped Triangles of fried bread 1 lemon, sliced Cover the beans with the boiling water, and bring to a slow boil. Heat oil in a saucepan, and fry garlic until light brown. SPANISH in Add the tomatoes, and when all is bubbling add to the simmering beans; then add onion, cinnamon, peppercorns, and bay leaf* Cook slowly over a low fire 2 hours. Strain through colander, season with salt, and serve with triangles of fried bread and lemon slices. Olive oil and garlic are requisites for many Spanish dishes, and many are the ways of handling them. If the cook wishes to diminish the taste of the oil she heats it until it smokes, then cools it slightly before proceeding with the cooking. The remaining flavor is deliciously nutty, with all the acrid quality of the olives removed. The prejudice which has grown up against the use of garlic may be attributed to the careless cooks who leave it half -raw in the finished food. Well-cooked garlic has none of the odor of the fresh cloves, or "teeth," as the Spanish quaintly call them. If you wish its presence to be unsuspected, cut the garlic in half instead of mincing it, and remove the halves after they have served their purpose of imparting a delicate almondy flavor to the dish. GARLIC SOUP (So pa de A jo) % cup olive oil 3 pints boiling water 6 garlic cloves, minced 3 slices bread 4 garlic cloves, crushed 3 hard-boiled eggs, sliced Slowly fry in oil the minced and crushed garlic cloves until golden brown, but not burned. Add a little water and cook until tender. Mash, and add boiling water, stirring well. Season to taste. Cook 10 minutes. Heat oil in frying pan until it smokes. Cool a little and fry bread. Place bread in the bottom of a hot soup tureen. Pour soup over the bread and put slices of hard-boiled eggs on top. Serve very hot. This soup is as popular in Castile as onion soup is in Paris. SNOW SOUP (Sopa de Nieve) 3 tablespoons butter i pint hot milk i quart boiling water 2 eggs 1 slice toast Salt 3 large potatoes, peeled Pepper Melt the butter in a sauce pan, add the boiling water, the toast cut fine and potatoes. Cook until the potatoes are nearly done, then add the hot milk. Continue cooking until the potatoes are tender, then press the contents of the sauce pan through a colander and return to the pan. Bring to a boil and remove from fire. Beat the egg yolks with a little cold water and add them to the soup. Whip the whites until stiff, but not dry, and add them little by little, to the boiling hot soup, continuing to beat. Season to taste and serve. THICK SOUP OF LIVER (Chanfaina) 1 calf's liver Salt, whole black peppers 1 pig's liver Cloves, cinnamon, caraway Olive oil Saffron 1 large onion, minced Spearmint sprigs 1 green pepper, minced Parsley l/2 cup bread crumbs, toasted Boil livers in enough salted water to serve for finished soup. When tender, dice them and save the liquor. Put enough olive oil in an earthenware soup pot to brown the diced liver with onion, pepper and all seasonings, adding the liver liquor gradually. When done it will be as thick as porridge. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and serve hot or cold.