No. 55. Ostriche alla Livornese (Oysters)

Ingredients: Oysters, parsley, shallot, anchovies, fennel, pepper, bread crumbs, cream, lemon.

Detach the oysters from their shells and put them into china shells with their own liquor. Have ready a dessert-spoonful of parsley, shallot, anchovy and very little fennel, add a tablespoonful of bread crumbs and a little pepper, and mix the whole with a little cream. Put some of this mixture on each oyster and then bake them in a moderate fire for a quarter of an hour. At the last minute add a squeeze of lemon juice to each oyster and serve on a folded napkin.

No. 56. Ostriche alla Napolitana (Oysters)

Ingredients: Oysters, parsley, celery, thyme, pepper, garlic, oil, lemon.

Prepare the oysters as above, but rub each shell with a little garlic. Put on each oyster a mixture made of chopped parsley, a little thyme, pepper, and bread crumbs. Then pour a few drops of oil on each shell, put them on the gridiron on an open fire, grill for a few minutes, and add a little lemon juice before serving.

No. 57. Ostriche alla Veneziana (Oysters)

Ingredients: Oysters, butter, shallots, truffles, lemon juice, forcemeat of fish.

Take several oysters out of their shells and cook them in butter, a little chopped shallot, and their own liquor, add a little lemon juice and then put in each of the deeper shells a layer of forcemeat made of fish and chopped truffles, then an oyster or two, and over this again another layer of the forcemeat, cover up with the top shell and put them in a fish kettle and steam them. Then remove the top shell and arrange the shells with the oysters on a napkin and serve.