Put in a saucepan one tablespoonful of flour and a piece of butter as big as an egg. Stir the flour and the butter together while keeping them over the fire. When the flour begins to be browned, pour over a pint of milk, continually stirring with a wooden spoon until you see the liquid condensed like a cream. This is the Balsamella. If it is too thick add some milk, if too liquid put back on the fire with another piece of butter dipped in flour.
A good Balsamella and some well prepared brown stock are the base and the principal secret of many savory dishes.
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CURLED OMELET
(Frittata in riccioli)
Boil a bunch of spinach and rub it through a sieve. Beat two eggs, season with salt and pepper and mix with them enough spinach to make the eggs appear green. Put the frying pan on the fire with only enough oil to grease it and when very hot put in a portion of the eggs, moving the frying pan so as to make a very thin omelet. When well cooked, remove it from the frying pan and repeat the operation once or twice in order to have two or three very thin omelets. Put these one over the other and cut them in
small strips that are to be browned in butter
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