Torta d’Aglio (Garlic Torte) – Renaissance Savory Pie with Cheese, Garlic & Spices

Torta d’Aglio (Garlic Torte)

Italian Renaissance • Savory Pie • Feast-Friendly

“The Feast in the House of Levi” (detail), Paolo Veronese. Used here as period context for a Renaissance savory pie.

This savory pie highlights gentled garlic — blanched to soften its sharpness, then blended with fresh cheese, butter, and warming spices. Adapted from Martino’s 15th-century Libro de arte coquinaria, the dish balances flavors in line with Renaissance cooking theory and humoral practice.

🥕 Dietary Notes: Vegetarian & gluten-free adaptations included.

Original Recipe

Martino, Libro de arte coquinaria (c. 1465)

“Per fare una torta d’agli.”
Piglia agli mondi et coceli bene in acqua, poi pistali nel mortaro insieme con cascio fresco et un poco di butiro; et fa’ la pasta con ova, spezie dolci, et cuocila nel testo o in una padella con sopra un testo caldo.

Modern English Translation

“To make a garlic tart.”
Take peeled garlic and cook it well in water, then pound it in a mortar with fresh cheese and a little butter; make the filling with eggs and sweet spices, and cook it in a pan or dish with a heated cover above.

Modern Recipe

Yield: 1 deep 9-inch pie (6–8 servings) • Oven: 400°F (205°C)

Crust

• 1 ¾ cups flour (white + whole wheat)
• 9 Tbsp butter/lard mix, cold
• Pinch of salt
• Cold water as needed

1. Work fat into flour and salt to fine crumbs. Add cold water until a stiff dough forms. Chill several hours or overnight.

Filling

• 5 heads garlic, peeled
• ½ lb pork belly or bacon (omit for vegetarian)
• 6 oz farmer’s cheese (whole milk, drained)
• 5 oz cream cheese (modern adaptation)
• 3 eggs
• Handful of raisins (optional)
• Pinch of saffron (optional)

Spice Blend

• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp black pepper
• ⅓ tsp each cloves, nutmeg, ginger
• Salt, to taste

1. Blanch garlic 12–15 min until tender. Drain, shock cold, drain again.
2. Grind garlic with pork belly (or omit meat).
3. Mix cheeses until smooth. Add garlic mixture, saffron, raisins, eggs, spices, and salt.
4. Line 9″ pie tin with ⅔ pastry. Add filling, cover with remaining pastry. Vent.
5. Bake 45–60 min until golden and 165°F (74°C) inside. Rest 15 min before slicing.

Differences Between Period & Modern Versions

• Martino’s text: garlic, cheese, butter, eggs, sweet spices. Likely an open tart, cooked in a covered pan with coals.
• Redon’s adaptation: adds a full pie crust, pork belly, raisins, saffron, and cream cheese. Clear oven instructions.
• To be more period-faithful: omit cream cheese, consider open-tart format, cook under coals or in a Dutch oven.

Humoral Qualities

Garlic: hot & dry; stimulating, tempered by boiling.
Cheese & butter: cold & moist.
Eggs: hot & moist.
Spices: warming/drying.

This balance of opposites made the dish acceptable for health — the garlic’s sharpness softened, the cheese’s coldness corrected by warm spices. A harmonized dish in humoral terms.

Course Placement & Digestion Theory

I served this garlic torte as part of the appetizer course, where its hot, dry garlic and warming spices “open” the stomach and prepare it for heavier foods. This aligns with Renaissance banquet theory.

It would also be appropriate with roasts, where its richness contrasts fatty meats and its spices echo the sauces that often accompanied roast courses. Placement depends on menu design, but both uses are historically plausible.

📖 This recipe is part of the Ceilidh 2001 – Fourteenth-Century Italian Feast .
Explore all dishes from this reconstructed 14th-century Italian banquet.

Sources

• Martino of Como, Libro de arte coquinaria (c. 1465).
• Odile Redon, Françoise Sabban, Silvano Serventi, The Medieval Kitchen (1998).

Labels: Renaissance; Italian; Savory Pies & Tarts; Garlic; Cheese; Pork; Spices; SCA Feast Planning; Period Techniques