De la insaleggiata di cipolle – Renaissance Onion Salad with Spices

De la insaleggiata di cipolle – Renaissance Onion Salad (Redon, 1998)

“The Feast in the House of Levi” (detail), Paolo Veronese. Used here as period context for Renaissance spiced vegetable dishes such as onion salad.

Context: De la insaleggiata di cipolle is a medieval-to-Renaissance Italian onion “salad.” Onions are roasted in embers or a hot oven until sweet and soft, then sliced and dressed with wine vinegar, oil, and spezie forti (strong spices). These sharp, spiced starters were common on Italian banquet tables as appetite-whetting openers or vegetable accompaniments in the early courses.

Original Recipe (Libro della cucina, 14th c.)

Italian (Zambrini ed., 1863):
“Togli cipolle; cuocile sotto la bragia, e poi le monda, e tagliale per traverso longhette e sottili: mettili alquanto d’aceto, sale, oglio e spezie, e dà a mangiare.”

English (faithful translation):
“Take onions; cook them under the embers; then peel them, and cut them across into long, thin slices; put on a little vinegar, salt, oil, and spices, and serve.”

Redon paraphrase (1998)

“Roast onions in the fire until blackened. Peel, slice finely, and season with salt, vinegar, oil, and spices.”

This dish reaches us in three layers: the terse 14th-century text, Redon’s Renaissance-informed paraphrase, and the modern tested adaptation below.

Comparison: Medieval → Redon → Modern

Source	Text / Notes
Libro della cucina (14th c.)	“Cook under embers; peel; slice long and thin; dress with a little vinegar, salt, oil, and spices; serve.”
Redon (1998)	“Roast in the fire until blackened; peel; slice finely; season with salt, vinegar, oil, and spices.”
Modern (tested)	Gives exact quantities, 500°F oven option, spice blend measure, substitutions, and serving notes.

Modern Recipe (Redon-inspired; tested)

De Lasanis – Medieval Lasagna with Cheese, Pepper & Spices

De Lasanis – Fermented-Dough Noodles with Cheese & Pepper

“The Feast in the House of Levi” (detail), Paolo Veronese. Used here as period context for Renaissance pasta and cheese dishes.

Source: The Medieval Kitchen, Odile Redon, Françoise Sabban, and Silvano Serventi (1998)

De lasanis is one of the earliest references to pasta dishes resembling modern day cacio e pepe. The resemblance is striking — a simple but elegant combination of starch, cheese, and spice that became a cornerstone of Italian cookery. Redon's addition of yeast imparts a tang and complexity most modern cooks miss when substituting dried lasagna noodles. If you can, I recommend making your own—it’s surprisingly easy and richly rewarding.

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

Del Brodo Saracenico – Saracen Chicken with Fruits & Almonds (Redon, 1998)

Del brodo saracenico appears in medieval Italian sources and in modern redaction by Odile Redon et al. (1998). It marries roasted capon or chicken with wine, tart “acid juices,” toasted bread, almonds, dates, raisins, and a gentle spice blend—classic agrodolce (sweet-tart) Renaissance vibes with an evident Mediterranean/Arabic influence.

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📜 Original Historic Recipe

Latin (Liber de Coquina, late 13^th c.)

De brodio sarracenio: pro brodio sarraceno, accipe capones assatos et ficatella eorum cum speciebus et pane assato tere bene, distemperando cum bono vino et succis agris. Tunc frange membratim dictos capones et cum predictis mite ad bulliendum in olla, suppositis dactilis, uvis grecis siccis, amigdalis integris mondatis et lardo sufficienti. Colora sicut placet.

English (modern translation)

“Saracenic broth: to make Saracenic broth, take roasted capons and their livers with spices and toasted bread, pound them well, diluting with good wine and acidic juices. Then cut the capons into pieces and cook in a pot with the ingredients mentioned before, placing on top dates, Greek raisins, whole peeled almonds, and sufficient lardo. Color as you like.”

Note: Source and translation discussion in the references below.

Homemade Vegetable stock, Vegetable Stock Powder & Homemade Bouillon Cubes

Homemade Vegetable Stock Powder – DIY Bouillon & Historical Tips

Learn how to make vegetable stock powder, vegetable stock, and homemade bouillon from scratch. Perfect for medieval-inspired cooking, camp meals, and budget-friendly feasts.

Coley(s): Medieval Chicken Cullis and Early Bone Broth (Harleian MS. 279)

Coleys (Chicken Cullis): Medieval Bone-Broth Style Restorative – Harleian MS. 279

Harleian MS. 279 (c.1430) — .xxvj. Coleys — Chicken Cullis

What is “Coley(s)” / Cullis? A medieval restorative made by cooking a capon until tender, then enriching the broth with the meat, bread, and the “liquor of the bones.” Think early bone-broth technique with a comforting, spoonable finish.

In Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery Books (Harleian MS. 279), Coleys calls for not only the broth from boiling the capon but specifically the liquor of the bones—a clear nod toward longer extraction and collagen, much like today’s bone broth. French sources (e.g., Du fait de cuisine) even frame coulleys as food for the sick: nourishing, mild, and easily digested.

Out of a Spice? Spice Substitution Chart for Cooks: Historical and Modern Alternatives

Medieval-style herbalist at work—an illuminated manuscript depicting labeled herbs, tools, and a mortar & pestle preparing remedies and spices.

Spice Substitution Chart: Historical and Modern Swaps for Home Cooks

Update (August 19, 2025): This page has been expanded with added historical context, clarified notes, and improved search.

Missing mace in your recipe? Can’t find grains of paradise?

Whether you’re preparing a medieval feast or just need a quick fix, this searchable spice substitution chart has you covered. We include practical replacements and historically inspired swaps for cooks, reenactors, and food-history fans alike. From cinnamon and clove to rarities like grains of paradise or long pepper, these tested substitutions help you adapt without losing the dish’s character.

Historical Spice Substitutions

In medieval and Renaissance cookery, substitutions were essential: spices were seasonal, expensive, and often unavailable. Manuscripts like Forme of Cury and Libro de arte coquinaria specify blends, but household cooks adjusted based on access. This list balances modern flavor compatibility with known historical usage, keeping the spirit of the original.

How to use these substitutions: Start small and adjust to taste—pungent spices (clove, cardamom) can dominate. Working from a period recipe? Consider the spice’s humoral qualities or symbolic role; substitutions may shift intent slightly.

Need measurement conversions instead?
Check our conversion guide: Spice Measurement FAQ – Ounces to Tablespoons.

Conyng in Cyuey (Hen/Rabbit/Duck in Onion Sauce) – Harleian MS. 279 | Medieval Recipe + Modern Interpretation

Hen in Cyve – Medieval Chicken (or Rabbit/Duck) in Onion & Wine Sauce (Harleian MS. 279)

Conyng, Mawlard, in gely or in cyuey – Hen, Rabbit, or Duck in Onion Sauce (Harleian MS. 279)

What is “Cyve / Cyuey”? A savory medieval onion sauce thickened with bread and sharpened with vinegar and wine—balanced with warm spices like ginger, mace, cinnamon, and cloves. Wonderful with poultry, rabbit, or duck.

Updated 5/21/2021: This post now includes related recipes: .lxxiij. Conyngys in cyveye and .lxiij. Harys in Cyueye.

Medieval Stew in Onion Sauce

One of my favorite finds from The Ordinance of Pottage was “Hare in Cyve,” a richly flavored onion-based sauce that quickly became a feast favorite in my early SCA days. When I later discovered a related recipe in Harleian MS. 279 (c.1430), I knew it had to go on my cooking list.

Conyng means rabbit; Hare its larger cousin; and Mawlard means duck. The recipe offers flexibility—showing how cooks adapted this onion-thickened sauce (or cyuey) to whatever meat was available.

📖 A cyuey is a spiced medieval onion sauce thickened with bread and vinegar, balancing savory, sweet, and tart notes. It’s delicious with poultry, rabbit, or game.

Original Text (Harleian MS. 279)

.xlij. Conyng, Mawlard, in gely or in cyuey – Take Conynge, Hen, or Mawlard, and roste hem alle-most y-now, or ellys choppe hem, an frye hem in fayre Freysshe grece; an frye myncyd Oynenons, and caste alle in-to þe potte, & caste þer-to fayre Freysshe brothe, an half Wyne, Maces, Clowes, Powder pepir, Canelle; þan take fayre Brede, an wyth þe same brothe stepe, an draw it þorw a straynoure wyth vynegre; an whan it is wyl y-boylid, caste þe lycoure þer to, & powder Gyngere, & Salt, & sesyn it vp an serue forth.

Modern Translation

42. Rabbit, Hen, or Duck in Onion Sauce – Take rabbit, hen, or duck, and roast them almost enough, or else chop them, and fry them in good fresh fat. Fry minced onions and add all into the pot with fresh broth and half wine, along with mace, cloves, pepper, and cinnamon. Then take good bread, soak it in the same broth, and strain it with vinegar. When it is well boiled, add this mixture, plus ginger and salt. Adjust seasoning and serve hot.

Comfits – Medieval Candied Spices & Seeds (A Sweet Treat from the Past)

Comfits—candied spices & seeds—served as sweet digestives and table decoration in late medieval & Renaissance feasts.

Comfits – Medieval Candied Spices & Seeds (How to Make Historic Comfits)

Please note this correction: gum arabic and gum tragacanth are not the same substance. I originally conflated them—mea culpa, and thank you to the reader who flagged it.

Baronial 12th Night Comfits

Comfits were often served at the end of a feast as a digestive, to perfume the breath, and to decorate subtlety dishes and table settings. Aromatic seeds such as anise, fennel, or caraway were built up with repeated coats of sugar syrup—sometimes tinted with beet, spinach, or saffron. Almonds, ginger, and cinnamon splinters appear in later sources as well. You can still buy descendants of these sweets today (think Jordan almonds and pastilles), but handmade comfits are more delicate and—yes—tastier.

Medieval Finger Food: These bite-sized nibbles are perfect for our Medieval Finger Food series.