On Sallets - On Salads

Originally Published Oct 8, 2022

[Caveat- I did not translate the Salad's from Rumpolt. The translations belong to M. Grasse at the link found under sources.}

Click here to visit a digitized copy of  Marx Rumpolt's "Ein New Kochbuch"

SALLETS in general con∣sist of certain Esculent Plants and Herbs, improv'd by Culture, Industry, and Art of the Gard'ner: Or, as others say, they are a Composition of Edule Plants and Roots of several kinds, to be eaten Raw or Green, Blanch'd or Candied; simple, and per se, or intermingl'd with others according to the Season. The Boil'd, Bak'd, Pickl'd, or otherwise disguis'd, variously accommodated by the skilful Cooks, to render them grateful to the more feminine Palat, or Herbs rather for the Pot, &c. challenge not the name of Sallet so properly here, tho' sometimes mention'd; And therefore, Those who Criticize not so nicely upon the Word, seem to distinguish the*Olera (which were never eaten Raw) from Acetaria, which were never Boil'd; and so they derive the Etymology of Olus, from Olla, the Pot. (Acetaria a discourse of sallets)

Von allerley Kräuter Salat/ weiß und grün/ wie nachfolget

Of assorted herbal salads/ white and green/ as follows.

I. Endive salad with oil and vinegar prepared/ and with
salt.

2. White endive salad cut nicely small.

3. White head (lettuce or cabbage?) salad.

4. White head salad soaked (poached) in water/ and again cooled/
prepared with vinegar/ oil and salt/ white sugar/ that is crushed/
poured over/ is also good.

5. Green head salad that is half raw and half poached/ is in both ways good/ be it sweet or sour.

6. Green field salad (field greens) prepared / with pomegranate seed sprinkled/
is pretty and decorative.

7. Green salad/ that is small and young/ red beets cut small/ and tossed thereover/ when the salad is prepared/ and the red beets are cooked and cooled

8. Of a white head salad/ that is cut nicely small/ one part poached in cooked water/ and one part raw. And under the poached put capers.

9. Watercress salad/ created in a garden/ or grown near a running creek/ is not bad either.

10. Cooked onion salad/ or roasted (fried)/ make it sweet with a white sugar/ or with small black raisins.

11. Pimpernel Salat

12. White Rapunzel (Bot. Campanula Rapunculus. L.) Bellflower aka little turnip / the root poached/ and a part raw combined with the greens/ is in both ways good to prepare.

13. Round Rapunzzel (Bot. Campanula Rapunculus. L.) poached/ are also not bad to eat.

14. Hops salad/ that is poached.

15. Asparagus salad/ that is also poached/ and cut small/ or prepared whole/ is in both ways good. You can make it with Peabroth/ with a little butter/ pepper and vinegar/ served warm to the table.

16. Chicory root salad/ that is peeled nicely clean/ cut the pit from it/ poach it well/ but that you do not overcook it/ cool it/ make it sweet or sour/ so it is in both ways good.

17 Chicory greens salad/ that is green/ that is poached/ make it sweet or sour. If the greens are young. So one can serve it with vinegar/ oil and salt.

18. Large capers soaked and poached.

19. Small caper salad.

20. Peel the Cucumbers/ and cut them broad and thin/ season them with oil/ pepper and salt. But if they are salt-preserved/ they are also not bad/ are better than raw/ because one can salt it with Fennel and with caraway/ that both can be kept over one year. And near the Rhine-stream one calls it Cucummern

21. Take white beet stems/ peel and poach then in water/ prepare it with oil/ vinegar and salt.

22. Pale salad/ that is green and young/ poach it in water/ season it with vinegar/ oil and salt. And this salad one should not eat much of/ because it purges much.

23. Take hard boiled eggs/ serve them especially beside the salad/ sprinkle them with green parsley and salt/ and pour vinegar over.

24. Sour orange salad/ peel and cut them nicely thick/ sprinkle them with
white sugar.

25. Salad of pomegranate seeds/ sprinkle also with white
sugar.

26. Sorrell salad.

27. Take lemon salad/ cut it broad and thin/ and sprinkle it with
white sugar.

28. Nettle salad.

29. Red beet salad/ when they are cooked/ so cut them small/ long or diced/ season it with oil/ vinegar and salt/ may make it sweet or sour.

30. Artichoke with a pea broth/ good butter/ pepper/ salt/ and a little broth given to the table/ and crushed pepper on the side.

31. Artichoke cooked with beef broth/ and brought warm to the table.

32. Take endive stems/ serve them poached or raw/ cut nicely small.

33. Take a red head lettuce (red cabbage)/ cut it nicely small/ and poach it a little in
warm water/ then cool it quickly/ season it with vinegar and oil/ and when it soaks a while in the vinegar/ it gets nicely red.

34. Of the same greens the stems cut nicely small/ seasoned with vinegar and oil.

35. Take young pumpkin/ that are not large/ peel and cut them nicely long/ remove the seeds/ poach it a little/ cool it thereafter/ and season it with vinegar/ salt and oil.

36.Roman Wicken (Bot. Vicia sativa L.) (common Vetch, the seeds seem to be similar to red lentils, but may well be slightly toxic) and poach them well in their shells/ cool them/ and season them with vinegar/ salt and oil.

37. Take lemon/ chop it small/ season it with nice clean sugar/ that has been crushed/ sprinkle it with pomegranate seed/ that are nicely red/ so it is also delicate and good.

38. Curley salad/ that is nicely green.

39. Take sugar (sugar beet!)/ season it and scrape it/ so they turn white/ poach then
in water/ and cool/ season it with vineger/ oil and salt. You can also serve them
raw/ if they are clean and well peeled or scraped.

40. Salad of red leaf (red cabbage).

41. Take roman beans/ poach and cool them/ prepare them with oil/ vinegar and salt.

42. Take borage, parsley, pimpernel/ lemon balm and hyssop/ astragalus and tarragon/ so it is a combined salad of welltasting herbs/ with borage flowers tossed over/ it is pretty and decorative.

43. Take borage root/ scrape it/ and cut the core therefrom/ and dispose of it/ poach the remaining / and cool it/ season it with oil and salt/ so it is healthful and good.

44.Take radish / and cut it small/ broad and thin/ poach it in
water/ cool it / season it with oil/ vinegar and salt. You may sprinkle it with sugar or not.

45. Or take a radish/ cut in small and thin/ or fine diced/ season it with vinegar/ oil and salt/ so it is good too.

46. You can also arrange a salad in a bowl/ green white and red/ nicely made like a rose/ so it is decorative/ good and welltasting.

47. Kollis Fioris is a Spanish salad/ that one can prepare in all sorts of ways.

48. Take white salad/ that in Italian is called lettuce/ poach it in hot water/ cook it nicely clean/ and cook it with beef broth and fresh butter/ that is unmelted/ make it sweet or not.

49. Take white salad/ that has been poached/ grate a white loaf and parmesan cheese/ cut nutmeg thereunder. Take egg yolks and fresh butter/ that is unmelted/ cut beef marrow thereunder/ and put the salad thereunder/ and a little crushed ginger/ so it is wonderful and filling/ make a dough with egg whites/ work it well/ roll it nicely thin/ as a veil/ that it is translucent/ put the filling therein/ and take each a quarter of the lettuce/ wrap it in the dough with the filling/ and make krapffen (crullers) therefrom. Take a good beef broth and a little whole nutmeg-blossom (mace?)/ set over coals/ and let come to a simmer/ put the crullers one after the other therein/ and let simmer gently. So makes one Schlickrapffen of lettuce/ that are delicious to eat.

50.Take head (lettuce) salad/ cut it in quarters/ and poach it in water/ press it well (to remove water)/ and take a parmesan cheese/ that is well grated/ and grated bread/ mix it together/ and prepare it with egg yolks and fresh butter/ take also a little crushed ginger thereunder/ stir it all together/ and when you want to wrap it in dough/ so take the salad/ that you have quartered/ roll each quarter especially in the filling/ wrap it in the dough/ cook with a pea broth and butter. You may serve it dry/ or in the broth/ as you want to have it.

Source

"Acetaria A Discourse Of Sallets / By J. E. ...". Quod.Lib.Umich.Edu, 2022, https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo2/B22628.0001.001/1:5?rgn=div1;view=fulltext;q1=salad. Accessed 8 Oct 2022.

"Rumpolt Salad". Web.Archive.Org, 2022, https://web.archive.org/web/20081002110840/http://clem.mscd.edu/~grasse/GK_salad1.htm. Accessed 8 Oct 2022.

Per cuocere Broccoli asciutti. - to cook dry broccoli - Scappi

 

The Opera of Bartolomeo Scappi, 1570

One of the difficulties in setting up dayboards is providing a vegetable that is -not- going to get wilted as the day goes on. This is an easy recipe that is delicious and was very well received at the dayboard in which it was served.

Original Recipe

Per cuocere Broccoli asciutti.

Piglinosi li broccoli dal mese di Febraro per tutto Marzo netti delle frondi, & habbiasi la parte piu tenera che non sia fiorita, & facciasi bollir l’acqua con sale, & come i broccoli saranno accommodati in mazzuoli ponganosi in quella acqua bollente, & non si faccia no troppo cuocere, ma cauinosi, e sciolganosi, & ponganosi in piatti, & dapoi habbiasi oglio bollente, e spargasi cosi caldo con la cocchiara sopra i broccoli, giungendoui sugo di melangole, pepe, & un poco di quel brodo nel qual son cotti, & seruanosi caldi, percioche altrimente non uagliono. Si può soffriggere con ol’oglio uno spigolo d’aglio ammaccato per dare odore al broccolo, & quando si uorranno conseruare per una o due hore, si poranno in acqua fredda, & si lascieranno stare poi che saranno perlessati sin’a tanto che si uorranno ricuocere. In questo modo si conserueranno i broccoli uerdi,& non piglieranno tristo odore, & si seruiranno nel modo sopradetto.

English Interpretation

To cook dry broccoli

Get broccoli between February and the end of March, with its leaves removed. Take the tenderest part of it that has not flowered. Boil salted water. With the broccoli done up into bunches, put it into that boiling water. Do not overcook it but take it out and put it into dishes. Then get boiling oil and drop it how with a spoon over the broccoli, adding orange juice, pepper, and a little of the broth in which it was cooked. Serve it hot because otherwise, it is no good. You can also saute a crushed clove of garlic in the oil to flavor the broccoli.

Whenever you need to hold it back for an hour or two, put it into cold water after it has parboiled and leave it there until you want to recook it. Green broccoli is kept the same way and it will not take on a bad smell. It is served in the above way.

Ingredients   
Serves 8

1 Pound young broccoli, broccolini or broccoli rabe
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 garlic clove peeled and crushed
1 Tbsp. each orange and lemon juice
Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

Steam broccoli until it's tender. Place the steam broccoli into ice water to shock it and maintain it's color.

Heat oil with garlic. Remove the garlic after about 30 seconds.

Arrange the broccoli on a plate or in a bowl. Sprinkle with juice, oil, and salt and pepper. Serve cold.

NOTE: As an alternative, the sauce can be made ahead and served on the side.

Resources:

“Opera Di M. Bartolomeo Scappi, Cuoco Secreto Di Papa Pio 5. Diuisa in Sei Libri, Nel Primo Si Contiene Il Ragionamento Che Fa l’autore Con Gio. Suo Discepolo. ... Con Il Discorso Funerale Che Fu Fatto Nelle Esequie Di Papa Paulo 3. Con Le Figure Che Fanno Bisogno Nella Cucina, & Alli Reuerendiss. Nel Conclaue.” Google Books, Google, www.google.com/books/edition/Opera_di_M_Bartolomeo_Scappi_cuoco_secre/bHoRyD5w-XAC?q=crostata&gbpv=1#f=false. Accessed 11 Feb. 2024.

Medieval Italian - Genevese Onion Tart - Preparare una gattafura di cipolle alla genovese.

 The Opera of Bartolomeo Scappi, 1570

I like to make things that are familiar but different, and this is one example. Genevese tarts are delicious with their mix of cheese, chard, mint, and pepper and I had considered making one for the dayboard. I was concerned that the heat of the day would make it unappetizing. Fortunately, Scappi has a similar recipe that replaces the chard with onions. Onions, I believe are an overlooked vegetable in cooking, they can serve as more than flavoring, and I believe this recipe is an excellent example of onions as a vegetable component in the meal. They are also inexpensive, and this allowed me to splurge on buffalo milk mozzarella--highly recommended if you choose to make this dish.

Scappi's Recipe - To prepare a Genovese onion gattafura.

Grind struccoli or fresh provatura or provaggiole that are sour, they should be so well ground up that they become like butter; add a little sweet olive oil to them. Get parboiled onions that have been well beaten with a knife, and mix the ground cheese and pepper with them. Get a baking sheet that is sprinkled with grated bread and has a sheet of dough on it made of fine flour, water and oil. On that pastry put the filling to a height of half a finger and, with a spoon, go on and sprinkle a little oil over it. Distribute the mixture on top with big pinches. Cover it over with another sheet of dough; splash that with plain water and sprinkle some oil on it with a spoon. Bake it by braising or in an oven. Serve it hot with sugar over top. Instead of oil you can use butter.

Note: Scappi defines struccoli as cheese that has been made that day. Provatura is a cheese made almost exclusively of buffalo milk and is similar to mozzarella in texture. Provaggiole may modernly be called provola, a soft, stretched-curd cheese made by combining buffalo milk with cow's milk.

Ingredients

For the filling

3 onions (I used sweet), diced and parboiled for 5 minutes

8 oz buffalo milk mozzarella

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 tsp. white wine vinegar

1/4 tsp. fresh cracked black pepper

1. If you have not done so, finely dice onions and parboil in salted water until the onion begins to become transparent. Drain the onions.

2. While the onions are parboiling, add cheese, oil, vinegar, and pepper to a blender, and mix till it becomes very soft.

3. Once the cheese has become soft, add the onions to it and blend well.

4. Set aside to work on the dough.

For the dough

1 3/4 cup flour (I used a mix of 3/4 cup whole wheat flour to 1 cup bread flour)

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup olive oil

~ 3 1/2 tbsp. water

1. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees

2. Line a 9x9 baking pan with parchment paper that has been lightly sprayed with oil and dusted with bread crumbs

3. Mix together salt and flour, and add olive oil and enough water to make a dough.

4. Divide the dough in half. You can take the time to roll out the dough, but I simply patted it into the bottom of the pan until it was a uniform thickness.

5. Add filling

6. Roll out the top dough and cover. Sprinkle lightly with olive oil and water.

7. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until browned.

Can be served warmed or cool.

NOTE: I did not add additional sugar to the top as instructed, but instead chose to sprinkle the top with additional shredded cheese (I had an Italian cheese blend) before baking. I also allowed it to cool overnight before cutting it into triangles. I preferred it cool to room temperature to warm.

Sources

The Opera of Bartolomeo Scappi (1570)

"The Opera Of Bartolomeo Scappi (1570)". Google Books, 2022, https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Opera_of_Bartolomeo_Scappi_1570/oF2jsqrWtEkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=gattafura. Accessed 16 Aug 2022.