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.

 

Medieval Beef: Vaccina Salpresa Alessata, servito con Petrosemolo - Italian Salted Beef

Originally Published September 28, 2021

Vaccina salpresa alessata, servito con petrosemolo Salted pressed beef, boiled served with parsley

I first ran across this recipe after receiving Scappi's book. Originally it was planned to be served as part of a four-course meal at a site where the kitchen facilities were not optimal and at least two of the courses would need to be prepared ahead of time and served cold. This is very easy to make. As noted, I did not use curing salt because the amount of time I was curing the meat was not a very long time compared to Scappi's recipe where the meat is to be cured for long-term storage. Three days is an optimal time to brine and infuse the meat with the flavors of garlic, fennel, black pepper, and coriander. The spices that I chose are not in the recipe. Fennel and black pepper were quite common, throughout the book. Coriander was chosen because I would be garnishing it with parsley, and I think the flavor of Coriander pairs well with parsley. Garlic as a personal choice was chosen. It is not commonly used in Scappi's book.

Original Recipe: To lightly salt and boil every cut of the said animal, chapter 4, Scappi

I find that the shoulder and breast of the said animals are more appropriate than the others. When the cow or bull is dead and skinned without being skinned, one cuts it into the said layers in many pieces, and one puts it in slat in a ceramic vessel or wood, the which has been well washed, because if the salt is not cleaned, and if it is full of dirt it will have a bad smell, and when the pieces are places one on top of the others one covers the vessel with a wood cover, adding above a weight that holds everything well pressed until it has made the salt solution, and the summer when it has been curing for four days, and in the winter for eight, one pulls it out of the vessel, as much as you want to cook, rinse it in fresh water, and put it to cook in water without salt, and make sure above all that it is well skimmed. When it is cooked one can serve it hot or cold at every time with garlic sauce or mustard in plates. And if you want to make it in the same day that the animal is killed, take a piece of the shoulder or another part, and put it to boil in strong salted water until it is well cooked. And serve this in the same way that it is said above.

Ingredients

2 pounds beef brisket or flank steak

1/2 C. salt

OPT: 1/2 Tbsp. pink salt (sodium nitrite)

2 Tbsp. coriander

2 Tbsp. cracked black pepper

1 Tbsp. each garlic powder and crushed fennel

Instructions

1. Trim and clean the beef, removing connective tissue and most of the fat.

2. Prepare the brine by adding the salt and spices to a quart of water, bringing it to a boil, and allowing it to cool to room temperature.

3. Once cooled, place the meat and the brine into a ziplock bag, and refrigerate for three to seven days turning the bag daily. 4. When you are ready to cook the meat, remove it from the brine and pat it dry with a paper towel.

5. Grill each side for 2 minutes on direct heat. Then move to indirect heat and allow to cook to your liking. 6. Allow meat to rest until room temperature, but preferably cold, slice thin and then serve on a bed of lettuce garnished with parsley.

Note: Scappi has two sets of instructions in the recipe. The first recipe is how to prepare the meat through a salting process. The second is how to cook it when it is fresh.

And if you want to make it in the same day that the animal is killed, take a piece of the shoulder or another part, and put it to boil in strong salted water until it is well cooked. And serve this in the same way that it is said above.

Also, note that Scappi instructs you to serve the meat with mustard as a sauce.

This is an excellent dish that can be prepared ahead of time and served at a feast, or as part of a dayboard or camp meal.

Sources:

"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&printsec=frontcover. Accessed 18 July 2022.