“The Feast in the House of Levi” (detail), Paolo Veronese. Used here as period context for a Renaissance savory pie.
Sources: Bartolomeo Scappi, Opera dell’arte del cucinare, 1570 (Book II, cap. 193); Odile Redon, Françoise Sabban, Silvano Serventi, The Medieval Kitchen, 1998.
Mushrooms were a popular ingredient in Renaissance Italy, eaten in fast-day dishes and served alongside roasted meats. This recipe for Fungi di Monte (“mushrooms of the mountain”) comes to us from Bartolomeo Scappi’s monumental 1570 Opera. Redon adapts it into a clean, modern version while preserving its essential spicing and method.
Historic Recipe (Scappi, 1570)
Per cuocere funghi di monte in più modi.
Dopo che saranno ben nettati, si cuociano in acqua calda, & si lascino scolare; poi si facciano soffriggere con cipolla trita, olio, sale, pepe, canella, garofali, & altre buone spetiarie. Si possono anco cuocere con burro fresco, & cacio parmigiano, & similmente si possono friggere in pastello.
Translation
To cook mountain mushrooms in several ways.
After they are well cleaned, cook them in hot water and let them drain; then fry them with chopped onion, oil, salt, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, and other good spices. They may also be cooked with fresh butter and Parmesan cheese, and likewise they may be fried in batter.
Une Vinaigrette (Beef & Onions with Wine-Ginger Sauce)
Torta d’Aglio (Garlic Torte) – Renaissance Savory Pie with Cheese, Garlic & Spices
“The Feast in the House of Levi” (detail), Paolo Veronese. Used here as period context for a Renaissance savory pie.
Context
Une Vinaigrette appears in medieval French sources and was translated by Terence Scully (1998).
The dish layers beef (or lamb) with onions and serves it in a sauce of red wine, broth, breadcrumbs, and warming spices—ginger, grains of paradise, pepper, saffron, and vinegar.
The result is both hearty and sharp, showing the medieval palate for savory meats balanced with spice and sour notes.
Humoral Qualities
In humoral theory, beef is heavy, hot, and dry, suited to those with strong digestions or balanced by moistening and cooling elements.
The onions and wine add heat and sharpness, while the vinegar offers a cooling, cutting quality to aid digestion.
The dish would have been considered appropriate in a main roast course, but could also appear earlier to stimulate appetite.
Provenance
The recipe for Une Vinaigrette comes from Le Viandier, one of the most important medieval French cookbooks.
Traditionally attributed to Guillaume Tirel (called Taillevent), master cook to King Charles V of France, the text survives in several manuscripts from the late 14th and 15th centuries.
It reflects the refined cooking of the French court, where sauces of wine, vinegar, and warming spices balanced the heaviness of roasted meats.
Terence Scully’s 1998 edition (The Viandier of Taillevent, University of Ottawa Press) provides a critical edition of the extant manuscripts and the English translation used here.
Original French
Une vinaigrette. Prenez buef ou mouton et coupez en pièces,
puis mettez-les à rostir au gril.
Prenez oignons et taillez par rondelles,
et friez en sain de lart bien cuit.
Puis prenez bon vin vermeil et bouillon de buef,
et mettez du pain blanc tosté et broyé pour lier.
Mettez gingembre, graine de paradis, poivre et saffran,
et un petit de vinaigre.
Couliez vostre sausse, et mettez vostre viande et oignons dedans;
ou les servez à part, et la sausse en un autre plat.
This passage is the basis for Scully’s English rendering: beef or mutton, roasted with onions, served in a sauce of red wine, broth, breadcrumbs, ginger, grains of paradise, saffron, pepper, and vinegar.
Original Text & Modern Translation
Original (Scully, 1998)
Modern Interpretation
Take beef or mutton and cut it in pieces, then put them to roast on the grill.
Take onions and slice them into rounds, and fry them in grease until well cooked.
Then take good red wine and beef stock, put therein white bread toasted and ground to thicken it,
and season with ginger, grains of paradise, pepper and saffron, and a little vinegar.
Strain the sauce and put the meat and onions therein; or serve the meat and onions separately,
with the sauce in a dish.
Cut beef or lamb into chunks and roast or grill until done, but not overcooked.
Slice onions into rounds and sauté them in butter, oil, or lard until golden.
For the sauce, simmer red wine and beef broth with breadcrumbs until smooth.
Add ginger, pepper, grains of paradise (or allspice), saffron, and a splash of vinegar.
Strain the sauce and serve it either mixed with the meat and onions,
or on the side as a dip. Excellent served on its own, or with rice or pasta.
Torta d’Aglio (Garlic Torte) – Renaissance Savory Pie with Cheese, Garlic & Spices
“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.
Medieval cooks used jewel-like pomegranate seeds to decorate sauces and meats.
Serving note: For a period-forward table setting, consider this handmade
red clay tableware set.
(affiliate)
In fifteenth-century English kitchens, sauces were not mere accompaniments but important markers of taste and refinement. Sauce Sarsoun from Harleian MS. 279 is a striking example: a rich blend of almonds, almond milk, wine, and sugar, finished with the jewel-like brilliance of pomegranate seeds. It demonstrates the medieval love of almond-based cookery, the expensive allure of sugar, and the symbolic flourish of garnishes drawn from distant lands.
Capoun in Consewe appears as recipe no. lxiiij in Harleian MS. 279 (c. 1430). The word consewe likely draws on Old French roots with the sense of “to comfort/strengthen,” which suits the dish: a nourishing chicken pottage scented with parsley and savory, enriched with almonds (or egg yolks), and finished with sugar.
A capon (a castrated rooster) signaled luxury; almonds and sugar were costly imports. Together they elevate a simple boiled fowl into something fit for feast tables and restorative cookery. In humoral terms, parsley and savory (hot & dry) balance the warm, moist qualities of chicken and almond milk—this is flavor and medicine in tandem.
Herbs in Context
Parsley was praised for aiding digestion and “opening the stomach.” Savory brought a peppery sharpness and was used to correct heaviness and “wind.” Their pairing keeps the dish lively and balanced.
🍲 Did You Know?
Capoun in Consewe functioned much like modern chicken soup: gentle enough for the sick or weak, yet refined enough for feast service—especially with the luxury of almonds and sugar.
Egg yolks – Hot & moist; fortifying thickener (optional).
Sugar – Warm & moist; balancing sweetness, a mark of elite dining.
Salt – Cold & dry; flavor enhancer and practical preservative.
Together these create a restorative, balanced pottage—truly medieval “chicken soup for the soul.”
Side-by-Side Recipe
Original (Middle English)
.lxiiij. Capoun in consewe.—Take a Capoun, & make hem clene, & sethe hym in Water, percely, Sauereye & Salt; & whan he his y-now, quarter hym; þan grynde Almaundys. & temper vppe wyth þat brothe of þe Capoun; or ellys take þe ȝolkys of Eyroun, & make it chargeaunt, & strayne þe Almaundys & boyle it; take Sugre a goode porcyoun, & do þer-yn; & when it ys y-boylid, ley þe Capoun in þe dysshe, & put þat Sew a-boue, & strawe þer-vppe-on Sugre, & send it yn with alman̛.
Modern Translation
Take a capon and clean it well. Boil it in water with parsley, savory, and salt. When it is cooked, cut it into quarters. Grind almonds and mix them with the broth from the capon (or else thicken the broth with egg yolks). Strain the almond mixture and boil it. Add a good portion of sugar. When boiled, place the capon in a dish and pour the sauce over. Strew sugar on top and serve it with almonds.
Kitchen scene from Bartolomeo Scappi’s Opera (1574). Library of Congress.
Polpettoni alla Romana – Renaissance Beef Skewers (Scappi, 1570)
Updated with historical context, vegetarian/vegan alternatives, and TOA interlinks.
At my Tournament of the Arts (2024) luncheon, these went fast. Adapted from Bartolomeo Scappi’s Opera (1570), they’re not meatballs but “fingers”—chunky strips of lean beef, larded, marinated in sweet–sour must and rose vinegar with warm spices, then skewered with sage and bacon and roasted. They’re dramatic, portable, and perfect for camp kitchens, dayboards, or a roast platter. Think Renaissance barbecue—minus the smoke ring, plus saffron glaze.
Original Recipe (Scappi, Opera 1570)
Per fare polpettoni alla romanesca di lombolo di boue, o di uaccina
Get the leanest part of the tenderloin… sprinkle with ground salt and fennel flour or coriander with common spices. Set four lardoons of marbled salt pork in each piece. Place them in a press with that mixture and a little rose vinegar and must syrup for three hours. Then mount them on a spit with a rasher of bacon and a sage or bay leaf between each piece; cook over a moderate fire. When done, serve hot with a sauce of their drippings together with what exuded from them in the press, somewhat thick and saffron-coloured.
Tacuinum Sanitatis, Casanatense 4182 (14th c.): roasting meat at the hearth. Public domain. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons / Biblioteca Casanatense.
Two Italian Sauces for Roasted Meat: Walnut & Green Herb (Medieval to Renaissance)
Updated with historical context & interlinks to the 2024 Tournament of the Arts lunch menu.
For the Tournament of the Arts (2024) lunch, I wanted condimenti that traveled well, didn’t need reheating, and made simple roast or cold meats sing. These two Italian sauces do exactly that: a nutty, velvety Savor di Noci alla Fiorentina (Walnut & Garlic) and a sharp, herb-forward Salsa viridis (Green Sauce). Think of them as a historical alternative to mustard—great for camp kitchens, feasts, and picnic trays.
Flavor contrast at a glance:Walnut sauce = rich & earthy · Green sauce = bright & piquant. Serve both so diners can choose their adventure.
“The Royal Feast” by Alonso Sánchez Coello (1531–1588), oil on canvas, public domain. A sumptuous Renaissance banquet scene that captures the richness and communal spirit of salumi, fruit, and condiments on the table.
Piatti di salumi, formaggi, olive, frutta fresca e secca e senape
Plates of cured meats, cheeses, olives, fresh and dried fruit, and mustard — listed on our 12th Night 2024 menu and served during the Primo seruitio posto in Tavola (first service on the table, antipasti). Charcuterie is a modern framing; the Italian period lens is salumi with fruit, bread, olives, and a sweet-hot mostarda. Prepared and plated by Dan Parker, the board leaned rustic and abundant—grapes spilling over, glossy olives, rosemary releasing aroma as diners reached in.
Period Context: Salumi & Mostarda
While “charcuterie” is a French term, the Italian table has long featured salumi—prosciutto, pancetta, lardo, coppa, and regional salami—paired with breads, olives, grapes, and preserved fruits. Renaissance sources also describe mostarda (sweet fruit with mustard heat). Bartolomeo Scappi (1570) includes a Mostarda amabile that blends cooked quince and apple with sugar, candied citrus, and mustard essence.
Scappi, Opera (1570), Libro II, cap. 276 — “Per far Mostarda amabile” Quince and apples cooked with wine & sugar, worked with candied citrus and spiced with mustard—pounded to a smooth, sweet-hot sauce.
For this feast I used a modern, chutney-style mostarda for ease and flavor balance (link below), which sits comfortably in the same family even if the texture and acidity are more contemporary.
Mostarda: Period vs. Modern (quick comparison)
How Scappi’s mostarda differs from the modern chutney used at feast
Aspect
Period (Scappi, 1570)
Modern Chutney Used
Practical Notes
Fruits
Quince & apples; candied citrus peels
Apples & pears; dried cherries/cranberries
Both seasonal & flexible; quince gives classic perfume
The famed waybread of the Elves—simple, sustaining, and surprisingly tender.
Our take is a lightly sweet cream biscuit (think quick scone) that bakes up soft inside with gentle crunch on top. Perfect for tea, travel, or—naturally—second breakfast.
Sweet-tart braised red cabbage with bacon and apple brings bright color and cozy flavor to the table. It’s the sort of farmhouse pan you’d expect in any well-run Hobbit hole.
“Only a bundle of carrots… and the sack of potatoes… and the mushrooms the week before!”
A sheet pan piled high with beets, parsnips, squash, potatoes, onion, and garlic—caramelized at the edges and tender within. This is countryside cooking at its best, fit for Farmer Maggot’s kitchen and yours.
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