Insalata di arance tagliate a fette, servite con zucchero e acqua di rose - Sliced orange salad with rosewater and sugar

 This is a deceptively simple and easy to put together dish, and quite delicious.  I did not have rosewater, so I added orange flower water instead.  It was very refreshing, and lasted several days in the refridgerator, making it a terrific make ahead and serve feast dish.  Please Note: I neglected to copy the original recipe for this, but I'm looking for it!  This may be modern, vs. period. 

Insalata di arance tagliate a fette, servite con zucchero e acqua di rose - Sliced orange salad with rosewater and sugar

6 oranges
1-2 tbsp. rose water
squeeze of lemon juice

Opt:

2-3 medjool dates, halved lengthways

2-3 pistachio's finely chopped
3 tbsp. mint, finely chopped
icing sugar, to garnish

Peel the oranges with a sharp knife and remove any pith. Slice into very thin half moons. Try to capture the juice and pour into the serving bowl or platter.

Arrange the orange slices on a serving platter. Sprinkle over rose water and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Scatter over chopped dates and pistachio nuts.

Garnish with the finely chopped mint and, just before serving, dust over some icing sugar.

Per far minestra di Lenti secche - To prepare a thick soup of dried lentils

 

I love lentils! They are one of my favorite legumes and they have a very long history of cultivation dating back between 8000 and 10000 years ago.  When I found this recipe in Scappi's Opera I knew I had to try it.  It makes a delicious  (and inexpensive) soup, but an even better salad.  

I have to confess, I cheated and used canned lentils for the salad, but you could make this even less expensive and purchase dried lentils and cook them yourself according to your packages directions.  I have included the soup recipe here, along with the changes I made to convert this from a soup to a salad.

When/if the SCA allows us to cook feasts again, you will be seeing this soup at a future event. 

Per far minestra di Lenti secche - To prepare a thick soup of dried lentils

Clean dirt off the lentils and put them into a pot with warm water; remove any that float and boil the rest in the same water. While they are boiling, with a large, holed spoon lift out any that rise to the top and put them into another pot: that is done so that the sand that sometimes gets into their little hole will come out and drop to the bottom of the pot. Put good lentils into a pot with oil, salt, a little pepper, saffron, water and a handful of beaten fine herbs; finish off cooking them. For the dish to be good, make the broth rather thick. Cloves of garlic can also be cooked with them, and bit pieces of tench and pike.

1 ½ c. lentils
2 ½ c. water
2 T olive oil
1 tsp black pepper
2 cloves garlic chopped
3/4 tsp salt
¼ tsp. Pepper

Herbs to taste; basil, rosemary, oregano, fennel, thyme, parsley or sage  
Pinch saffron

Opt: Onion (for modern taste), additional olive oil, lemon

The beauty of lentils is that they do not need to go through a prolonged soaking period. Do make sure to rinse your lentils before you add them to your pot of water, and do make sure that as they cook you remove any that rise to the top, and any scum that forms while they are cooking. You can if you choose cook your lentils in vegetable stock but it is not a necessary step.  

Cook your garlic in your oil, add all other ingredients with the exception of salt.  Bring water to a boil, lower heat to a medium-low and simmer your soup until lentils are tender.  You may add any herbs you wish.  I usually add a handful of kale to this soup along with some onion (which I've cooked with the garlic), thyme, basil and parsley. 

To serve, garnish with a drizzle of oil and a squirt of lemon. 

To Make into a "Salad" -  Make a dressing using lemon juice or vinegar (about 1/4 cup), olive oil (about 3/4 cup), herbs and spices, and mix with your lentils while warm.  Serve warm or cold. 

A far morselletti Romaneschi - To make Roman style morsels

For more information on the role of biscotti in the 16th Century please visit the following: 

Little Morsels or Biscotti from the 16th Century Italy by Lady Helewyse de Birkestad who was the inspiration for my attempt to translate the "Roman Style" Morsels below.

A far morselletti Romaneschi

Ogni tre uova sbattute vogliono una libra di zuccharo di Madera pisto, & un’oncia di cannella fina pista & bene spolverizzata, con un grano di muschio, & far la casa nella farina, mettendovi ogni cosa dentro mescolandosi molto bene con mano farina che si può, facendosi in forma di morselletti, & deono cuocersi al modo delli biscotti, & ravioli con fuoco adagio. Si cuocerebbon meglio quando sfornato il pane si mettesser nel forno, quando saran cotti crepperanno.

To make Roman style morsels

For every three eggs beaten together you want a pound of Madiera sugar ground, and one ounce of finely ground cinnamon powder, with a grain of musk, and make a hole in the flour and put into it every thing, mixing everything very well with floured hands, make them in the form and morsels and put them to cook in the same way as biscotti and ravioli with a slow fire. They cook the best when one has just pulled out the bread from the oven and you put them then in the oven, they are cooked when they burst and crack.

Interpreted Recipe

3 eggs
2 ¾ cup flour
1 2/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon or anise seed


Mix all ingredients together and bake 350 degrees until lightly browned.  

These are delicious.  An excellent sweet that gets more flavorful as it sits.  

The Singular Doctrine of ... D. Romoli known as Panonto; in which it is the Scalco office; of the seasoning of every dish, ... of making banquets of all times in princes ..., in the end a short treatise on the health system (reduced by the substance of medicine by R. Gropetio, etc.) ... Again ... reprinted & reprinted, etc By Domenico Romoli 1610

Capponi sopramentati serviti freddi con caparetti sopra - capon sopramentati

122. To boil a boneless capon

…. When the capon has been prepared in either of the above ways (skinned and deboned), get the flesh from the breast of another uncooked capon, and a pound of prosciutto and pork fat together, and beat those finely with knives, adding in half an ounce of common spices, a handful of finely chopped herbs, two egg yolks and two ounces of grated cheese. Stuff the capon with that mixture, pushing it into the wings and thighs; sew it up so the stuffing cannot come out, with its wings and thighs trussed, put the cample into an ample earthenware or copper pot with cold water and put that on the fire.

123. To boil and prepare the capon "sopramentato"

When the capon is plucked and drawn, whether stuffed or empty, boil it in a meat broth or else in water with a piece of proscuitto and crushed pepper. When it is done, take it out of the broth and let it drain. Then make several slashes across the thighs, body, and breast. Sprinkle it all over, especially in the slashes, with a mixture of sugar, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and fennel flour. Let it cool. When you wish to serve it, do so with it cold, with cut-up lemons over it. Before sprinkling it, you can also splash it with rose vinegar.

First you will need to put together your common spices.  This is delicious, and I use it quite a bit in my cooking.   I have sometimes substituted cubebs and long pepper for the pepper and ginger to create a spicier blend. 

Rupert de Nola's Libre del Coch (ab 1529) gives instructions for Common Sauce Spices. Amended.

Libre del Coch

Roughly translated from Spanish to English (thank you Google) this set of instructions can be translated to be:

Cinnamon three parts; cloves two parts; one piece ginger; pepper a part/ some dry coriander well ground/ a little saffron be all well ground and sifted.

Interpreted Recipe

Common Sauce Spices, Amended

1  tbsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. cloves 
1 tsp. ginger 
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. dry coriander (ground)
Pinch of Saffron

Capon "Sopramenti" 

2-2 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken (I used breasts that had been cut in half then pounded thin)
1 pound prosciutto
1 tbsp. Common spices
1 ½ teaspoons thyme
3 tablespoons sage
2 tablespoons parsley
1 tablespoons ground fennel seed
¾ teaspoon nutmeg
2 egg yolks
2 ounces grated cheese

I used chicken breasts that I cut in half an pounded out so that I could tie them up into pin wheels.  Sprinkle with your common spices and add a slice of prosciutto. 

Bring chicken broth to a boil, add a couple of lemon slices and a pinch of your common spices. 

Beat egg yolks with your cheese and herbs.  I used a mix of ricotta, fontina and parmesan cheeses. 

Wrap your breasts into pinwheels and tie off with kitchen string.  Ease them into your hot broth and poach until cooked completely through.  Allow chicken to cool.

To serve, slice each chicken breast into thin slices to get chicken "pinwheels" and cover the sliced chicken with thinly sliced lemon.