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.

(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.