Kitchen Adventures – A Selection of Dishes from Harleian MS 279 published approximately 1430 -Capon or Goose Stuffed, Pickle for the Mallard (Onion Jam), Let lory (Fresh Cheese)

Capoun Farced, Let Lory (top right) & Pickle for the Mallard

Baronial 12th Night Recipe

February 20th was the date selected to have a cook's gathering in my local Barony. However, the weather and illness proved extremely uncooperative and we were unable to meet. The decision to cancel was made after I had started cooking the food I was going to bring. Pictured above are the items that would have been served at this gathering; Capoun or Gos Farced, Let Lory and Pickle for the mallard. Below are the orginal recipes as they appears here: Two Fifteenth-Century Cookbooks - Harliean MS 279, the translated recipes and the redactions need to be credited to Cindy Renfrow and her excellent book "Take a Thousand Eggs or More". If you are interested in cooking in this time period, consider investing in this book. Also, please note that I included my notes that I sent out to the other individuals who were supposed to be joining me at the gathering. All in all, I would have to say I had two extremely successful and well received dishes and one so-so dish. 


Original Recipe: XXXV. Capoun or gos farced. — Take Percely, & Swynys grece, or Sewet of a schepe, & parboyle hem to-gederys til J^ey ben tendyr; J^an take harde plkys of Eyroun, & choppe for-w/tA ; caste ])er-to Pouder Pepir, Gyngere, Canel, Safroun, & Salt, & grapis in tyme of jere, & clowys y-nowe ; & for defawte of grapis, Oynons, fyrst wil y-boylid, & afterward alle to-choppyd, & so stufFe hym & roste hym, & serue hym forth. And jif ]70 lust, take a litil Porke y-sode, & al to-choppe hit smal a-mong )7«to|ier ; for it wol be J^e better, & namely ^ for ]>e Capoun.


Translated: 35. Capon or Goose stuffed. Take parsley & swines grease, or suet of a sheep, and parboil them together till they are tender; then take hard yolks of eggs, and chop forthwith; cast thereto powdered pepper, ginger, cinnamon, saffron & salt & grapes in time of year, and cloves enough; & for default of grapes, onions, first well boiled & afterward all chopped, & so stuff him & roast him, & serve him forth. And if thee like, take a little pork seethed, & all chop it small among that other; for it will be the better, & especially for the capon.


Interpreted Recipe

Stuffed Goose or Capon – Serves 8-10 – Basic recipe – note variations to follow

1 capon, approximately 6 pounds
1 cup chopped parsley
¼ cup water
½ cup fatty chicken broth
2 tbs. bacon fat, lard or suet
2 small onions peeled and chopped –or- ½ cup seedless grapes
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ginger
Dash of pepper
½ tsp. cinnamon powder
3 hardboiled egg yolks (or 1 hardboiled egg)

Note: The recipe calls for onions well boiled. Ms. Renfrow does not do this step in her recipe. I would strongly suggest that you boil the onions and chop finely when cooled before proceeding with the recipe.

Put parsley, water, broth and fat and onions in a pot and bring to a boil. Cook for five minutes. Remove the pot from heat. Remove the parsley and onions from the bowl and put them in a bowl. Add spices, salt and hardboiled egg to the parsley and onions and blend thoroughly. Stuff the capon with this mixture. Place the bird in a roasting pan and roast at 350 degrees for 1 ½ - 2 hours or until the juices run clear when poked with a fork. Remove the bird from the oven and place on a serving dish. Scoop out stuffing and serve separately, if desired. Serve hot.

Variation One: add saffron to the stuffing.

Variation Two: Add ¼ tsp. clove powder along with the grapes instead of onions.

Variation Three: Simmer a ½ pound of mild spiced pork sausage (or sage sausage) in ½ cup water until no pink remains. Drain sausage and add to any of the stuffing variations.

I used Variation three with a bit of modification. I used 1 small onion and 1/2 cup red grapes, along with a clove and the sausage. This was delicious. It had rave reviews from my daughter, her boyfriend and an older family friend. Even my husband who despises anything green or "weird" ate the chicken with no muss or complaints. This is definitely on my "things to cook at a future SCA Feast list."

Original Recipe: PikkyH ipotir le Mallard. ^ Take oynons, and hewe hem smaH, and fry hem in fressh grace, and caste hem into a potte, And fressh broth of beef, Wyne, & powder of poper, canel, and dropping of the mallard/ And lete hem boile togidur awhile ; And take hit fro ]>e ijre, and caste thereto mustard a litul, And ponder of ginger. And lete hit boile no more, and salt hit, And seme it forthe with j^e Mallard.

Translated: 36. Pickle for the Mallard. Take onions, and hew them small, and fry them in fresh grease, and cast them into a pot, and fresh broth of beef, wine & powder of pepper, cinnamon, and drippings of the mallard/ And let them boil together awhile; And take it from the fire, and cast thereto mustard a little, and powder of ginger, and let it boil no more, and salt it and serve it forth with the Mallard.

Interpreted Recipe

Pickle for the Mallard – Makes 2 ½ cups Serves 4 (Again, this is enough for 1 table of 8 during a feast-use your best judgment)

3 medium onions chopped
2 tbsp. oil or lard
½ cup beef broth (you should be able to sub chicken or 50/50 beef/ chicken mix)
½ cup white wine
¼ tsp. pepper
½ tsp. cinnamon
2 tbsp. melted duck fat (if available, otherwise you should be able to sub out for oil, chicken fat, or lard)
½ tsp. dry mustard
½ tsp. ginger
1 tsp. salt

In large skillet over medium heat, fry the onions in oil until they are transparent, add the broth, wine, pepper, cinnamon, duck fat, and let the mixture boil until the flavors are mixed, about 10 minutes. Add mustard, ginger, and salt. Stir. Reduce heat. Serve hot with duck (capon, chicken, or goose).

Another recipe that received rave reviews to my captive audience and yes, this will also appear in a future feast. I sliced the onions in half, and then sliced each half into long slivers following the "ribs" of the onion as a guideline. I cooked the onions until they were translucent and then set them aside. Later I was able to skim off some of the chicken fat and used it in place of the 2 tbsp. of melted duck fat. After the chicken was out of the oven and resting, I completed this relish. I believe this would be good with beef as well as pork.

Original Recipe: Mviij. Let lory. — Take Mylke, an sette it ouer ]>e fyre; take Salt & Safroun, an caste ]7er-to ; take yroun, ]7e pike an J^e Whyte y-strainyd a lyte,^ & caste it j^er-to ; whan ]>e Mylke his skaldyng bote, caste ]!e stuf ]7er-to, an Jienne stere yt tyll it crodde ; and jif ])o\i wolt haue it a-forsyd with lyjt coste, Take ylke, & make it skaldyng bote, & caste ]7er-to Paw pikes of Eyroun, Sugre, ponder Gyngere, Clowes, Maces, an let not fully boyle ; & so bote, drcsse it forth, an ley it on ]>e crodde ; & jif ]>o\i wolt a-forse it in maner of charlet, do it in fasty??g dayis, & serue it forth.

Translated: 58: Larded Milk: Take milk and set it over the fire; take salt and saffron and cast thereto; take eggs, the yolk and the white strained a little and cast it thereto; when the Milk is scalding hot, cast the stuff thereto, and then stir it till it curdles: and if thou will have it seasoned with little cost, take Milk and make it scalding hot, and cast thereto raw yolks of eggs, sugar, powdered ginger, cloves, maces, and let it not fully boil; & so hot dress it forth, and lay it on the curd; and if thou will season it in manner of charlet, do it in fasting days, & serve it forth. 

Note: Rather than making the cheese (first part of recipe) purchase small curd cottage cheese instead, mix it with saffron, and top it with the egg sauce.

Interpreted Recipe  Let Lory – serves 4

4 cups milk
1 tsp. salt
2 beaten eggs (remove stringy white bits)
Pinch of saffron

Bring milk, salt and saffron to a boil in a 2 quart saucepan. Add the beaten eggs and stir. Form curds by alternately heating and cooling the mixture. Stir until it starts to curdle.

**Alternatively

Add 2 tsp. vinegar will make curds form faster.

Remove from heat when curds have formed and allow cooling completely. Place several layers of cheesecloth in a strainer and place strainer over a large bowl. Spoon the cheese mixture into the cheesecloth and allow draining until the drips start to slow down. Lift the cheesecloth bag without spilling the contents and squeeze gently until all whey has been removed.

Spoon the drained curds into a dish and top with the warm egg sauce before serving.

Egg Sauce

1 cup milk
1 tbsp. sugar
3 beaten egg yolks
½ tsp ginger (or to taste)
¼ tsp. each clove and mace

Heat milk to scalding hot and remove from heat. When cooled slightly, stir a spoonful of the milk into the beaten eggs yolks. Add the egg yolk mixture to the milk and stir. Heat gently while stirring. Add spices and stir until sauce reaches desired thickness—do not boil. Remove from the heat, spoon over the curds, and serve warm.

This is a so-so dish for a few reasons. Let's start with the positives, it is a very pretty dish to look at, pale yellow creamy curds drenched with a custard sauce. It somewhat resembles a very sweet cottage cheese and it is a very filling dish. That being said, it was not the most flavorful dish. It was bland compared to the other dishes it was served aside. Also, the really big negative for me, is that it was a very fussy dish--it needed babysat. You have to be very careful not to burn the milk, and once the curds started to form (I used the alternative and added vinegar), you need to keep a very close eye on it. I didn't, so my curds were "slightly smoky" on the back end.

Use this as a cautionary tale--if you are going to make cheese, ignore any and all distractions including messages from friends, company at the back door, and the dog's sudden need to urinate. That quickly you will go from a wonderfully delicious, decadent treat, to a mass of burnt curds. In this case, I had a very small area in the pan that was lightly browned and it ruined the whole dish.

That being said, I am not opposed to making this if I am serving a royal luncheon or a small group of people. If I were to do this at a feast, I would need an experienced cheesemaker whose entire time would be spent making this dish one batch at a time. *THAT* is why this dish is not something I could recommend for a future event. There are much more delightful things to cook that require the same degree of care and attentiveness this recipe needs.

However, I will be experimenting with this in the future, this might very well a dish that can be made a day or two ahead, and then served. If so, this will appear, quite probably as something on the table. One of my friends smeared it on his sourdough and declared it "better then butter".

#medievalfood #scafeast #scacook #historicfood #harleianMS279

Kitchen Adventures – SCA Feast (Ceilidh XVI March 29th, 2003)

Ceilidh XVI - March 29th, 2003

Featuring Several Recipes from Mary Savelli’s “Tastes of Anglo Saxon England”

First Course

                       

Mearh Smeamete -Sausage Casserole

Hlaf - Bread

Æppla Syfling -Apple Butter

Caules Wyrtmete -Cabbage salad     

Second Course

Hriðer Smeamete Stewed Beef

Beren Briw Barley Polenta

Hunigbæe Moran Honeyed Carrots

Third Course

Sciellfisc-Shellfish*

Brǣdan Fisc-Fish baked with Coriander*

Pisan Peas with salt and oil*

Fourth Course

Sumerlio rnearhgehæcc Summer Pudding***

Hunigæppel Honey Nut Cakes

**Caveat** It has been 12 years since this banquest was cooked, once again, many of my redactions have been lost to time. Several recipes (denoted with a *) my best guesses on food that could have been served based on archeological digs and cooking methods.  The "Fish baked with Coriander" is Roman in origin, as well as the Honey-Nut Cakes.  Summer pudding is modern in origin. I have taken my best guess on the names for the items that are not

Image taken from Jen Delyth Celtic Art Studio

                    

Mearh Smeamete -Sausage Casserole Serves 6

1 small onion chopped

1 tbsp. oil

1 pound pork sausage

1 large apple chopped

½ tsp. each salt and cinnamon

¼ tsp. each black pepper and cardamom

2 tbsp. white wine vinegar

¼ cup butter

¼ cup flour

2 cups milk

Approximately 2 cups cubed bread

1 large baking dish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease casserole dish with butter and line the bottom of the dish with half of the bread.  Heat oil and sauté onion and sausage. Stir the apple into the sausage mixture and spoon it over the bread in the casserole dish.  Sprinkle with seasonings and vinegar; set the dish aside. 

In a saucepan, melt the butter, stirring in the flour to form a roux.  Add the milk all at once and stir until thickened and bubbly.  Spoon this mixture over the sausage and apple.  Top with remaining bread and bake in a casserole uncovered for 30 minutes (Savelli, 2002).

Hlaf – Bread

Guests were offered rye, oat and wheat breads purchased at the local bakery.  The bakery uses sourdough starter to make it’s bread J

Æppla Syfling -Apple butter Makes 1 ½ cups

2 medium apples peeled and finely chopped

1 cup apple cider (or apple juice)

2 tbsp. Honey

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

¼ tsp.  Each dried mint and cumin leaves

Boil the apples in the cider for 30 minutes or until soft, puree.  Thoroughly mix the remaining ingredients into the apple puree and cool. 

Caules Wyrtmete -Cabbage Salad Serves 4

½ head of cabbage shredded and rinsed

2-4 spinach leaves torn and rinsed

1 small leak chopped fine

½ cup fresh or frozen peas cooked and cooled

½ cup feta cheese, cubed

¼ cup cider vinegar

½ cup olive or salad oil

¼ tsp. each salt and pepper or to taste

Toss vegetables together in a large bowl.  Mix together salt, pepper, oil and vinegar and pour over the salad, tossing gently.  Top with cheese.

Hriðer Smeamete-Stewed Beef Serves 4-6

¼ tsp. saffron threads

1 tbsp. hot water

1 tbsp. white wine vinegar

1 ½ to 2 pounds stewing beef or beef brisket

2 tbsp. oil

¾ cup dried breadcrumbs

1 small apple chopped

¼ cup raisins

¼ cup dates chopped

½ cup honey

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. each ground black pepper and cinnamon

¼ cup apple juice (or dry red wine)

2 tbsp. butter

1 baking dish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Crush saffron and add to the hot water and vinegar and set aside.  Brown the beef in the oil and set aside. Grease the casserole dish with butter and spread ½ cup of breadcrumbs in the bottom of the dish.  Spread the beef, fruit, saffron-water and other spices evenly over the crumbs. Mix the honey with the wine and gently pour this mixture over the beef.  Spread the remaining bread crumbs over the beef and dot the crumbs with butter.  Bake for 45 minutes or until done.

Beren Briw- Barley Polenta

1 cup barley

4 cups water

4 radishes minced

2 tbsp. butter

½ cup water

1 ¾ cups beef broth or stock

½ tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. cinnamon

Soak the barley in water for four hours.  Drain the water and reserve the barley.  Melt the butter in a medium saucepan; sauté the radish. Stir in the remaining ingredients and bring to boil.  Reduce the heat, cover the pan with the lid and let mixture simmer until barley is tender.  Approximately 40-60 minutes.

Hunigbæe Moran- Honeyed Carrots

5 carrots chopped

½ tsp. salt

2-4 medium radishes sliced

½ cup butter

¼ cup honey

2 tbsp. cider vinegar

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. dried mint

1 tbsp. cress chopped

Boil the carrots with salt.  Simmer for approximately 15 minutes.  Saute radishes in butter, add honey and vinegar.  When this is well blended, add the carrots, cinnamon, mint and cress.  Lower heat and heat through (approximately 5 minutes).

Note: For this recipe I used a mix of carrots and parsnips

Sciellfisc-Shellfish* Serves 6-8

Note: This recipe is very loosely based on a recipe I had located on the internet and can no longer find.  However, I believe it very closely resembled the one found at the Ribe Viking Center website (Fish and Shellfish: Seafood for Vikings).

1 pounds mixed shellfish (muscles & clams)

1 pound Shrimp or prawns

Approximately 3 cups water or broth

1 onion chopped

1 clove of garlic chopped

Saffron threads

Salt and Pepper to taste

Vinegar to taste

Clean the shellfish-be sure to remove any that are broken, chipped, not closed tightly or are dead prior to the cooking.  Also remove the “beard” from the mussel. Bring onion, garlic, saffron, salt and pepper to a boil.  Add the shellfish, and cook until the shells are opened.  Throw in the shrimp, and stir.  Food is ready when shrimp have turned pink.  Remove from broth and serve with vinegar on side as a dipping sauce.

Brǣdan Fisc-Fish Baked with Coriander* aka Aliter ius in pisce elixo, Apicius Serves 6-8

1 ½ to 2 pounds fish (salmon, trout, tilapia)

1 tbsp. salt

1 tbsp. coriander seeds

2 tbsp. white wine vinegar

1 tbsp. liquamen (or fish or soy sauce)

2 tbsp. dill to garnish

Clean and wash the fish.  Crush the salt and the coriander seed together until it has become a fine powder.  Place the spices into a pan and press one side of the fish onto the spices.  Place the fish into an oven proof casserole dish, cover with a lid and bake at 350 degrees until the fish has cooked through.  Sprinkle with vinegar and liquamn, and garnish with the dill. Serve hot (Ancient Roman Recipe Page for Cooking: Fish Cooked in its Own Juice).

Pisan-Peas with salt and oil*   

There was no recipe for this.  I cooked frozen peas until they were tender with a handful of chopped onions until they were tender.  They were slightly smooshed before put into the serving bowl.  I topped with salt and a drizzle of oil.

Sumerlio rnearhgehæcc-Summer Pudding* Serves 8

1 ½ cups each mixed berries (I used strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries)

10-15 slices thin white bread, crust removed

Approximately 1 brown sugar loosely packed

Clean the fruit gently and dry.  Cut strawberries in half and keep them separated from the remaining fruit.  Heat sugar and 3 tbps. Water in a large pan until the sugar is dissolved.  Bring to a boil for 1 minute and add all of the fruit except the strawberries.  Cook for 3 minutes over low heat, stirring 2-3 times.  The fruit should be softened and mostly intact.  Put a sieve over the bowl and tip in the fruit and juice.

Meanwhile, prepare the bread. Line your serving dish with cling wrap.  This will allow you to tip the pudding out easier.  Cut the crusts off the bread, cut 4 pieces of bread in half, and cut at least 2 slices into 4 triangles each. 

Dip a whole piece of bread into the juice for a few seconds until it is coated.  Push this into the bottom of the basin. Then fit in the triangular shaped pieces around the sides of the basin so that they fit together neatly.  Fill in as much space as possible.  Spoon the softened fruit into the hollow space of the pudding, and add strawberries here and there as you go.  Cover with remaining bread soaked in juice, and seal with cling wrap. Top with a weighted bowl and let the flavors mingle for several hours or overnight. Serve with leftover juice, any extra berries and cream (Goodfood).

Hunigæppel-Honey Cakes aka Gastris, Apicius Makes about 15 pieces

1 each almonds and hazelnuts

1 tbsp. bitter almonds

2 tbsp. poppy seeds

1 ½ cups sesame seeds

7 tbsp. honey

1 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the nuts and poppy seeds and roast them to give them color.  Roast the sesame seeds briefly and allow them to cool.  Pound or process the sesame seeds to a fine texture (I skipped this step). Place the honey into a pan and bring to the boil, simmer about 7 minutes and add the pounded sesame seeds, stirring well.  Allow the honey and seed mixture to cool enough it can be handled easily and turn onto a greased table or marble slab.  Grease your hands and knead until firm but still warm.  Divide into 2 equal portions and keep one of these warm.  Grease a shallow square baking tray or pan with olive oil, then using a greased rolling pin, roll the cooler portion of the seasame paste into a thin sheet and fit inside the tray.

Place the roasted nuts and the pepper into a food processor and pulse briefly, alternately, you can break them up in a mortar and pestle. Meanwhile, heat the other half of the honey, and simmer for 7 minutes the same way as before. Add the nut mixture and stir well.  While still hot, spread this over the sesame layer and level it off. 

Roll the second sesame layer into a sheet and use it to cover the nuts.  Put it in place for an hour or until set and without delay, cut it into lozenges, squares or any shape you desire (I sliced it).  Serve with fruit at the end of the meal, or as a sweet any time (Dalby, 1996).

Bibliography

Ancient Roman Recipe Page for Cooking: Fish Cooked in its Own Juice. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2015, from Celtnet Recipes: http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/roman/fetch-recipe.php?rid=roman-fish-own-juice

Dalby, A. a. (1996). The Classical Cookbook. London: British Museum Press.

Fish and Shellfish: Seafood for Vikings. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2015, from Ribe VikingeCenter: http://ribevikingecenter.dk/en/learn-more/food-fish,-shellfish.aspx

Goodfood. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2015, from Summer Pudding: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4516/summer-pudding

Savelli, M. (2002). Tastes of Anglo-Saxon England. Anglo Saxon Books.

#medievalfood  #scafeast  #scacook  #historicfood 

Fourteenth-Century Italian Feast – A Historical Menu Reconstructed February 24, 2001

Detail from “The Feast in the House of Levi” (1573), Paolo Veronese—an evocative Renaissance banquet scene setting the tone for our reconstructed medieval Italian feast.

Fourteenth-Century Italian Feast  

On February 24, 2001, at the VA Medical Center, I cooked this feast for Ceilidh XIV. It was a reconstruction of a fourteenth-century Italian banquet, drawing from sources such as Redon, Sabban & Serventi (The Medieval Kitchen) and Scully (The Art of Cookery in the Middle Ages). While some of my original redactions have been lost to time, the surviving notes and recipes are preserved here, alongside new adaptations.

This hub collects the menu at a glance, with links to each individual dish. Each recipe page includes the original text, modern interpretation, substitutions (🥕 Dietary Suggestions), and cook’s notes for scaling to feasts.

Ancient – SCA Feast (Ceilidh XV's Early Roman Feast Held March 9, 2002)

Menu: 

Rose Wine
Snow Cooled Alexandrian Loaf
Roman Coleslaw
Lentils with Chestnuts
Sausages with Mustard
Stuffed Chicken in Sour Sauce
Trimalchio's Pastry Eggs
Raisin-stuffed Beets
Fried Carrots
Char-Broiled Leeks
Bulger with Nuts and Raisins
Stuffed Dates in Honey



Libation--Toast to the Gods--Sutis verborum (Let's Eat!)Wednesday, January 16, 2002

Rosatum--Rose Wine--Eubulus, the Greek comic poet, reminds us that, “the first cup of wine is for health, the second for love and pleasure. the third for sleep: here all should go home. The fourth is for wildness, the fifth for’ shouting. the sixth for riot, the seventh for black eyes. the eighth for police, the ninth for anger. the tenth for insanity.”

Rosatum sic Facies:  folia rosarum, albo sublato, lino inseris et sutilis facias, et vino quam plurimas infundes, ut septem diebus in vino sint.  post septem dies rosam de vino tollis, et alias sutiles recentes similiter mittis, ut per dies septem in vino requiescant, et rosam eximis.  similiter et tertio facies et rosam eximis, et vinum colas, et, cum ad bibendum voles uti, addito melle rosatum conficies.  sane custodito ut rosam a rore sicam et optimam mittas.  Similiter, ut supra, et de <viola> violatium facies, et eodem modo melle temperabis.

Rose wine.  Rose wine you will make like this:  Thread together rose-leaves from which the white part has been removed, and steep as many as possible in wine for seven days.  After seven days take the rose-leaves out of the wine, and in the same way put in other fresh rose leaves threaded together, to rest seven days in wine, then take them out.  Repeat a third time, take out the rose-leaves, strain the wine, and, when you want to use it for drinking, add honey to make rose wine.  But take care to use the best rose-leaves, when the dew has dried off them.  Make violet wine in the same way as above, and mix with honey in the same way.

Rose Wine

2 bottles red wine

1/4 cup honey

1/8 tsp. rose water

2 fresh roses (old fashioned pink), washed

Pour the wine into a punch bowl.  Add the honey and rose water, and stir gently.  Scatter the petals from the two fresh roses over the surface of the wine.  Serve in individual glasses, cups or goblets.  Serves 4-6

Gustum (Gustatio, Promulsis) Hor d'oevres--accompanied by mulsum.  It could consist of eggs prepared in various ways, raw and cooked vegetables including, asparagus, cucumbers, pumpkins, herbs, lettuces, mushrooms, salt fish, dormice, mussels and snails.

Alexandrian Cumin Bread*--I could not find a recipe for this particular bread per se in the book that I have but I did find a reference to it "Alexandrian bread was presumably a bread invented by the people of Alexandria, possibly made of grain from there.  It contained according to Pliny (Nat. Hist., XX, 15, 58 (163)), cumin. 

Alexandrian Cumin Bread

3 cups unbleached, all purpose flour

1 package dried yeast

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cumin seed ground

1 cup plus 3 ounces lukewarm water

Place the flour, yeast, salt and ground cumin in a large mixing bowl.  Blend well.  Add the water, and mix the dough for 2-3 minutes.  Until all the water is absorbed and evenly distributed.  The dough will be damp and very sticky, but no internal dry areas should appear by the end of the mixing, if they do, mix a few minutes more or add a little more water and mix again. 

Let the dough rest 5 minutes.  Now sprinkle 1 or 2 tablespoons flour over the dough and knead, either in the bowl or on a lightly floured surface 5-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic and slightly sticky (add more flour if needed).  Let dough rest for 2 minutes more.  The dough should now be very smooth and easy to handle.  Knead 30 seconds more, return the dough to the bowl, cover the bowl with a dish towel or large plate and let rise at room temperature at least 3 hours.  The dough should almost triple in size.

Flour the top of the dough lightly and punch it down, remove the dough from the bowl, form the dough into a rectangular loaf and place in a well greased loaf pan, 9 1/4 inches by 5 1/4 inches by 2 3/4 inches.  Cover with a towel and let rise 1 hour until nicely risen. 

Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 35 minutes, or until browned on top.  The bottom should sound hollow when tapped with one finger.   Yield:  1 Loaf.

Aliter Sala Cattabia--Snow Cooled Alexandrian Loaf

Aliter Sala Cattabia:  panem Alexandrinum excavabis, in posca macerabis.  adicies in mortarium piper, mel, mentam, alium, coriandrum viride, caseum bubulum sale conditum, aquam,  oleum.  insuper nivem, et inferes.

Sala Cattabia, Another Method.  Hollow out an Alexandrian loaf, soak in water mixed with vinegar.  Put in the mortar pepper, honey, mint, garlic, fresh coriander, salted cows milk cheese, water and oil.  <arrange similar ingredients as in two previous recipes (trust me...no chicken liver or goat sweetbreads will be present ;-P >, cool in snow, and serve.

Snow Cooled Alexandrian Loaf

1 loaf Alexandrain  bread (see recipe above)

3 tablespoons white vinegar

1 ounce cold water

2 chicken breasts or 1/2 chicken

1 cucumber peeled and sliced thin

4 ounces dry ricotta or feta cheese

1/4 cup pine nuts

1 tsp. capers

1 ounce onion finely chopped

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 cup honey

2 tsp. mint

2 cloves garlic finely minced

2 coriander leaves choppped (Opt.)

3 ounces olive oil

Bake broil or saute chicken until cooked thoroughly.  Let cool, then bone and dice. 

Prepare the bread loaf to make a "box" witha detached cover:  With a long sharp knife, make an incision through the top crust of the loaf parallel with one end of hte loaf about 1/2 inch from that end.  Leaving a half inch border all around the loaf, remove carefully the top crust.  Cut and pull out the soft part of the bread, try to make a container with interior walls as straight as possible, leaving 1/2 inch thick sides and a 1/2 inch thick bottom.  Leave the top crust 1/4 inch thick.

Sprinkle the interior of the boxed loaf and the underside of it's top crust or the cover with the vinegar mixed with one ounce cold water.  Fill the box first with a layer of chicken, sliced cucumbers, cheese, pine nuts, capers and chopped onion. 

Combine the pepper, honey, mint, garlic, coriander and 1/4 cup olive oil, mix well and pour into the box.  Replace top crust, and chill the entire loaf in the refrierator or in snow, 1 hour.  Slice and serve.  Serves 8

*to serve fill a bowl with "snow" (shaved ice), lay the loaf on a plate, and lay the plate on the snow.  The use of snow and garlic suggest that this dish is from non-urban origins.

Aliter Cymas--Roman Coleslaw

Aliter:  cauliculi elixati in patina compositi condiuntur liquamine, oleo, mero, cumino, piper asparges, porrum, cuminum, coriandrum viride super concides.

Another Method: Arrange bioled cabbages in a shallow pan and dress with liquamen, oil, wine, cumin.  Sprinkle with pepper, chopped leeks, caraway-seed, and fresh coriander.

*the recipe suggests that this could be prepared ahead of time and served cold or room temp, or served immediately warmed.

Roman Coleslaw

1 medium cabbage

3 ounces olive oil

1 tablespoon liquamen*

1 tbs. white wine

1tsp. caraway seeds

1 leek, trimmed and chopped fine

1 coriander leaf chopped

S&P to taste

Peel off the tough outer layers of the cabbage and core the remainder.  Boil the cabbage in enough water to cover 15-20 minutes until tender.  Drain, then rinse in cold water until cool, drain again and chop well.

Mix together remaining ingredients and pour over the chopped cabbage.  Mix well and serve. Serves 8

Lenticula de Castaneis--Lentils with Chestnuts

Lenticulam De Castaneis:  accipies caccabum novum, et castaneas purgatas diligenter mittis.  adicies aquam et nitrum modice, facies ut coquatur.  cum coquitur, mittis in mortario piper, cuminum, semen coriandri, mentam rutam, laseris radicem, puleium, fricabis.  suffundis acetum, <adicies> mel, liquamen, aceto temperabis, et super castaneas coctas refundis.  adicies oleum, facies ut ferveat.  cum bene ferbuerit, tudiclabis [ut in mortario teres].  gustas: si quid deest, addes. cum in boletar miseris, addes oleum viride.

Lentils with Chestnuts <Boil the lentils> Take a new saucepan and put in the carefully cleaned chestnuts.  Add water and a little cooking-soda.  Put on the fire to cook.  When cooked put in the mortar pepper, cumin, coriander-seed, mint, rue, asafoetida root, and pennyroyal; pound.  Moisten with vinegar, add honey and liquamen, blend with vinegar, and pour over the cooked chestnuts.  Add oil, bring to the boil.  When it is boiling well, stir.  <Mix with the lentils.> Taste:  if something is missing, add it.  When you have put it in the serving-dish add best oil.

Lentils with Chestnuts

1 cup lentils, washed

12 chestnuts

1/4 tsp. each grd, pepper, coriander, cumin

1 tsp. mint

1/4 tsp. fresh rue (opt.)

1/4 tsp. pennyroyal (opt. *pennyroyal is an abortificant and should not be used or eaten by those expecting babies. I will not be using it in this feast, but include it here for historic purpose.)

pinch asafetida (opt.)

1 ounce wine vinegar

1 ounce honey

1 tablespoon liquamen*

1 ounce olive oil

If the lentils are not pre soaked, cover them with water and soak overnight, drain.  Boil the lentils in 3 cups water for 30-40 minutes, or until tender.  Drain any excess water.  Meanwhile boil chestnuts in water for 20 minutes.  Drain.  Rinse under cold water, then peel back the outer shell and inner skins from both haves.  Add the chestnut halves to the lentils, then add remaining  ingredients and stir well.  Heat thoroughly and serve warm.  If desired, add more honey, oil, wine, or salt.  Serves 8

Farcimina--Sausages

Aliter Farcimina--coctam alicam et tritam cum pulpa concisa et trita una cum pipere et liquamine et nucleis.  farcies intestinum et elixabis, deinde cum sale assabis et cum sinapi inferes, vel sic concisum in disco.

Another Method: Make a mixture of boiled spelt-grits and coarsely minced meat that has been pounded with pepper, liquamen, and pine-kernels.  Stuff a sausage skin and boil.  Then grill with salt and serve with mustard, or serve boiled cut up on a round dish.

*Mustard according to Columella, De re Rustica, XII, 57

Carefully clean mustard seed and sift, then wash in cold water and when well washed leave for two hours in the water.  Then remove, press it with your hands and put in a new or a thoroughly cleaned mortar, add pine-kernals which should be as fresh as possible and almonds, pound carefully and pour vinegar on.

*According to Pallidus, VIII, 9:  grind to a fine powder 1 1/2 pints mustard seed, add 5 pounds honey, 1 pound spanish oil, 1 pint strong vinegar, mix carefully and use.

Sausages with Mustard

1 pound meat (chuck cubes or pork shoulder cubes)

4 tablespoons bulgur (parched cracked wheat)

1 tsp. grd. pepper

2 1/2 tbs. liquamen*

2 tbs. pine nut

mustard

salt

Boil the bulgur in water to cover until tender. Drain

Chop the meat into small pieces about the size of pine nuts.  Transfer into a bowl and pound well with a mallet or pestle.  Add the cooked bulgur, pepper, liquamen and pine nuts.  Pound again.  If your liquamen is weak, you may want to add a little salt to the mixture.

Stuff this sausage mixture into small sausage casings, making 12 3inch by 1 inch sausages.  If sausage casings are unavailable.  Use cheesecloth.

Simmer sausages in 1/2 inch water for 1 hour covered, turning them occasionally.  Remove from the water and unwrap carefully.

Now place the unwrapped sausages on a charcoal grill, sprinkle with a little salt and grill for 15 minutes, turning them gently.  Serve with prepared mustard.  Makes 12 sausages.

*if using cheescloth in place of organic sausage casings, cut cheesecloth(double thickness) into twelve 8" x 5" rectangles.  Brush them with 1/2 pound (1 cup) melted shortening.  Then form one sausage from the meat mixture with your hands and place at the base of one  rectangle along the smaller edge.  Roll up the cheesecloth tightly, making sure that the sausage maintains it's cylindrical shape.  Tie each end of the sausage with a string, first twisting lightly to make the sausage compact.  Repeat.

Mensae Primae-- the Main Coarse--the primae mensae were devoted to roast and boiled meats, poultry and meat delicacies (some of which could be used in gustatio). During this course wine was drunk, usually mixed with water and in moderate quantities. 

Pullus Farsilis--Stuffed Chicken in Sour Sauce

Pullus Farsilis:  pullum sicuti liquaminatum a cervice expedies.  teres piper, ligusticum, zingiber, pulpam caesam, alicam elixam, teres cerebellum ex iure coctum, ova confringis et commisces, ut unum corpus efficias.  liquamine temperas et oleum modice mittis, piper integrum, nucleos abundanter.  fac impensam et imples pullum vel porcellum, ita ut laxamentum habeat. similiter in capo facies.  ossibus eictis coques.

Stuffed Chicken.  Draw chicken --as for chicken in liquamen--from the neck.  Pound pepper, lovage, ginger, chopped meat, boiled spelt-grits; pound a brain cooked in stock, break eggs into it, and work all this into a smooth mixture.  Blend with liquamen and add a little oil, whole peppercorns, and plenty of pine-kernels.  Stuff with this mixture a chicken or a sucking pig, leaving a little room.  You can use the same stuffing also for capon.  Cook it with the bones removed.

Pullum Oxyzomum:  olei acetabulum maius, <laseris> satis modice, liquaminis acetabulum minus, aceti acetabulum perquam minus, piperis scripulos sex, petroselini scripulum, porri fasciculum.

Chicken with Sauce Piquant A good 1/2 gill of oil, a little asafoetida, just under 1/2 gill liquamen, the same amount of vinegar, 6 scruples of pepper, 1 scruple of parsley, and a bunch of leeks.

Stuffed Chicken in Sour Sauce

1 whole chicken

Stuffing

1/4 tsp. grd. pepper

4 celery leaves chopped

2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 pound ground chuck or chuck cubes, or ground pork, or pork shoulder cubes

3/4 cup bulgur

1 pork or calf brain boiled and mashed (optional--not using, can't find any brains in the area)

1 egg beaten

1 ounce liquamen*

1 tbs. olive oil

10 peppercorns

1/4 cup pine nuts

Sour Sauce

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup liquamen*

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 tbs.parsley

4 leeks or green onions chopped

pinch asafetida (optional)

Bone the chicken as follows: cut off the wings at tips. Slit the skin of the chicken down the middle of the breast, then pull the skin down each side of the bird all the way to the legs.  Try not to tear the skin. Separate the breast meat from the underlying breast bone and ribcage on each side.  Remove the breat meat and put aside.  Cut out the breast bone and ribs from the chicken and discard.  Also remove the wishbone.  Lastly, find the long white tendon in each half of the breast meat and pull it out of the meat, discard the tendon.  The chicken is now ready to stuff.

Boil the bulgur in the water to cover until tender.  Drain.  Cut the meat into very fine bits an dpound well, if using ground meat you may omit this step.  Combine the meat with ground pepper, ginger, celery leaves, bulgur and brain, blend well.  You may not need all of the bulgur, depending upon the size of the chicken.  Add the egg, liquamen, oil, peppercorns and pine nuts to the mixture and mix thoroughly.  Now fill the cavity of the chicken with the mixture.  Drape the breast meat over the filling and reconstruct the original shape of the chicken.  Gently stretch the skin back over the breast and sew the skin together.  Also sew closed the neck and rear openings.  Place chicken in a roasting pan and cook at 350 degree's for approximately  one hour, 15 minutes or until liquid runs clear when pierced with a fork (about 25 minutes per pound).

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce.  Combine all ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.  When the chicken is cooked, remove from the oven, take out the stitching and place on a serving dish.  Serve the sauce separately. Serves 4

Trimalchio's Pastry Eggs *I could not find a period recipe in the books I have, so offer up this selection from Petronius' Satyricon to support this dish.*

"...a tray was brought in with a basket on it. There sat a wooden hen, its wings spread round it the way hens are when they are broody. Two slaves hurried up and as the orchestra played a tune they began searching through the straw and dug out peahens' eggs, which they distributed to the guests.

Trimalchio turned to look at this little scene and said: 'My friends, I gave orders for that bird to sit on some peahens' eggs. I hope to goodness they are not starting to hatch. However, let's try them and see if they are still soft.'

We took up our spoons (weighing at least half a pound each) and cracked the eggs, which were made of rich pastry. To tell the truth, I nearly threw away my share, as the chicken seemed already formed. But I heard a guest who was an old hand say: 'There should be something good here.' So I searched the shell with my fingers and found the plumpest little figpecker, all covered with yolk and seasoned with pepper."

Trimalchio's Pastry Eggs

4 Large eggs, hard boiled and cooled

8 small (1 inch) shrimp, shelled and deveined

2 tsp. liquamen*

1 1/2 cups flour

3 ounces olive oil

1 egg

1 tablespoon cold water.

Cover the shrimp with water and boil  about 10 minutes, until thoroughly cooked. Drain.  Shell the hardboiled eggs.  Cut off the top of each egg where the yolk begins.  Carefully scoop out the yolk, leaving the white intact.  Reserve the white "caps".  Mix the yolks with the liquamen.  Place two shrimp in the hollow of each egg white and cover them with some of the egg youlk mixture.  Do not overstuff.  Replace the "caps". 

Prepare the pastry, blend thoroughly the flour, oil and egg and mix well.  Add cold water.  The dough should be slightly sticky. Divide the dough into four pieces and shape each piece by pressing with your palms, they should be circles of a 6inch diameter.  Wrap a circle of dough around each egg.  Patch or trim the dough as necessary.  Transfer to a bakinc pan, place in a preheated 400 degree oven and bake until they are crusted brown and beginning to split.  Serve with any sauce used for chickent.  Serves 4

Betas--Raisin stuffed beets

Concides porrum, coriandrum, cuminum, uvam passam farinum, et omnia in medullam mittes.  ligabis et ita inferes ex liquamine, oleo et aceto.

Chop leeks, coriander, cumin, raisins, add flour, and add all this to the pith <of the incised beets>.  Thicken, and serve with liquamen, oil and vinegar.

Raisin-stuffed Beets

4 large beets, trimmed

1 leek or green onion, trimmed and chopped

2 coriander leaves, chopped (opt)

1 tsp. cumin seed, ground

1/2 cup raisins

2 tsp. flour

1 ounce liquamen*

1 ounce olive oil

1 ounce vinegar

With a small knife or apple corer cut out the center of each beet, start your cut from the top of the beet.  The amount removed from each beet should be the size of an apple core--a cylinder about 1/2 inch in diameter and about 2 inches long.  Do not go through the bottom of the beet. Discard cores.

Combine the chopped leek, coriander leaves, cumin and flour.  Chop the raisins fine and add them to the mixture, blend well.

Stuff each beet with 1/4 of the raisin mixture and place all in a saucepan small enough so that they can stand upright without falling over.  Add water to the pan until the water reaches halfway up the beats.  Sprinkle a little water into the stuffed cavities. Bring toa boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer until tender.

When the beets are cooked, transfer them onto a serving plate.  Mix together liquamen, oil, vinegar and pour over beets.  Serves4 (8)

Caroetae Frictae--Fried Carrots

Caroetae frictae oenogaro inferuntur

Fried Carrots Serve with oenogarum

Oenogarum:  piper, ligusticum, coriandrum, rutam, liquamen, mel, <vinum> et oleum modice.

Oenogarum: Pepper, lovage, coriander, rue, liquamen, honey, wine and a little oil

Fried Carrots

6 medium sized carrots, peeled, trimmed and chopped into very thin rounds

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup liquamen*

1/4 cup red wine

1/4  cup honey

1/4 tsp. each pepper, coriander, rue (optional)

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and add the carrots, stir fry for approximately 4 minutes until tender crisp.  Transfer the carrots with their oil to a serving dish.  Mix together liquamen, wine, and honey and spices, and pour over the carrots. Serves 4 (8)

Aliter Porros--Char-broiled Leeks

Alliter Porros: opertos foliis cauliculorum [et] in prunis coques, ut supra [et] inferes

Another Method.  Cover the leeks with cabbage-leaves and cook in a red hot coal. Serve as above. (served with oil, liquamen and wine)

Char-Broiled Leeks

4 leeks (white part only) trimmed

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine

1 tablespoon liquamen*

Wrap each leek in it's own piece of aluminum foil, make sure no part of it is exposed.  Place the wrapped leeks amidst hot charcoals for 10 minutes.  Take up the packages, unwrap them, and place the leeks in a serving dish.  Mix together the oil, wine, and liquamen, and pour this mixture over the leeks. Serves 4 (8)

*note--to prepare this dish authentically, cover 1 head of cabbage with water and boil for 7 minutes to soften.  Drain, rinse under cold water.  Wrap one cabbage leaf around one piece of leek.  If the leeks are excessively long, you may have to cut them in half crosswise.  If any part of the leek is exposed, wrap a second cabbage leaf around the first.  Cook as you would the aluminum foil wrapped leeks by placing amidst hot coals for 10 minutes.  Discard the burnt cabbage.

Apothermum sic Facies--Bulgur with Nuts and Raisins

Apothermum sic Facies:  alicam elixa cum nucleis et amygdalis depallatis et in aqua infusis et lotis ex creta argentaria, ut ad candorem pariter perducantur.  cui ammiscebis uvam passam, caroenum vel passum, desuper <piper> confractum asparges et in boletari inferes.

Apothermum.  Make as follows.  Boil spelt-grits with pine-kernels and almonds skinned, soaked, and washed with chalk used for cleaning silver, so as to render them equally white.  Into this mix raisins, caroenum or passum, sprinkle ground pepper on top, and serve in a serving dish (boletar).

*to be historically authentic, this dish would have to be made from emmer wheat groats, but emmer wheat is hard to come by, so bulgar has been substituted which is readily available.

Bulger with Nuts and Raisins

1 cup bulgur, washed

1 1/2 cups water

2 tbsp. pine nuts

2 tbsp. blanched almonds

1/4 cup. raisins

1 ounce sweet wine or grape juice

1/4 tsp. ground pepper

Bring the bulgur to a boil in the water along with the pine nuts and almonds.  Simmer for 15 minutes until bulgur is tender, but not mushy, all the water should be absorbed.  Drain if necessary.  Add the raisins, sweet wine or grapejuice, and the pepper, mix well and transfer to a serving dish. Serves 4 (8)

*note--modern taste may prefer a sprinkling of salt when serving this.

Mensae Secundae--Dessert course--The secundae mensae consists of fruits and various sweets. 

Dulcia Domestica--Home made Sweet

Dulcia Domestica:  palmulas vel dactylos excepto semine, nuce vel nucleis vel pipere trito infercies.  sale foris contingis, frigis in melle cocto, et inferes.

Home Made Sweet. Stone dates, and stuff with nuts, pine kernels or ground pepper.   Roll in salt, fry in cooked honey, and serve

Stuffed Dates in Honey

20 pitted dates

1/4 cup honey

10 almonds, blanched

salt

Split the almonds in half lengthwise.  Stuff each date with one almond half.  Heat the honey in a small saucepan.  When the honey begins to foam up, roll each date in salt, and drop into the honey.  Cook briefly in the honey, but do not let the honey start to carmelize.  With a slotted spoon or tongs, remove the dates from the honey and lay them on a lightly oiled dish, let cool, then serve.  Yield 20 dates.

*note--as a rule Romans preferred the taste of sweets sprinkled with ground pepper.  One variation of this recipe suggests stuffing the dates with pepper.

Fresh fruit in season;mala granata(Pomegranite),uvas (grapes),persica(peaches),pruna (plums),praecoquis (apricots), mala matiana(apples),pira (pears),fici (figs), cerasia(cherries) or any combination of the above.

Nuces(Nuts);nucleos pineos( pinenuts),nuces (walnuts),castaneae(chestnuts), pistachio, amygdali(almonds), pontica (hazel), calva (filberts)

*all spelling errors are uniquely my own! ;P

*Liquamen--

Liquamen (Fish Sauce)

This is one of the basics of Roman cooking, it is salty in flavour.

There are various Fish Sauces available in oriental shops.

One alternative mentioned, is to use 1 tablespoon of salt dissolved in 100ml (3½ fl oz) of wine.

To Make Liquamen-a modern equivilent for the stuff that was sold factory made in antiquity.

1 two ounce can anchovies packed in olive oil

1 1/2 cups water

1 tsp. oregano

1 ounce grape juice (defrutum--a concentrated grape juice that was boiled down 1/3 in antiquity.  Todays grape juice need not be boiled down)

1/2 tsp. salt

Boil the anchovies, water, oregano, and salt over high heat for ten minutes, until the liquid is reduced 1/3.  Strain the liquamen through a tea strainer once or twice then add the grape juice.  Pour into a jar and it will keep for weeks if refrigerated.  Yield 1 cup.

Works Cited: 

Flower, Barbara and Elisabeth Rosenbaum; The Roman Cookery Book; a Critical Translation of The Art of Cooking by Apicius for Use in the Study and the Kitchen

The recipe for Alexandrian Cumin Bread can be found in numerous places over the internet, but mine came from a cookbook that I no longer possess due to flooding :-( Here is an identical recipe found on the web: http://cookeatshare.com/recipes/alexandrian-cumin-bread-63103

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