Camping Without a Cooler
Recipes from How to Milk an Almond, Stuff an Egg, and Armor a Turnip
By Cariadoc and Elizabeth, available from Amazon.com, and webbed at:
http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Medieval.html.
Hais
al-Baghdadi p. 214 (Good)
Take fine dry bread, or biscuit, and grind up well. Take a ratl of this, and three quarters of a ratl of fresh or preserved dates with the stones removed, together with three uqiya of ground almonds and pistachios. Knead all together very well with the hands. Refine two uqiya of sesame-oil, and pour over, working with the hand until it is mixed in. Make into cabobs, and dust with fine-ground sugar. If desired, instead of sesame-oil use butter. This is excellent for travellers.
⅓ c almonds 7 T melted butter
⅓ c pistachios or sesame oil
2 c (1 lb) pitted dates enough sugar
2 ⅔ c bread crumbs
We usually grind the nuts separately in a food processor, then mix dates, bread crumbs, and nuts in the food processor, then stir in melted butter or oil. Dates vary in hardness—fresher is better (softer, moister). If it does not hold together, add a few tablespoons of water, one at a time. For “cabobs,” roll and squeeze into one inch balls. Good as caravan food (or for taking to wars). They last forever if you do not eat them, but you do so they don't.
Hulwa
Ibn al-Mabrad p.19
Its varieties are many. Among them are the sweets made of natif. You put dibs [fruit syrup], honey, sugar or rubb [thick fruit syrup] in the pot, then you put it on a gentle fire and stir until it takes consistency. Then you beat eggwhite and put it with it and stir until it thickens and becomes natif. After that, if you want almond candy you put in toasted almonds and 'allaftahu; that is, you bind them. walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, toasted chickpeas, toasted sesame, flour. [apparently alternative versions]. You beat in the natif until it thickens. For duhniyyah you put in flour toasted with fat. As for ... [other versions.]
Sugar version Honey version
¼ c water 1 c honey
1 ¼ c sugar 1 egg white
1 egg white 2 ½-3 c or more nuts
1 ½ - 2 c nuts [ground nuts
or sesame seeds]
This makes 25-40 hulwa.
Sugar version: Bring the water to a boil, stir in the sugar, continuing to heat. When it is dissolved and reasonably clear, turn it down to a simmer and put the top on the pot for two or three minutes (this is to let the steam wash down any sugar on the sides of the pot). Take the top off, boil gently until the temperature reaches the hard ball stage (250° -260° F). Beat the egg white until it is just stiff enough to hold its shape. Pour the sugar syrup into the egg white, beating continuously. You now have a thick white mixture; this is the natif. Mix it with chopped nuts (we have used almonds and walnuts) or toasted sesame seeds, or some mixture thereof. Squeeze the mixture into balls and set them aside to cool. As the natif cools it gets harder and less sticky, so you have to work quickly; the hotter you get the syrup before combining it with the egg white (and hence the less water ended up in it), the faster this happens and the dryer the hulwa ends up. If you get past 260°, the syrup may crystallize on you as or before you pour it; if so, give up and start over.
Honey version: Simmer the honey gently until it reaches a temperature of 280° -290° F. From that point on, the recipe is the same as for sugar, using the boiled honey instead of the sugar syrup. Note that honey requires a higher temperature than sugar to get the same effect. Also note that natif made from honey will be stickier than natif made from sugar (maybe you can solve this by getting the honey up to 310° without burning it; I couldn't). So use a higher ratio of nuts to natif and have the nuts chopped more finely; this helps reduce the stickiness. You may want to roll the honey hulwa in sesame seeds or ground nuts, also to reduce stickiness.
Dibs version (still experimental). Stir the dibs while simmering at medium heat about ½ hour+, until it gets to about 250°. If you do not stir, it may separate out. By 250° there is some problem with scorching.
Note: Dibs is date syrup, available from some Middle Eastern grocery stores.To toast sesame seeds, put them in a heavy iron pot over a medium to high flame. When the ones on the bottom begin to tan, start stirring. When they are all tan to brown, take them off the heat or they will burn.
Gingerbrede
Curye on Inglysch p. 154
(Goud Kokery no. 18) (Good)
To make gingerbrede. Take goode honey & clarifie it on þe fere, & take fayre paynemayn or wastel brede & grate it, & caste it into þe boylenge hony, & stere it well togyder faste with a sklyse þat it bren not to þe vessell. & þanne take it doun and put þerin ginger, longe pepper & saundres, & tempere it vp with þin handes; & than put hem to a flatt boyste & strawe þeron suger, & pick þerin clowes rounde aboute by þe egge and in þe mydes, yf it plece you, &c.
1 c honey ¼ t saunders
1 ½ c breadcrumbs 1 T sugar
1 t ginger 30-40 whole cloves
¼ t long pepper [or 5 t sugar, pinch
powdered cloves]
Bring honey to a boil, simmer two or three minutes, stir in breadcrumbs with a spatula until uniformly mixed. Remove from heat, stir in ginger, pepper, and saunders. (If you can’t get long pepper, substitute ordinary black pepper.) When it is cool enough to handle, knead it to get spices thoroughly mixed. Put it in a box, cookie tin, or the like, squish it flat and thin, sprinkle with sugar and stick cloves ornamentally over the surface. Leave it to let the clove flavor sink in; do not eat the cloves.
An alternative way of doing it is to roll into small balls, roll in sugar mixed with a pinch of cloves; we like to flatten them a little to avoid confusion with hais. This is suitable if you are making them today and eating them tomorrow.
Khushkananaj
al-Baghdadi p. 212 (Good)
Take fine white flour, and with every ratl mix three uqiya of sesame-oil [one part oil to four of flour], kneading into a firm paste. Leave to rise; then make into long loaves. Put into the middle of each loaf a suitable quantity of ground almonds and scented sugar mixed with rose water, using half as much almonds as sugar. Press together as usual, bake in the oven, remove.
2 c white flour 1 c almonds
1 c whole wheat flour 1 ½ c sugar
½ c sesame oil 1 T rose water
¾ to ⅞ c cold water or more flour
½ c water, ½ c sourdough
We originally developed the recipe without leavening, but currently use sourdough, which is our best guess at what the original intended (and also seems to work a little better). The two versions are:
Without leavening: Mix the flour, stir in the oil. Sprinkle the water onto the dough, stir in. Knead briefly together.
Sourdough: Mix the flour, stir in the oil. Mix the water and the sour dough starter together. Add gradually to the flour/oil mixture, and knead briefly together. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise about 8 hours in a warm place, then knead a little more.
We also have two interpretations of how the loaves are made; they are:
Almost Baklava: Divide in four parts. Roll each one out to about 8"x16" on a floured board. Grind almonds, combine with sugar and rose water. Spread the mixture over the rolled out dough and roll up like a jelly roll, sealing the ends and edges (use a wet finger if necessary). You may want to roll out the dough in one place and roll it up in another, so as not to have bits of nuts on the board you are trying to roll it out on. You can vary how thin you roll the dough and how much filling you use over a considerable range, to your own taste.
Long thin loaves: Divide the dough into six or eight parts, roll each out to a long loaf (about 16"), flatten down the middle so that you can fill it with the sugar and almond mixture, then seal it together over the filling. You end up with a tube of dough with filling in the middle.
Bake on a lightly oiled pan at 350° about 45-50 minutes.
Notes: At least some of the almonds should be only coarsely ground, for texture. Be sure to use middle Eastern (or health food) sesame oil, from untoasted sesame seeds. A later recipe gives us some idea of what scented sugar contained, but for this one we just add rose water.
Prince-Bisket
Hugh Platt p. 14
Take one pound of very fine flower, and one pound of fine sugar, and eight egges, and two spoonfuls of Rose water, and one ounce of Carroway seeds, and beat it all to batter one whole houre: for the more you beat it, the better your bread is: then bake it in coffins, of white plate, being basted with a little butter before you put in your batter, and so keep it.
4 c flour (1 lb) 2 t rose water
2 c sugar (1 lb) 4 t caraway seeds
5 eggs
Beat all ingredients together one whole hour (or do a fourth of a recipe at a time in a food processor, processing it for several minutes or until the blades stall); there is a visible change in texture at that point. Spoon out onto a greased cookie sheet as 3" biscuits and bake about 30-40 minutes at 325°. You end up with biscuits which keep forever, but get harder and harder over time.
To Make an Excellent Cake
Digby p. 219 (Good)
To a peck of fine flour take six pounds of fresh butter, which must be tenderly melted, ten pounds of currants, of cloves and mace, ½ an ounce of each, an ounce of cinnamon, ½ an ounce of nutmegs, four ounces of sugar, one pint of sack mixed with a quart at least of thick barm of ale (as soon as it is settled to have the thick fall to the bottom, which will be when it is about two days old), half a pint of rosewater; ½ a quarter of an ounce of saffron. Then make your paste, strewing the spices, finely beaten, upon the flour: then put the melted butter (but even just melted) to it; then the barm, and other liquours: and put it into the oven well heated presently. For the better baking of it, put it in a hoop, and let it stand in the oven one hour and a half. You ice the cake with the whites of two eggs, a small quantity of rosewater, and some sugar.
Scaled down to one sixteenth of the original
2 c flour ¼ c yeast residue from beer
¼ t cloves (or 1 t yeast in 3 T water)
¼ t mace 8 threads saffron
½ t cinnamon 1 T rosewater
¼ t nutmeg 2 T sack (or sherry)
½ T sugar 2 c currants
⅜ lb butter
icing:
⅛ egg white (about 2 t)
¼ t rosewater 2 T sugar
Mix flour, spices, and sugar. Melt butter, mix up yeast mixture, and crush the saffron in the rosewater to extract the color. When the butter is melted, stir it into the flour mixture, then add sack, yeast mixture, and rosewater-saffron mixture. Stir this until smooth, then stir in currants. Bake at 350° in a greased 10" round pan or a 7"x11" rectangular pan for 40 minutes. Remove from pan and spread with a thin layer of icing. We usually cut it up into bar cookies.
Drinks
Modern Recipe: Dissolve 4 cups of sugar in 2 ½ cups of water; when it comes to a boil add 1 cup wine vinegar. Simmer ½ hour. Add a handful of mint, remove from fire, let cool. Makes 5 c of syrup, which stores without refrigeration. Dilute to taste with ice water (5 to 10 parts water to 1 part syrup).
Note: This is the only recipe in the Miscelleny that is based on a modern source: A Book of Middle Eastern Food, by Claudia Roden. Sekanjabin is a period drink; it is mentioned in the Fihrist of al-Nadim, which was written in the tenth century. The only period recipe I have found for it (in the Andalusian cookbook) is called “Simple Sekanjabin” (see below) and omits the mint. It is one of a large variety of similar drinks described in that cookbook–flavored syrups intended to be diluted in either hot or cold water before drinking.
Andalusian p. A-74
Take a ratl of strong vinegar and mix it with two ratls of sugar, and cook all this until it takes the form of a syrup. Drink an ûqiya of this with three of hot water when fasting: it is beneficial for fevers of jaundice, and calms jaundice and cuts the thirst, since sikanjabîn syrup is beneficial in phlegmatic fevers: make it with six ûqiyas of sour vinegar for a ratl of honey and it is admirable.
This seems to be two different recipes, for two different medical uses. The first, at least, is intended to be drunk hot. In modern Iranian restaurants, sekanjabin is usually served cold, often with grated cucumber.
Syrup of Lemon
Andalusian p. A-74
Take lemon, after peeling its outer skin, press it and take a ratl of juice, and add as much of sugar. Cook it until it takes the form of a syrup. Its advantages are for the heat of bile; it cuts the thirst and binds the bowels.
This we also serve as a strong, hot drink. Alternatively, dilute it in cold water and you have thirteenth century lemonade. All three of the andalusian syrup recipes include comments on medical uses.
Andalusian p. A-74
Take a ratl of sour pomegranates and another of sweet pomegranates, and add their juice to two ratls of sugar, cook all this until it takes the consistency of syrup, and keep until needed. Its benefits: it is useful for fevers, and cuts the thirst, it benefits bilious fevers and lightens the body gently.
Use equal volumes of sugar and pomegranate juice (found in some health food stores). Cook them down to a thick syrup, which will keep, without refrigeration, for a very long time. To serve, dilute one part of syrup in 3 to 6 parts of hot water (to taste).
A Recipe for Conserving Quince
al-Warraq p. 486
Quarter and core quince, put it in a pot with honey, and pour water on it. Let the pot come to a boil then drain the quince, return it to the pot and add honey to it. Do not use water this time. Cook the qunce again until it is well done.
1 lb quince ½ c honey 1 ½ c honey
Core and quarter the quince(s). Dissolve ½ c honey in 1 ½ c of water. Put the quince in the liquid, bring it to a boil, then drain off the liquid, return the quince to the pot along with 1 ½ c honey. Bring the honey to a boil and cook for about an hour. Put the quince and boiled honey in a jar, seal it.
Making Bread of Abu Hamza
al-Warraq p. 123
Use as much as needed of fine samidh flour (high in starch and bran free). This bread is dry.
The dough is made similar to that of barazidhaj, except that this bread is a little thinner and smaller, it is pricked a lot with feathers [before baking], and neither buraq (bakers' borax) nor any sweetening ingredients are used in making it. However, you need to knead into it (olive oil from unripe olives), the amount of which depends on how much oily you want it to be. Moreover, after you stick them to the inside wall of the tannur and they are fully baked, take them out and stack them at the top of the oven. Keep them there until they are completely dry. Store them in wicker baskets and use them as needed.
Barazidhaj: Take 1 makkūk [7½ pounds] good quality, pure flour, and mix with it 2 uqiyas yeast, and 20 dirhams salt and (bakers' borax). Mix them into dough [by adding water] and knead vigorously. Cover it and let it ferment.
Divide dough into small portions, the weight of each should be 1 Levantine uqiya (1 ½ ounces), brush each portion with 2 dirhams (olive oil from unripe olives), and flatten it on a wooden board to medium thinness. Prick the breads with feathers, but not much, and cover them with a dry piece of cloth.
(One fifth of the recipe)
3 ⅓ c semolina 1 ½ c water
1 T sourdough 1 ½ t salt
3 T olive oil additional 4 T olive oil
Knead all ingredients except the additional oil together, let rise overnight, divide into 1 oz portions (about 40 of them), flour the portions. Press flat to a thickness of ⅛ to ¼", prick all over with a feather (I used a wooden skewer). Brush with olive oil—about 4 T for the whole batch. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes—longer the thicker they are. Take out. Turn off the oven, open the door to let it cool a little, then put the loaves back in on the oven rack, dry for at least half an hour at about 150-200°.
A Recipe for Ka'k Made for Abu 'Ata Sahl bin Salim al-Katib
al-Warraq pp. 123-4
Take 1 kerylaja (2 ½ pounds) or 1 makkūk (7 ½ pounds) fine samith flour. Make it into dough using 100 dirham ground sesame seeds that have not been extracted of their oil (i.e. tahini), 1 uqiyya almond oil, and 2 dirhams salt. For each makkūk add 2 uqiyyas white sugar and 3 dirhams saffron. Knead the mixture with 10 dirhams yeast [and some water].
When dough is fully fermented, rub it with a little fat and rose water beaten together. Roll it out on a board into a square and cut it out into small squares. Bake them in the tannur by sticking them [into the inner wall]. When done, take them out and leave them at the top of the tannur for a short while to dry out, God willing.
(One fifth of the recipe)
3 ⅓ c semolina .3 g saffron= (150 threads)
2 ounces tahini t sourdough
1 t+ almond oil 1 ½ c water
scant T sugar T rose water
Combine all ingredients except oil and rose water and knead it smooth. Leave overnight to rise. Knead in oil (or animal fat) and rose water. Roll out about ¼" thick, cut into squares 1.5"-2" on a side, put on a baking stone in a 400 degree oven, bake about 20-30 minutes until they begin to get brown. They taste very strongly of saffron, which some like and some do not.
Bread
Ain i Akbari chapter 25
There is a large kind, baked in an oven, made of 10 s. flour; 5 s. milk; 1 ½ s. ghi; ¼ s. salt. They make also smaller ones. The thin kind is baked on an iron plate. One ser will give fifteen, or even more. There are various ways of making it; one kind is called chapati, which is sometimes made of khushka; it tastes very well when served hot.
⅜-½ c ghee 1 c milk
3 ½ c flour ½ T salt
Melt the ghee, stir it into the flour with a fork until there are only very small lumps. Stir in the milk until thoroughly mixed, knead briefly. Put the ball of dough in a bowl covered by a damp cloth and leave for at least an hour. Then knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, adding a little extra flour if necessary. Either:
Take a ball of dough about 2" in diameter, roll it out to about a 5" diameter circle. Cook it in a hot frying pan without grease. After about 2 minutes it should start to puff up a little in places. Turn it. Cook another 2 minutes. Turn it. Cook another 2 minutes. It should be done. The recipe should make about 11 of these.
Or ...
Take a ball of dough about 3" in diameter. Roll it down to a circle about 7" in diameter and ¼" thick. Heat a baking sheet in a 450° oven. Put the circle of dough on it in the oven. Bake about 6 minutes; it should be puffing up. Turn it over. Bake about 4 minutes more. Take it out. The recipe should make about 5 of these.
Oatcakes
The following is my conjectural recipe for oatcakes as they might have been made by Scottish troopers c. 1400:
½ c steel-cut oats ¼ t salt ¼ c water
Combine all ingredients and let the mixture stand for at least fifteen minutes. Make flat cakes ¼" to ⅜" in thickness, cook on a medium hot griddle, without oil, about 3-5 minutes. The result is a reasonably tasty flat bread, though inclined to be crumbly.
Brazzatelle of Milk and Sugar
Messibugio, Libro Novo 1557
To make fifty brazzatelle of four ounces each you will take fifteen pounds of best flour, three ounces of rose water, three pounds of milk, two pounds of white sugar, 25 eggs, four ounces of butter, and you will knead these things together very well.
Then you will make your brazzatelle according to the method you want to use, and then you will let rise with careful attention, and after it has risen you will boil your water, and then you will place inside the above-mentioned brazzatelle to cook, and when they come to the top you will take out, and then you will put in fresh water, and when you have removed them from within you will put them to cook in the oven, and if you want to put inside anise it is a good deed.
[The recipe does not say what shape to make them in; I think they are probably sweet bagels, but they could be pretzels. This is one sixth of the recipe, using our ounce for the ounce and assuming a twelve ounce pound in order to make the final weight come out right]
7 c flour 1 T rose water
½ c sugar ¾ c milk
T butter 3 eggs
Combine flour, sugar, and (optional) aniseeds; cut in the butter. Combine the liquid ingredients, including the sourdough, mix, add to the dry ingredients and knead until you have a smooth dough. Cover with a damp towel, let rise two hours. Divide into 10 equal portions.
Roll each into a cylinder about 10"-12" long, join the ends to form a torus (bagel).
or
Roll each into a cylinder about 18" -24" long, make into a pretzel shape.
Leave it to rise 1 hr 45 minutes or so at room temperature.
Fill a pot at least three inches deep with water. Bring the water to a boil. Put in as many of the brazzatelle as you can manage without their sticking together. Boil until they rise to the top, which should start happening in a minute or so; if they are sticking to the bottom, loosen with a spatula (pancake turner). When each brazzatella floats to the top take it out, dunk it briefly in a bowl of water, drain. Bake in a 425° oven until brown—about 25 minutes.
(I use sourdough but you could also try it with yeast.)
Andalusian p. A-62 (Good)
Knead a well-made dough from semolina like the “sponge” dough with yeast, and break in it as many eggs as you can, and knead the dough with them until it is slack. Then set up a frying pan of clay [hantam] on a hot fire, and when it has heated, grease it with clarified butter or oil. Put in a thin flat loaf of the dough and when the bread is done, turn over. Take some of the dough in the hand and smear the surface of the bread with it. Then turn the smeared surface to the pan, changing the lower part with the upper, and smear this side with dough too. Then turn it over in the pan and smear it, and keep smearing it with dough and turning it over in the tajine, and pile it up and raise it until it becomes a great, tall loaf. Then turn it by the edges a few times in the tajine until it is done on the sides, and when it is done, as it is desired, put it in a serving dish and make large holes with a stick, and pour into them melted butter and plenty of honey, so that it covers the bread, and present it.
[From “Making of Elegant Isfunja (“Sponge”),” Andalusian: You take clear and clean semolina and knead it with lukewarm water and yeast and knead again. When it has risen, turn the dough, knead fine and moisten with water, little by little, so that it becomes like tar after the second kneading, until it becomes leavened or is nearly risen. ...]
2 ¼ c semolina flour 2 eggs
½ c water 1-2 T oil for frying
½ c sourdough ⅜ c honey
¼ c more water ½ c butter
Combine flour, ½ c water, and sourdough and knead smooth. Cover with a damp cloth and leave overnight to rise. In the morning knead in an additional ¼ c water, making it into a sticky mess, and leave another few hours in a warm place to rise. Add the eggs and stir until they are absorbed into the dough.
Heat a frying pan over medium to high heat and grease it with oil or ghee. Pour on enough batter to make a thick pancake about 7" in diameter. When one side is cooked (about 2 minutes) turn it over. Put onto the cooked side about ¼ c more batter, spreading it out to cover. When the second side is done (1-2 minutes more), turn it over, so that the side smeared with batter is now down. Cook another 1-2 minutes. Repeat. Continue until the batter is all used up, giving you about 8-10 layers—like a stack of pancakes about 3" thick, all stuck together. Turn the loaf on its side and roll it around the frying pan like a wheel, in order to be sure the edges are cooked.
Punch lots of holes in the top with the handle of a wooden spoon, being careful not to get through the bottom layer. Pour in honey and melted butter, letting it soak into the loaf. Serve.
Note: Scale the recipe up as desired to suit your ambition and frying pan. If you don’t have sourdough you could use yeast instead, with shorter rising times.
Preparation of Musammana [Buttered] Which Is Muwarraqa [Leafy]
Andalusian p. A-60 (Good)
Take pure semolina or wheat flour and knead a stiff dough without yeast. Moisten it little by little and don't stop kneading it until it relaxes and is ready and is softened so that you can stretch a piece without severing it. Then put it in a new frying pan on a moderate fire. When the pan has heated, take a piece of the dough and roll it out thin on marble or a board. Smear it with melted clarified butter or fresh butter liquified over water. Then roll it up like a cloth until it becomes like a reed. Then twist it and beat it with your palm until it becomes like a round thin bread, and if you want, fold it over also. Then roll it out and beat it with your palm a second time until it becomes round and thin. Then put it in a heated frying pan after you have greased the frying pan with clarified butter, and whenever the clarified butter dries out, moisten [with butter] little by little, and turn it around until it binds, and then take it away and make more until you finish the amount you need. Then pound them between your palms and toss on butter and boiling honey. When it has cooled, dust it with ground sugar and serve it.
~ ⅝-¾ c water ¼ c butter at the end
2 c semolina flour ¼ c honey at the end
⅛ lb butter, melted 1 T+ sugar
¼ c ghee for frying
Stir most of the water into the flour, knead together, then gradually knead in the rest of the water. Knead for about 5-10 minutes until you have a smooth, elastic and slightly sticky dough that stretches instead of breaking when you pull it a little. Divide in four equal parts. Roll out on a floured board, or better on floured marble, to at least 13"x15". Smear it with about 4 t melted butter. Roll it up. Twist it. Squeeze it together, flatten with your hands to about a 5-6" diameter circle. If you wish, fold that in quarters and flatten again to about a 5-6" circle. Melt about 1 T of ghee in a frying pan and fry the dough about 8 minutes, turning about every 1 ½ to 2 minutes (shorter times towards the end). Repeat with the other three parts, adding more ghee as needed. Melt ¼ c butter, heat ¼ c honey. Beat the cooked circles between your hands to loosen the layers, put in a bowl, pour the honey and butter over them, dust with sugar, and serve. If you are going to give it time to really soak, you might use more butter and honey.
For regular flour, everything is the same except that you may need slightly more water. You can substitute cooking oil for the ghee (which withstands heat better than plain butter) if necessary.
Puffy Fricatellae
Platina p. 153 (book 9)
Flour with salt, water and sugar and spread it into a dough that is not too hard, but thin. Then cut them into shape with something for that purpose or with the opening of a ladle. And when you fry them, they puff up, but nothing is inside them.
1 c flour ⅜-½ c water
2 T sugar oil (for frying)
¼ t salt
Mix flour with sugar, salt, and water. Knead smooth. Roll out dough to ~⅛" thickness and cut into circles 1"-2" in diameter—a small wine cup or similar object can be used to cut them. Put frying pan to heat on medium high with about ½" of oil; put in pieces of dough until they puff up and turn brown, and then flip over, frying about 2 minute on a side. Drain and serve.
Lente Frytoures
Two Fifteenth Century p. 96 (Good)
Take good flour, ale yeast, saffron and salt, and beat all together as thick as other manner fritters of flesh; and then take apples, and pare them, and cut them in manner of fritters, and wet them in the batter up and down, and fry them in oil, and cast them in a dish, and cast sugar thereon enough, and serve them forth hot.
5 apples 6 threads saffron
2 ⅓ c flour 2 t salt
1 ½ c water oil for frying
2 T yeast sugar sprinkled over
Pare apples and slice into sixteenths. Beat together everything else, dip apple pieces in the batter and fry them in a deep skillet with about ¾" of oil.
Note: The ale yeast would presumably be berme, skimmed from fermenting ale, and would provide the necessary liquid for the batter. I use water plus dried yeast instead; you can also replace the water with ale.
Cooked Dish of Lentils
al-Andalusi no. 377 (Good)
Wash lentils and put them to cook in a pot with sweet water, oil, pepper, coriander and cut onion. When they are cooked throw in salt, a little saffron and vinegar; break three eggs, leave for a while on the flame and later retire the pot. Other times cook without onion. If you wish cook it with Egyptian beans pricked into which have been given a boil. Or better with dissolved yeast over a gentle fire. When the lentils begin to thicken add good butter or sweet oil, bit by bit, alike until it gets absorbed, until they are sufficiently cooked and have enough oil. Then retire it from the flame and sprinkle with pepper.
½ lb onions 4 T butter (or oil)
1 ½ c dried lentils ¾ t salt
2 ¼ c water 12 threads saffron
1 ½ T oil 2 T vinegar
⅜ t pepper 4 eggs
1 ½ t coriander more pepper
Slice onions. Put lentils, water, oil, pepper, coriander and onion in a pot, bring to a boil, and turn down to a bare simmer. Cook covered 50 minutes, stirring periodically. Add butter or oil and cook while stirring for about 5 minutes. Add salt, saffron (crushed into 1 t water) and vinegar, and bring back to a boil. Put eggs on top, cover pot and keep lentils at a simmer; stir cautiously every few minutes in order to scrape the bottom of the pot without stirring in the eggs. We find that if the heat is off, the eggs don't cook; if the heat is up at medium, the eggs cook but the lentils start to stick to the pot. A larger quantity might hold enough heat to cook the eggs without leaving it on the flame. When the eggs are cooked, sprinkle with a little more pepper and serve.
Fried Broad Beans
Platina p. 115 (book 7)
Put broad beans that have been cooked and softened into a frying pan with soft fat, onions, figs, sage, and several pot herbs, or else fry them well rubbed with oil and, on a wooden tablet or a flat surface, spread this into the form of a cake and sprinkle spices over it.
1 c dried fava beans 1 ½ c spinach
6-8 T lard 1 ½ c parsley
⅔ c figs 1 ½ c mustard greens
½ t salt For sprinkling on top:
½ t sage ¼ t ginger
½ c+ onions ½ t cinnamon
1 ½ c turnip greens ¼ t pepper
(Greens are measured packed)
Cut the figs in about 8 pieces each. Bring beans to a boil in 2 ½ c water, leave to soak about ½ hour, then simmer another hour until soft. Drain the beans, mix the whole mess together and fry it in the lard for 10 minutes, then serve it forth with spices sprinkled on it. This is also good with substantially less greens.
Losyns
Curye on Inglysch p. 108
(Forme of Cury no. 50)
Take good broth and do in an erthen pot. Take flour of payndemayn and make þerof past with water, and make þerof thynne foyles as paper with a roller; drye it harde and seeþ it in broth. Take chese ruayn grated and lay it in disshes with poudre douce, and lay þeron loseyns isode as hoole as þou myght, and above powdour and chese; and so twyse or thryse, & serue it forth.
½ to ¾ c water 1 T poudre douce
2 c flour 5 c beef broth
1 lb mozzarella
Stir the water into the flour; knead 5-10 minutes until smooth. Divide in four portions, roll each out to about 12" diameter. Cut in lozenges (diamonds), leave to dry. This produces 9 ½ oz dried pasta, which will keep at least three weeks.
Grate cheese and mix up poudre douce. Bring broth to a boil, put in pasta, cook 10-12 minutes and drain. Put ⅓ of the cheese in a dish, sprinkle about ⅓ of the poudre douce over it, and layer ⅓ of the hot pasta on top; repeat this twice, reserving a little poudre douce to sprinkle on top. Let sit a couple of minutes to melt cheese and serve.
To Make Gnochi
Due Libri di Cucina B: no. 69
He who wants to make nochi, take flour and bread crumbs, and put in a little water, and take the eggs and break them with it, and get a wet slice and put it to boil, and when they are cooked, draw them forth and throw on them enough cheese.
½ c whole wheat flour [¼ t salt]
½ c bread crumbs 2 eggs
3 T water ½ oz Parmesan
Combine everything except the cheese, roll out, cut into pieces about 1"x1"x1", boil ½ hour. Sprinkle on grated cheese and serve.
Lord's Salt
Icelandic p. 215
One shall take cloves and mace, cardamom, pepper, cinnamon, ginger an equal weight of each except cinnamon, of which there shall be just as much as of all the others, and as much baked bread as all that has been said above. And he shall cut it all together and grind it in strong vinegar; and put it in a cask. That is their salt and it is good for half a year.
How to Make Use of the Salt Spoken of Above
Icelandic p. 215
When a man wants to use of this salt, he shall boil it in a pan over coals without flame. Then he shall take venison of hart or roe and carefully garnish with fat and roast it. And cut it up well burned; and when the salt is cold than the meat shall be cut up therein with a little salt. Then it can lie for three weeks. So a man may long keep geese, ducks, and other game if he cuts them thin. This is the best salt the gentry have.
1 t cloves 1 ½ t ginger
1 ⅛ t mace 1 t salt
½ T cardamom 8 t breadcrumbs
5 t cinnamon
Grind cardamom and mix all spices together. (This quantity is 2 g of all spices except the cinnamon, of which there is 10 g; it adds up to 3 ½ T total.) To use, add 1 t of salt to the spice mixture, the breadcrumbs and the vinegar, simmer it briefly, cool it, then mix it in with your meat and close up the container. This quantity will preserve a 2 c container of cooked, sliced meat or fowl (1 to 1 ½ lb).
We tried this recipe in order to have a way of storing meat without refrigeration for long events, such as Pennsic. In our experience, meat preserved this way keeps several weeks without refrigeration; we have done so repeatedly without health problems, but see warning below. The meat tastes strongly of the vinegar and spices when you rinse off the preserving mixture; we generally use the meat in recipes that call for vinegar and then leave out the vinegar.
Ordinary vinegar is 5%, which is just barely strong enough, so we normally mix it with stronger vinegar (“75 grain” or 7.5%) from a gourmet food store.
!Warning!
Preserving foods can be dangerous; if you experiment with this recipe, be careful. According to our researches, either using vinegar of at least 5% acidity or boiling for 15 minutes before eating will protect you from botulism; we strongly advise doing both. We take no responsibility for the result of trying this recipe; before doing so, you may want to read up on methods and hazards of preserving food.
Veal, Kid, or Hen in Bokenade
Two Fifteenth Century p. 13
Take Vele, Kyde, or Henne, an boyle hem in fayre Water, or ellys in fresshe brothe, an smyte hem in pecys, an pyke hem clene; an than draw the same brothe thorwe a straynoure, an caste ther-to Percely, Sawge, Ysope, Maces, Clowys, an let boyle tyl the flesshe be y-now; than sette it from the fyre, and a-lye it vp with raw yolkys of eyroun, and caste ther-to pouder Gyngere, Verjows, Safroun, and Salt, and thanne serue it forth for a gode mete.
meat (½ chicken) 8 egg yolks
2 T fresh parsley 1 t powdered ginger
3 leaves of sage 3 T vinegar
½ T hyssop 5 threads saffron
⅛ t mace ½ t salt
⅛ t cloves
Boil meat 20 minutes before “smiting in pieces”, another 20 minutes after adding parsley, etc.
Two Fifteenth Century p. 80
Take conyng, hen or mallard, and roast him almost enough; or else chop him, and fry him in fresh grease; and fry onions minced, and cast altogether into a pot, and cast thereto fresh broth and half wine; cast thereto cloves, maces, powder of pepper, canel; then stepe fair bread with the same broth and draw it through a strainer with vinegre. And when it hath well boiled, cast the liquor thereto, and powder ginger, and vinegre, and season it up, and then thou shall serve it forth.
4 ½ lb duckling, ¼ t mace
or 3 lbs chicken ¼ t pepper
or 3 lb rabbit 1 t cinnamon
lard for frying 6 slices bread
½ lb onions 2 T red wine vinegar
2 c chicken broth ¼ t ginger
1 c wine [½ t salt]
⅛ t cloves 1 T vinegar
Roast the duck, chicken or rabbit for about an hour and a quarter. Bone the meat, or break it into small pieces. Chop onions and fry them in 2 t of the drippings for about five minutes, until they turn yellow. Add dismembered chicken (or …), broth, wine, cloves, mace, pepper and cinnamon to the pot, bring to a simmer, and cook twenty minutes.
Meanwhile, tear up the bread, spoon about 1 c of the liquid from the pot over the bread, and let it soak for 3-4 minutes. Add 2 T vinegar, force through a strainer or mash very thoroughly, and add to the pot along with ginger and another T of vinegar. Bring back to a boil, stirring, and serve.
The Dish Mukhallal
Andalusian p. A-2
Take the meat of a plump cow or sheep, cut it small, and put it in a new pot with salt, pepper, coriander, cumin, plenty of saffron, garlic peeled and diced, almonds peeled and split, and plenty of oil; cover it with strong, very pure vinegar, without the slightest bit of water; put it on a moderate charcoal fire and stir it, then boil it. When it cooks and the meat softens and it reduces, then put it on the hearthstone and coat it with much egg, cinnamon and lavender; color it with plenty of saffron, as desired, and put in it whole egg yolks and leave it on the hearthstone until it thickens and the broth evaporates and the fat appears. This dish lasts many days without changing or spoiling; it is called “wedding food” in the West [or the Algarve], and it is one of the seven dishes cited as used among us at banquets in Cordoba and Seville.
1 lb beef or mutton ⅓ c olive oil
6 cloves garlic ¾ c vinegar
¼ t salt 6 eggs
¼ t pepper ¾ t cinnamon
½ t coriander ¼ t lavender
½ t cumin 8 threads more saffron
8 threads saffron 2 whole egg yolks
½ c blanched slivered almonds
Cut up meat, chop garlic. Mix them with salt and the first set of spices, almonds, and oil in a pot, cook over medium high 11 minutes, turn way down. Mix eggs, lavender, cinnamon, remaining saffron, pour evenly over what is in the pot to form a layer on top. Put egg yolks on top and cook half an hour without stirring until yolks are cooked.
Tourney and War Food
Suppose you are going to a tournament and want to bring period food to eat and share during the day. Suppose you are going to a camping event, such as the Pennsic war, and expect to be encamped for something between a weekend and two weeks. What period foods are likely to prove useful?
For both one day events and wars, we have accumulated a small collection of period foods and drinks that can be made in advance and kept without refrigeration for an almost unlimited period of time. They include Hulwa, Hais, Prince-Bisket, Gingerbrede, Excellent Cake; this is actually slightly out of period), Khushkananaj, Sekanjabin and Syrup of Pomegranate. The last two are drinks that are prepared as syrups and diluted (with cold water for sekanjabin and hot water for granatus) just before being served. The syrups are sufficiently concentrated so that, like honey or molasses, they keep indefinitely.
For a one day event we will often also bring a cold meat or cheese pie; Spinach Tart is one of our favorites. In addition, one can bring bread, cheese, sausage, nuts, dried fruit–all things which were eaten in period and can keep for a reasonable length of time.
A camping event, especially one more than two days long, raises a new set of challenges and opportunities–period cooking with period equipment. One of the associated problems is how to keep perishable ingredients long enough so that you can bring them at the beginning of the event and use them at the end. One could keep things in a cooler with lots of ice–especially at Pennsic, where ice is available to be bought. This is, however, a considerable nuisance–and besides, it is unlikely that either coolers or ice were available at a real medieval war.
Better solutions are to choose dishes that do not require perishable ingredients or to find period ways of preserving such ingredients. One of our future projects along these lines is to work out some good recipes for salted or dried fish, which was an important food in the Middle Ages and one that keeps indefinitely. Our most successful preserving technique so far is to pickle meat or fowl using Lord's Salt. The pickled meat is strongly flavored with vinegar and spices, so we pick a recipe to use it in that contains vinegar or verjuice in its list of ingredients. We wash most of the pickling solution off the meat and make up the recipe omitting the sour ingredient (and any spices that are already in the pickled meat). Two recipes that work well with pickled chicken are Veal, Kid, or Hen in Bokenade and Conyng, Hen, or Mallard (p. 10).
There is an Indian bread and two Islamic pastries, Murakkaba and Musammana which are made in a frying pan rather than an oven, and are therefore easy to make on site. There are also recipes for fritters and funnel cakes, many of which are suitable for camping events.
There are many other possibilities for non-perishable period dishes. They include recipes using lentils and other dried beans. They also include one very familiar dish–macaroni and cheese, known in the Middle Ages as Macrows or Losyns.
If you have fresh meat available, there are many possible recipes; Meat Roasted Over Coals is good and very straightforward. If you roast a large amount of meat for one evening’s dinner, A Roast of Meat is a good way of using up leftover roast meat for the next meal.
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