Recipes of the Week 7 - an eclectic collection

Originally posted to the DM cooks list on September 18th, 2007. I cross-posted this to some very novice cooks and so there are many beginners' pointers in the recipes and at the end.

Sorry about the eclectic collection, but these will be for the Beaverton Farmer's Market demo this weekend and I figured if I'm typing them in, I ought to be sharing.

Each are again experimentations from original sources which ended up being my own versions. As always, I have to back-engineer proportions, so don't been completely bound by the numbers. And they're all very easy, too.

As always, I used the online Middle English Dictionary to translate terms, even if the source from which I got the recipe included their own translations. Too many sources have said 'alows' was 'olives'... Turns out it's 'rolled around a filling', which translates pretty clearly to remoulade.

Also as always the appearance of thorn is relative to whether I had to do my own typing or got it from a cut and pasteable source because I still haven't learned how to generate thorn in this editor.

Alows de Beef or de Mouton (Remoulade of Beef or Mutton)
From A Fifteenth Century Cookry Boke by John L. Anderson

Take fayre bef of þe quyschons, or motoun of þe bottes, & kytte in þe maner of stekys: þan take raw Percely, & Oynonys smal y-scredde, & yolkys of eyroun soþe hard, & Marow or swette, & hew alle þes to-gedder smal; þan caste þer-on poudere of gyngere & saffroun, & tolle þem to-gederys with þin hond, & lay þem on the stekys al a-brode, & caste salt þer-to; þen rolle to-gederys, & putte hem on a round spete, & roste hem til þey ben y-now: þan lay hem in a dysshe, & pore þer-on vynegre & a lityl verious, & pouder pepir þer-on y-now, & gyngere, & canelle, & a fewe yolkys of hard eyroun y-kremyd þer-on; & serue forth.

Take good beef of the rump, or mutton of the butts, and cut in the manner of steaks: Then take raw parsley, and onions small chopped, and yolks of eggs boiled hard, and marrow or sweet, and chop all this together small; then sprinkle thereon powdered ginger and saffron, and work (knead) them together with thine hands, and lay them on the steaks all abroad (spread across), and sprinkle with salt; then roll them up, and put them on a round spit, and roast them til they are done: then lat them in a dish, and pour thereon vinager and a little verjuice, and powder pepper thereon enough, and ginger, and cinnamon, and a few yolks of hard eggs creamed; and serve forth.

beef or mutton rump roast
butter (marrow, if you can get it - they were used interchangeably in
period so butter's authentic and might be the 'sweet' mentioned in the
recipe)
yolks of hard-boiled eggs
parsley
onion
ginger
saffron
salt
white wine vinegar
verjuice
pepper
cinnamon

For every pound of roast I find the following proportions to be y-now:
1/4 pound butter
4 egg yolks
2 tsp. chopped fresh parsley
1/2 small onion
1 tsp ginger, divided
1/8 tsp powdered saffron or 2 threads ground
2 Tbsp vinegar
1 tsp verjuice
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
I don't measure the salt, I just sprinkle from the shaker

Soak a bunch of bamboo skewers or toothpicks in water for about an hour.

Cut the beef into 1/4 inch thick, palm-sized steaks. Combine parsley, onion, butter, half the ginger and half the egg yolks and mix together thoroughly with a fork or your hand. Lay a small walnut-sized piece of the mixture on each steak, sprinkle very lightly with salt, and roll the beef up around the filling, securing with a toothpick or threading onto bamboo skewers. Grill or broil a few minutes, turning once, until the meat is cooked. Place on serving platter and keep warm. Mix together vinegar, verjuice, pepper, cinnamon and other half of the ginger and egg yolks and mash together until well blended. Pour over beef rolls and serve.

Black Pepper Sauce
From The Viander de Taillevant Edited by Terence Skully, recipe 227

Crush ginger and charred bread and pepper, moisten with vinegar and verjuice, and boil.

Dark-toast 2 slices of whole wheat bread, crumble finely (food processor crumbs are great) and mix with 1/2 tsp. ground ginger. Stir into 1/4 vinegar and 2 Tbsp verjuice and then bring to a boil, stirring until thickened. Serves 4

Cameline Sauce
From The Viander de Taillevant Edited by Terence Skully, recipe 155

To Make Cameline Sauce. Grind ginger, a great deal of cinnamon, cloves, grains of paradise, mace, and if you wish, long pepper; strain bread that has been moistened in vinegar, strain everything together and salt as necessary.

1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp ground grains of paradise
1/4 tsp mace
1/8 tsp long pepper (optional)
2 slices whole wheat bread, crusts removed
1-1/2 cups white wine vinegar

Soak bread in vinegar and then work with a fork until the bread falls apart completely. Mix in spices then press through a coarse strainer or food mill, or mix in food processor until smooth. Salt to taste.

Roast Onions
From Libro della cucina del secolo XIV

Take onions, cook them under the coals and then peel them, and slice them crosswise very long and very thin: add a fair amount of vinegar, salt, oil and spices, and serve.

Probably strong spices. I'd suggest a blend of three or more of pepper, long pepper, grains of paradise, ginger, cloves and cinnamon. I first saw this as a kind of warm salad, so the spices and liquid should augment but not drown the onions. Red wine vinegar should make it superb.

Apple Fritters English - 1381
From Seven Centuries of English Cooking Compiled and updated by Maxime de la Falaise, Grove Press, London, 1992.

For to make fritters: Nym flour and eyerin and grind pepper and saffron and make thereto a batter & pare apples and cut them to broad pieces and cast them therein and fry them in the batter with fresh grease and serve it forth.

Nym = take
eyerin = Eyeren = eggs

ANOTHER RECIPE:
Apple fritters for lent
From Translation of Libro di cucina/ Libro per cuoco (14th/15th c.)
by Anonimo Veneziano, translated 2002 CE by Helewyse de Birkestad

Take the apples and peel them, then cut in the way of the host (thin slices) and make a batter of flour with saffron and add strained eggs, and put these apples in this batter; then fry with oil enough for it, powder sugar when they are cooked, etc.

For each apple you need 1/2 cup of flour, 1 egg, 1/4 tsp pepper (for English version), 1/4 tsp saffron (or 3 threads), and perhaps a bit of water to thin the batter. Beat eggs then mix in spices and flour. Let sit while you prep the apples so the saffron steeps into the mix. Pare, core and slice apples 1/4" thick. Dip each slice into batter and fry in 350 degree oil at least 1/2" deep. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with powdered sugar for Italian version.

Magnificent fritters of the Emperor
From Translation of Libro di cucina/ Libro per cuoco (14th/15th c.)
by Anonimo Veneziano, translated 2002 CE by Helewyse de Birkestad

If you want to make fritters of the emperor, take the white of the egg and slices of fresh cheese, and beat with the white of the egg, and put a little flour and peeled pine nuts. Take the frying pan with enough grease, make it boil and make the fritter. When they are cooked, powder well with sugar and hold (serve) them hot, etc..

Options for the cheese include raveggiolo or tomino, in a pinch ricotta.

3 egg whites
1 cup soft cheese (9 ounces in weight before grating if solid)
1-1/2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 tablespoons flour, sifted
oil for frying
sugar for dusting (superfine or powdered)

Beat the egg whites until stiff and foamy then fold in cheese, flour and pine nuts. Heat oil to about 350 degrees, drop batter in by tablespoonsful. When finished they'll float. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with sugar.


A few general notes:

350 degrees of hot oil is good enough to brown a drop of batter before you count to six, but after you count to three using heartbeat speed. If you'd fry an egg in it, it's hot enough. Always watch frying things closely. The difference between done and charcoal is minuscule. Beware of spatters, slide heavy things in instead of dropping them, use a pot lid as a shield if you must drop, keep cold water or ice (nothing else!) at hand for burns.

Forks are best for mixing as you can control how the batter moves.

Pine nuts are available in the baking section with other nuts and in bulk in most stores with a bulk section.

Use wine vinegar, it's authentic.

Grains of paradise are available in some specialty shops as well as online. So is long pepper. In Portland, Oregon, Limbo on SE 39th Ave. carries grains of paradise and might carry long pepper as well.

Saffron comes ground or in threads. To use threads let soak in a bit of water of vinegar for a few minutes to release the color and flavor then beat into liquid and add to recipe. Powder can be added straight in but works well if also steeped before mixing into other ingredients. Threads are best; when I need ground I get out the mortar.

Verjuice is available in middle eastern groceries. In Beaverton, Oregon, Rose Market at the corner of SW Hall and Murray carries it. In a pinch substitute the tartest lemon juice you can get your hands on.