SC - Newcomers Redaction

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Phyllis Spurr wrote:
> 
> > To make a Tart of Ryce.
> >
> > Boyle your Rice, and put in the yolkes of two or three Egges into the
> > Rice, and when it is boyled, put it into a dish, and season it with
> > Suger, Cinamon, and Ginger, nad butter, and the iuyce of two or three
> > Orenges, and set it on the fire againe.
> >
> >
> > Dawson, Thomas, The Good Huswife's Iewel, 2 parts. London, 1596/7.

<some good stuff snipped>

> Place rice in water and bring to a boil.  In a bowl beat
> three eggs.  Beat some of the hot liquid from the rice into the eggs.
> Immediately add the eggs to the rice and stir.  Stir in the sugar,
> cinnamon, and ginger.  Continue to cook the rice until done.
> Stir in the butter.  Turn the rice into a cassarole dish with a lid.
> Pour the juice of 2 small oranges over the rice.  Cover and continue
> to cook over a very low flame on the stove top until the juice has
> been absorbed (8 minutes approximately).  Serve while still hot.
> Serves six.
> 
> OK you experts, how'd we all do?
> 
> Phyllis L. Spurr
> Eowyn ferch Rhys Cyfurdd
> Barony of Elfsea, Ansteorra

I'm gonna chuck in my two cents worth here, only in my capacity as
someone who has seen all this go by my screen, and not as an expert in
this type of redaction, since my real area of interest is in the earlier
period stuff. I have a couple of comments and a question or two...

First of all, it seems as if everyone did quite fine jobs indeed on this
one. I was especially impressed with the overall subtlety of the use of
spices, orange juice and peel. I was also interested in the wide variety
of rice types chosen as appropriate for the job. 

I am curious, though, about why so many people seemed to interpret this
as a semi-solid pudding, like modern rice pudding, rather than as a
tart, as the name suggested, which could be easily cut into wedges.
Certainly there are cheesecakes made without an outer crust, and the
fact that they are cakes is largely defined by their shape and the
method of cooking. Why not here, too?

I was also impressed by the folks who were careful to temper their egg
yolks to avoid curdling. That certainly would have been a logical step.
I have an alternate proposal about that, though. I wonder if perhaps
this is one of those recipes where the instructions are given out of
sequence. I have no real evidence to support this, except to say that it
would make things quite a bit simpler to boil the rice, let it cool
somewhat, combine it with the other ingredients in a chafing dish (an
EXTREMELY common cooking method for the type of bourgoise semi-fancy
evening-supper foods found in the source book), and warm it over the
chafer until the dish is hot, and set? It could then be cooled for just
a couple of minutes and sliced like, as the name suggests, a tart. I
suspect it would be excellent barely warm or at room temperature, but a
little heavy and hard when cold.

For what it's worth, here's what I'd do:

Ingredients:
 
1 1/4 cups rice (shortgrain white, but not necessarily arborio)
1 1/2 cups Seville orange juice or appropriate substitute
grated zest of same optional
2 large or three medium egg yolks
2 ounces (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar or to taste (Yeah, I like Turbinado too, for this)
1/4 tsp freshly ground dried ginger*
1/4-1/2 tsp freshly ground cinnamon
a pinch of salt, just to be perverse

The rice would be likely to be boiled in either one of two ways, for the
place and time. It could be boiled as for a sort of porridge, in plenty
of water, and then strained, which would give you a result kind of like
modern "Creole" steamed rice, or it could be put in a pot with enough
water to cover it by a certain measured distance (one knuckle of a
finger's depth is the measure used by both Digby and the modern Chinese
for this job), boil it, uncovered, over high heat until all the liquid
is absorbed and it begins to pop like rice krispies, at which point you
cover it and let it steam very gently over low heat for twenty minutes
or so, which gives you a product much like the rice from the Chinese
takeout place on the corner, or route 17B, or whatever.

I haven't decided yet whether the steaming is necessary in this case, as
it will be cooked gently for at least that long in the chafing dish. I
suppose I'd have to try it both ways and see which was better, although
the impression I get is that since no mention is made of steaming in the
recipe, the rice should just be boiled until it is more or less tender.

Let the rice cool for a few minutes, say, for as long as it takes to
assemble the other ingredients, or squeeze the oranges, or whatever. Say
ten or fifteen minutes. Combine it with the other ingredients, saving a
sprinkle of your cinnamon to garnish the top, adding the egg yolks after
the juice, sugar, and butter, which should also help keep them from
curdling. Mix well, pack into a deep pie plate that fits into the top of
a saucepan, and double boil, unless you have an actual charcoal-burning
chafing dish, where you cook on embers, from 20 to 45 minutes, or until
set. The plan is to have it set before the bottom burns. You could cheat
with a 300 degree oven, I suppose.

* I have recently discovered that some Latino markets sell jars of
whole, dried ginger root, in chunks an inch or two long. They are
peeled, white, and hard as an autocrat's heart ;  ). Since I find it
hard to accept the theory that our friends the period Europeans were
always using fresh, whole ginger root, and because I hate the stale
powdered stuff, this makes an absolutely wonderful compromise. I have a
cheapo electric coffee grinder that I use for such jobs. I bought it ten
years ago for something like ten bucks, and when it dies I'll get
another one, probably for about the same price. Freshly powdered dried
ginger, to me, is more or less what makes the cuisines of the Western
world able to compete with those of the East. As I say, I discovered
this only fairly recently.

Adamantius, heretic at heart   
 ______________________________________
Phil & Susan Troy
troy at asan.com
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