SC - Catalan Cooking? (+ recipes)

[Thomas Gloning]

<< what areas in modern Europe do these Catalan and Neapolitan regions
correspond to? >>

The catalan recipes in question are 14th/15th century. Catalan was
spoken in (part of?) the kingdom of Aragon (North East of today's Spain;
around Barcelona); "Neap0litan" refers to the region around Naples,
Southern Italy. If I am not mistaken, Naples was a huge kingdom then,
that formed around one third of today's Italy (southern part). In the
mid of the 15th century, the Aragonese were sovereigns of Naples and had
a court there.

Here is a recipe for a lemon sauce in four versions (three from Scully,
one from Boström):

I. English translation of Cuoco Neap. #56 (Scully p. 184)

56. Lemon Sauce for Chickens or Capons.
Get one or more chickens, capons or cockerels that have been cooked a
little in water; take them out of the water and mount them on a spit;
then get peeled, well ground almonds and temper them with the bouillon
of the chickens; then get lemon juice and mix it all together with good
spices; and put it into a saucepan to cook a little; then pour it over
the roast with a little fat; serve it very hot.

II. Original Italian Version of Cuoco Neap. #56 (Scully p. 55)

56. Limonata a galine ho ha caponi
Piglia galine ho galina, caponi ho capono ho pullastri, che siano cotti
uno pocho in aqua; poi cazali dal aqua he metali in spito; poi piglia
amandole mondate ben piste he stemprale cum lo sabrero de le galine; poi
piglia sugo de limoni he miscola cum bone specie, ogni cosa insieme, he
mette in una pignatella a cocere uno pochetto; he da poi getta de sopra
de questo rosto, he cum pocho de grasso, he caldo caldo manda in tavola.

III. Catalan version of the recipe: from the 'De apereylar bé de menyar'
(Scully p. 250)

31. Si vols fer limonia.
Prin los pols o galines ho capons, qui sien primerament cuyts .i. poc en
aygue. Puys trets-los de l'aygua, e mit-les en [ms: e] ast.
E ayes amenles perades, e destempre-les ab lo sebrer dels capons. E
d'altre part prin del suc dels limons, e met-ne ab la [ms: le] polvora
de les species, e puys passa-o [ms partly unreadable] tot sobre les
brases, e estia tro que sia be espés, empero primerament hi deu hom
metre del lart del porc en la caçola. E sie donat per tayladors.
A .xx. persones .iiii. llibres d'amenles.

IV. Lean version: lemon sauce to fish
This version is mentioned by Scully in his comentary to be found in
Anonimo Meridionale A #66. Here it is from Boström's edition:

66 LXIIII
Affare brudo de pescie marini [ms: martini] grandi lava lo pescie et
talglialo et soffrigelo con olio non multo. Tolli agmandole non mondate,
pistale et colale, et la colatura micti colli dicti pisci abbollire.
Mictice donde spetie senza saffarana, nanti che tu lo tolli dal foco, et
mictice suco de citrangoli o de lumone. Quisto civo si fi dicto limonia
de pescie. (Boström p. 17)

Have fun,
Thomas