non-member submission - Re: SC - Period pesto recipe- Roman Moretaria- LONG

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Not sure who sent this, as it was unsigned:
>Speaking of Pesto...
>We tried to make a green sauce from _The Medieval Kitchen_ which is cited
>as being from Tractatus de modo preparandi et condiendi omnia cibaria:
>"Here is how to make green sauce: take ginger, cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg,
>cloves, parslety, and sage. First, grind the spices, then the herbs and
>add a third of the sage and parsley and if you wish, two or three cloves
>of garlic. Moisten with vinegar or verjuice. Note that to ever sauce and
>condiment salt is added, and crumb of bread to thicken it."
>
>What we got was a sort of thick pesto. The more vinegar we added, the less
>we could taste the other ingredients. Redon, when redacting it, included
>water, which we ended up trying, and we also tried adding olive oil. (I
>know, I know, olive oil is farther from the intention than the water...)
>
>But it was VERY thick, and adding more vinegar seemed not to be an
>option.
>
>Suggestions?

Eat it thick, like modern mustard.

This is a sauce that was made at The Boar Hunt Feast last year and 
served with Roast Chicken. It was very very thick, almost, if you'll 
excuse this analogy, like a dip. But, omuhgawd, it was delicious. 
There was a lot leftover, so i took home a huge baggie full and 
dipped anything i could think of into it, like tofu and cheese.

The cook hadn't used too much vinegar, so although it was tart and 
tangy, it didn't have "pucker power", and the flavor of the herbs was 
very clear.

While green and thick, i didn't even think of pesto when i was eating 
it, although i can see why someone might.

Anahita al-shazhiyya