> SC - Period pesto recipe- Roman Moretaria- LONG
ChannonM at aol.com
ChannonM at aol.com
Tue Oct 3 11:47:46 PDT 2000
In a message dated 10/3/00 1:21:47 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
owner-sca-cooks at ansteorra.org writes:
> >So is there any evidence of whether pesto sauce is period or not?
>
> IIRC, the word "pesto" derives from the use of a mortar and *pestle* to
> pound herbs, cheese, garlic, and generally nuts into a paste. The
Epicurious
> Food Dictionary states that an uncooked sauce of fresh basil, garlic, pine
> nuts, parmesan or romano, and olive oil originated in Genoa, but gives no
> date. Obviously, there are variations using Romano instead of Reggiano,
> walnuts instead of pignolas, and parsley instead of basil, etc.
There is the "morataria" recipes that originate in Apicius. These are recipes
with garlic, cheese, pinenuts, herbs and then the detailed recipe has layers
of bread soaked in vinegar, sometimes chicken shredded and cucumbers layered
inbetween. Yum.
The biggest debate is whether or not the recipe that calls for 4 heads of
garlic actually is intended to mean cloves. IMO, they could mean fresh heads
of young garlic (I've harvested some and tried it, they are much more subtle
than mature garlic). Anyhow, here are some origina recipes and redactions.
Sorry if you have seen this recipe before.
Hauviette
Original recipe
Appendix Vergiliana, Moretum
Four garlic cloves, celery, rue, coriander, salt grains, and cheese
Apicius Book IV, I-3 Other
Sala cattabia
Hollow out an Alexandrine loaf , soak in water mixed with vinegar. Put in the
mortar pepper, honey, mint, garlic, fresh coriander, salted cows milk
cheese, water and oil, cool in snow and serve.
Modern version
.25 lb cheese ( I used a fresh cheese- I have made my own recently, but it
has been suggested to use a stronger one like Parmigianno Regiano or Pecorino
Romano)
1 large clove garlic minced
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
Combine the ingredients and let cool 1 hour. Let soften before serving
A Redacted Recipe
Sala cattabia
Original Recipe
This recipe is found in Book IV -Many Ingredients, of our main work. It is
included with recipes for patinas ( mostly egg dishes) , fish dishes, fried
dishes of various sorts, stews to be served with the first course(Gustum
versatile)
The original recipe I am redacting from uses the same method outlined in the
Sala cattabia recipe from Apicius noted below. In it, it directs you to
Have Ready some pieces of bread soaked in water mixed with vinegar. Squeeze
out the moisture, and arrange in a mold, followed by layers of cows milk
cheese, cucumbers, alternating with pine-kernels. Add finely chopped capers
alternating with chicken liver
The second sala cattabia recipe uses layers of various meats including
chicken and goats sweatbread. The meat can be omitted where a vegetarian
version is desired. This version omits any meat, however, a boiled chicken
breast meat would is an excellent choice.
Sala cattabia
1 round loaf of sour dough bread hollowed out. Cut the center in cubes and
soak in 1cup water with 1 Tblsp good red wine vinegar of your choice and
1tsp ground cumin. Flower & Rosenbaum point out that Alexandrine bread is
thought to contain cumin. I was advised to taste the vinegar alone to
determine if it tastes fine, if so use it. I chose Tosca brand, which can
be easily found in Canada.
Mix the soaking bread well and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Squeeze out the
excess moisture by pressing it in a seive and set aside.
Mash in a mortar or put in food processor and blend;
1tsp white pepper ground
1 Tblsp honey
1 tsp fre sh mint chopped or ½ tsp dried 1 Tblsp fresh coriander or 1 tsp
dried
1 med clove of garlic, chopped
.5 lbs ricotta (you may wish to increase this ingredient to fill out your
mold)
½ thinly sliced cucumber (if done in a food processor and very finely, do
not peel)
1- 125 ml jar of capers
2-3 ounces chopped pine nuts
Dressing: 1 Tblsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar, ½ tsp salt.
The next step will vary depending on how large your mold is. Divide the
soaked bread into 3 portions, the cheese and capers, into 2 .* Using a
mold(you may want to rub a small amount of olive oil into the mold if you
are concerned about the food sticking to the sides, I used less than a tsp)
place a layer of cucumbers on the bottom (top when righted) in a pattern if
possible, then place a layer of bread pressing down firmly. Next place a
layer of overlapping cucumber slices. Spoon in ½ of the cheese mixture and
spread over the cucumbers. Sprinkle on ½ of the chopped pine nuts and 2-3
tsp chopped capers. Repeat.
Finish with a final layer of bread.
.
Place a plate on top of the mold. Put the two in the refridgerator for at
least 2-3 hours to ensure that the mold sets. Turn the molded dish onto a
serving platter and surround with sliced pieces of the outer part of the loaf
of bread. Pour over the dish the prepared dressing. Garnish with some fresh
mint or parsley in the center and serve chilled. Serves 6-8 as main dish or
10- 12 as an appetizer in a large feast.
*Note; in practice, I used 2 - 1 ½ lb molds. Each allowed 2 layers of bread
and cucumber and 1 layer of cheese, pine nuts and capers. Had I used a 2-3 lb
mold my resulting dish would have simply been larger, and appeared more
varied.
I have also used a fish mold and placed the cucumbers to appear as scales and
capers for eyes, it was a hit. The decision at this point is up to the cook.
Enjoy the labours!!
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