SC - OOP: Chess Pie

[Sunraven]

This is a recipe I redacted and brought to EK 12th Night.


CONSERVA DE ALHAGUE
Source: Manual de Mugeres en el Qual Se Contienen Muchas Y 
Diversas Reçeutas Muy Buenas, (Spanish,16th century)

Knead very well-sifted flour with oil and water.  And keep the dough 
somewhat firm and knead it a lot.  And having made thin cakes, 
cook them a lot, so that they can be ground; and grind them and 
sift them.  And then take a celemin of walnuts, peeled and very 
clean, and two pounds of peeled and toasted almonds.  And the 
walnuts and the almonds being somewhat ground, combine them.  
Put a azumbre of honey — the best that you can find — on a very 
moderate fire; skim it, and return it to the fire.  And when the honey 
rises, cast the walnuts and almonds into it.  And cook them until 
the honey is cooked.  And when it is, remove it from the fire and 
put with it a half celemin, grated, of that flour from the cakes, and 
stir it a lot.  And then cast in half an ounce of cloves, and another 
half [ounce] of cinnamon, and two nutmegs, all ground.  And turn 
them to mix them a great deal.  And then make cakes or put it in 
boxes, whichever you desire.  

Notes:
An azumbre is a unit of liquid measure, approximately equal to 2 
liters.  A çelemin is a unit of dry measure, equal to about 4.6 liters.

Azague is apparently a variant name for alaju, a confection of 
crumbs, honey, and nuts.  The name comes from an Arabic word 
meaning “pounded”.  A form of this sweet, known as alfajor, is still 
made in certain regions of Spain.

Redaction:
Nut Cakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups	walnuts
3 ounces blanched almonds (approx. 5/8 cup)
3/4 cup	 honey
2/3  teaspoon ground cloves
2/3  teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3  teaspoon ground nutmeg

Prepare the crumb mixture.  Combine the flour, olive oil, and 
enough water to make a firm dough (2-3 tablespoons).  Knead well, 
by hand or by machine.  Roll the dough out 1/8 inch thick, as if for 
pie pastry.  Cut it into equal-sized "cakes" with a knife or biscuit 
cutter. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet until 
golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.  Remove and let cool.  In a 
mortar, food processor, or blender, grind the cakes into fine 
crumbs.  Measure out 1 cup of the crumb mixture and set aside.

Toast the almonds until golden brown.   Coarsely grind the walnuts 
and almonds together in a food processor, or in a mortar.  Heat the 
honey over a medium flame, and skim off any scum that appears 
on the surface.  Stir in the ground nuts.  Cook, stirring 
continuously, for 5-10 minutes, until the mixture thickens.

Remove the pot from the heat, and add the crumbs and the spices. 
 Mix well, to be sure that the spices are evenly distributed.  When 
the mixture cools enough to handle, scoop out 1/2 tablespoon 
lumps, and press them into rounds.  Set the rounds on a baking 
sheet to finish cooling.  As they cool, they will become drier and 
chewy in texture.  Alternatively, you can pour the hot mixture into a 
lightly- greased baking pan, and press it down with a spatula.  
When cool, cut into small squares.  Store in a tightly-covered 
container, with a sheet of wax papers separating the layers.  


Lady Brighid ni Chiarain
Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)
mka Robin Carroll-Mann
harper at idt.net