SC - losenges fryes/potage of beans boiled

[Gwynydd of Culloden]

Gwynydd of Culloden wrote:
> 
> I have been asked to precook Losenges Fryes and Potage of Beans Boiled and
> I have a few questions before I immerse myself in the cooking.
> 
> Losenges Fryes
> 
> Take flour, water, saffron, sugar and salt, and make a fine paste thereof,
> and fair thin cakes; and cut them like losenges and fry them in fine oil,
> and serve them forth hot in a dish in lenten time.
> 
> (redaction)
> 
> 2 cups flour
> 1 / 2 cups water
> a pinch of saffron
> 1 / 2 cup sugar
> 1 / 2 teaspoon salt
> oil for frying
> 
> Boil saffron in water to extract color and flavor, put in a bowl and mix in
> sugar and salt, add flour and mix lightly until moistened.  Heat oil in a
> frying pan.  Roll out dough to about 1 / 2 inch thick.  Cut into small
> diamonds, fry a few at a time since they cook very quickly.

You probably wouldn't need to boil the saffron in the water; I suspect
that a brief infusion in room-temperature water should do it, and you'd
perhaps be surprised at the extent to which the simple act of kneading
will bring out the saffron character.

Actually, the main thing that strikes me is, how did you like the
texture with the losenges 1/2 inch thick? I would have interpreted the
recipe's references to thin cakes as meaning pasta thin, maybe 1/8 inch
thick or less. I wouldn't call this a sure thing, but there are enough
English references to losenges/loseyns/wafers in defaut of loseyns that
seem to suggest a thickness similar to modern lasagne. While I've seen
one Italian reference to thicker, leavened lasagne, it seems to be in
the minority among surviving recipes, AFAIK. 
 
> Is this appropriate for precook or should really be done at the event.  If
> it is precooked, how would we go about reheating them?  (I am thinking that
> they could be reheated on a baking sheet in the oven - but I don't know
> what the minimum time required would be.)

I suspect that the thick version could be precooked and reheated as you
describe, but a thin version would be better either freshly fried on
site, or fried in advance and allowed to cool completely unwrapped in
the open air. They should then hold up pretty well for a day or so in a
sealed tin, and probably could be eaten at room temperature. 
 
> As well, what oil would people suggest I use to fry these?  (I would like
> to keep it as period as possible, so I am guessing not peanut *smile*.)

Maybe a light olive oil? Canola, a.k.a. rapeseed oil? Maybe even lard
would be good, although not called for in the recipe. 

Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com