[Sca-cooks] uiuanda alla Hebraica, di Carne, 1557 ('A Jewish dish, with meat')

[tgl at mailer.uni-marburg.de]

On my harddisk, I found what seems to be a 16th century recipe for a
Jewish dish from an Italian cookbook: Christofaro di Meßisbugo: Libro
novo nel qval s'insegna a far d'ogni sorte di uiuanda ... In Venetia
MXLVII, fol. 115. Obviously, I transcribed this recipe earlier from the
facsimile.

Given that early recipes for Jewish dishes seem to be rare, I
thought I might try and produce a rough English paraphrase. However,
neither 16th century Italian nor modern Italian nor English is my
mothertongue, so this is only a preliminary draft.

I have three questions:
-- would the recipe "work" this way (no binding agent for the meat?)
-- is there a tradition for this kind of dish?
-- do you see errors in the paraphrase? Suggestions to improve it?

A fare uiuanda alla Hebraica, di Carne.
PIgliarai di Carne di Vitello nella polpa libre tre, e nettale bene
dalle pellegate, e nerui, e pestala minutamente. Poi habbi una pestata
d'herbe oliose, & uua passa, & un poco di speciie d'ogni sorte, e metti
ogni cosa insieme. Poi piglia i Torli di quattro Oue dure, cio è il
Torlo solo integro. Poi piglia la mità della Compositione sopradetta in
forma di mezze balle da uento, e metteli fra mezzo i quattro Torli sopra
detti, & serrale, poi in forma de una balla integra, e ponila a cuocere
nel buon brodo con una pestata d'herbe oliose, e un poco di Noce
moscata, e tanto Zaffrano che li dia il colore. poi le imbandirai una, o
due per piatello secondo la grandezza di che le farai col detto brodo
con fette di pan sotto se ge ne uorrai.

To make a Jewish dish, with meat
Take calf meat, such that there are three pounds of meat (not counting
the skin and other non-meat parts). Remove the skinny parts and the
sinews and chop it finely. Then take chopped oleiferous herbs, dried
raisins, a small amount of different seasonings/spices, and put all
these ingredients together. Then take the yolks of four hard-boiled
eggs: take only the yolks and watchout that the yolks remain whole/
undivided. Then take half of the above-mentioned mass and bring it into
the form of one half of a ball with a hole in the middle. Put the
above-mentioned yolks into these holes and knead whole balls using the
rest of the mass. Cook these balls in a good broth with chopped
oleiferous herbs, a small amount of nutmeg and a sufficient amount of
saffron, such that the saffron will color the balls. Serve the balls one
or two per plate, according to the size you made, together with the
broth and on a slice of bread, if you like to.

Thomas