[Sca-cooks] Blancmange & royal dish recipes

[Vincent Cuenca]

Okay, to make up for the last one, here's a real post.  Kiri asked for them,
so here we go:

from de Nola:

Blancmange

For blancmange: take a chicken and eight ounces of rice flour and half a
pound of rosewater; and a pound of fine sugar; and eight pounds of goat's
milk; if there is none, then take four pounds of white almonds and then take
the chicken, which should be good and fat and large; and when you wish to
make the blancmange, kill the chicken and dry-pluck it, and clean it well
and cook it in a new pot that has not had anything cooked in it; and when
the chicken is half-cooked, take the breasts and shred them finely like
threads of saffron, and then sprinkle the shredded breasts with the
rosewater, little by little, then it all goes back into the pot, which
should not be of copper or newly tinned, because it would take on the flavor
of the tinning; although most cooks make this in untinned vessels, highly
polished, but if it has recently been tinned, boil much bread in it, and
sweat it very well, so that all the flavor of the tinning is drawn out; then
put in the chicken and take the stock of the chicken and pour it in with the
chicken, and stir it with a wooden spoon, beating it very well, so that it
does not take on the flavor of the wood; and take half the milk and pour it
in the pot with the chicken and then add the flour little by little, and
stir it constantly so that it does not stick to the pot, and add eight
dineros of sugar, which are twelve maravedís' worth, to the pot and set it
to cook; and stir it constantly with a wooden spoon in the same direction
without letting it rest and when it needs milk add it little by little and
not all at once, and keep it well away from the smoke; and when the
blancmange turns clear or thin the chicken is good; and if not be careful
not to add any more milk; and when the blancmange becomes like baking
cheese, this is a sign that it is done; and then you can add rosewater, and
then the fat from the pot, but only if it is clean and without any bacon;
and know that from one chicken you can obtain six servings; and take it from
the fire to sweat so that it expels all its moisture; and then prepare the
serving bowls and put fine sugar on top; and in this way one makes a perfect
and good blancmange.

Royal Dish

Royal dish is made from the leg of lamb, cooked and shredded, in the manner
of blancmange; except that it is given color with saffron so that it is
yellow; for the rest follow the order described for blancmange.


The book is coming!  It's in the hands of the typesetter!  I still think
it's going to be ready by June, but there's this small detail of my wedding
coming up next weekend...


Vicente
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