[Sca-cooks] RE: Mamoul

[phoenissa at netscape.net]

"Olwen the Odd" <olwentheodd at hotmail.com> wrote:

>Thanks again Vittoria.  Any further information is always welcome.
>

And here's some of it: the Scappi pie recipe, as promised.  It's a bit long but worth it.  Both the translation and the redaction are from Anne Willan's book "Great Cooks and their Recipes" - a very good survey of the history of cooking, even beyond the SCA period :-)

PER FARE TORTIGLIONE RIPIENO
Knead together 2 pounds flour, 6 egg yolks, 2 ounces rosewater, 1 ounce yeast dissolved in lukewarm water, and 4 ounces fresh butter or lard that does not smell bad, and quite a bit of salt, for half an hour so that the dough is well worked, and then roll it out thinly and cover with melted butter, that is not too hot, or lard, and with the pastry wheel cut all around the edges of the dough that are always thicker than the rest; sprinkle the dough with four ounces sugar, and 1 ounce cinnamon, and then have a pound of raisins that have been boiled in wine, and 1 pound of dates also cooked in wine and finely chopped, and 1 pound of seedless raisins boiled in wine, all mixed together with sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, and then spread on the dough with pieces of butter, and roll up the dough lenthwise like crepes, being careful not to break the dough, and this tortiglione must not be rolled up more than three turns so it cooks better, nor handled too much, but then basted with melted butter that is not too hot, then beginning from one end roll it up lightly like a snail or a maze; and have a pie pan prepared with a sheet of the same dough, of the same thickness, basted with butter, and put it lightly over the tortiglione without pressing it down, and cook in the oven in a moderate heat, basting with butter from time to time, and when it is cooked sprinkle with sugar, rose water, and serve hot.  The pie pan used for the tortiglione should be open and with low sides.

For 8 servings
FOR THE DOUGH:
1/2 oz. compressed yeast, or 1/4 oz. dry yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 egg yolks
2 tbsp rose water
1/4 butter or lard, melted
FOR THE FILLING:
1 cup raisins
1 cup currants
1 1/2 cups pitted dates, chopped
1 cup sweet white wine [I've used red and that works fine too]
1/3 cup butter or lard, melted (for brushing)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup butter, cut in pieces
TO FINISH:
1 egg, beaten with 1/2 tsp salt (for glaze - optional)
1 tbsp rosewater
confectioner/icing sugar (for sprinkling)
9 inch round cake pan

1. For the dough: crumble or sprinkle the yeast over the water and let stand until dissolved, about 5 min.  Sift the flour into a bowl with the salt and make a well i nthe center.  Add the egg yolks, rosewater, melted butter or lard, and yeast mixture and stir to form a smooth dough.  Turn out on to a lightly floured board and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.

2. Put the dough in a warm, lightly oiled bowl, turn it over so the top is oiled, cover with a damp cloth and leave in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.  Meanwhile, simmer the raisins, currants, and dates in the wine until they are plump and the wine is absorbed, 8-10 minutes; let them cool.  Butter the cake pan.

3. Wehen the dough is risen, knead it lightly to knock out the air and set aside about a sixth of it.  Roll out the remaining dough with melted butter or lard and sprinkle with half the sugar mxed with 1 tsp of the cinnamon.  Mixt the cooled raisin mixture with the remaining sugar and cinnamon, the nutmeg, and cloves and spread them on the dough.  Dot the filling with the pieces of butter and fold the dough lengthwise to make three layers.  Brush the top with melted butter.  Curl the dough in the prepared cake pan in a loose spiral, with the original folds at the edges, taking care not to break the dough.

4. Roll out the reserved dough with the trimmings to a very thin round about 12 inches in diameter.  Cover the dough spiral with the round, tucking down the edges so the spiral is completely covered.  Roll out any scraps to make petals, leaves and a stem for a flower decoration on top. [or you could decorate it with a heraldic device! ;)]  brush the top with melted butter and put in a warm place to rise until the dough has almost doubles in bulk, about 40 minutes.  Heat the oven to 375 F.  Brush the dough with the egg glaze, if you like.

5. Bake the yeast cake in the heated oven for 30 minutes, turn down the heat to 325 F and continue baking until well browned, 30-45 minutes londer, basting from time to time with melted butter.  If the cake browns too much during cooking, cover it with foil.  When cooked, sprinkle while still hot with rosewater, followed by confectioners'/icing sugar, and serve hot. [I've also served it at room temperature, and it's good that way too.  I usually skip the sugar.]

>You shall have to keep us posted on the progress of the plans and the final
>outcome of the feast you are doing.  Cooking for 70 isn't too much more than
>a dozen.  It's when you start going up over a hundred that it can get a
>little more tricky.  But then, I'm crazy anyway.
>Olwen
>

Wow...I can't even fathom numbers over a hundred ;-)  70 is plenty for me.  I will certainly keep the list informed!  Right now my biggest inconvenience is getting hold of the cookbooks I need...do you suppose it's unreasonable to rely mostly on the 1300 Andalusian cookbook, even though the event is supposed to be 10th century?

Vittoria


__________________________________________________________________
Your favorite stores, helpful shopping tools and great gift ideas. Experience the convenience of buying online with Shop at Netscape! http://shopnow.netscape.com/

Get your own FREE, personal Netscape Mail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com/