[Sca-cooks] Fried Onions was (baked cheese dishes)

[Stefan li Rous]

Serena da Riva replied to me with:
> You and your leading questions Stefan! ;)

Moi?

I am using the below translation:
> PARA HAZER CEBOLLAS ENTERAS EN CAZUELA EN DIA DE QUARESMA
>
> To Make Whole Onions in Casserole on a Lenten Day
>
> Source: _Libro del Arte de Cozina_, 1599
>
> Translation: Brighid ni Chiarain (Robin Carroll-Mann)
>
> Take the white onions, and sweet ones, and the bigger they are, the better,
> and make them cook in water and salt, in such a manner that they are well
> cooked, and take them out and let them cool and drain, and puncture them
> with the knife, so that the water will come out better, and being drained
> moisten them with a bit of cold water, and flour them, and put them in a
> tart pan with enough hot olive oil that they will be more than half covered,
> and give them fire below and above, turning them several times, and being
> cooked serve them with oil and cinnamon on top.  You can also cover with
> garlic sauce and green sauce.

Oooh. Sounds wonderful. I've got to try this.  Hmmm. but I'm getting hungry
and it's already 11pm, so I guess on another night.

> Next time I am going to use a smaller onion then it will not need to be
> boiled as long. Next time I will let the oil get to 300 degrees before I put
> the onions and hopefully it will crisp up better. But all in all I think it
> will work nicely. Each table will get 3 medium sized onions instead of one
> giant onion. I really doubt that medieval farmers could produce 1 1/2 pound
> onions.

Yes, I would go with medium onions and not the huge ones for the reasons
you state.

Did you have any trouble with the flour staying on the onions?
Perhaps that is one advantage to baking/frying them in the oven
rather than in a skillet on the range.

--
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
   Mark S. Harris            Austin, Texas          stefan at texas.net
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****