Lamb (was Re: [Sca-cooks] Everyone's gone!!!)

[david friedman]

About a month ago, Brighid ni Chiarain wrote:

>... I brought a lamb dish from Nola (#144 Potaje que se dice hijada.)
>
>Here's the recipe, and my redaction:
>
>Pottage which is called flank
>
>"You must take a flank of mutton and cook it, and after cooking, chop it
>well. And cast honey in a kettle, and cast in up to three dozen blanched
>almonds, and let them be in the honey for a bit; and then cast in the
>ground meat, and cast in the fattest broth of the pot and cook with it;
>and then cast in saffron, cloves, and cinnamon, and your taste of vinegar,
>and cook with it; then cast in grated bread until it is quite thick, and then
>remove it to the fireside."

A few questions:

The recipe first says to chop the meat well, then later refers to
ground meat. Is this a translation issue--i.e., a word in the
original that could mean either chopped or ground?

I assumed at a first reading of this that you heated the almonds in
the honey--that was why you were doing it in a kettle. But it
actually just says, "let them be in the honey for a bit". Maybe it is
just in the kettle because you are heating the whole thing after you
have added more ingredients?

You boiled the meat initially. Does Nola ever give more precise
instructions for "take a flank of mutton and cook it" in any related
recipes?

>I didn't have easy access to flank of mutton, so I used leg of lamb.  I got a
>boneless piece weighing slightly over 4 pounds.  I trimmed off the fell (the
>hard suety fat) and cut the lamb into a few large chunks.  I put these in a
>pot, with enough water to cover, and simmered until tender, between 1 and
>1-1/2 hours.  Meanwhile, I soaked 3 dozen blanched almonds in 1/3 cup of
>honey.  I removed the lamb from the pot, retaining the broth.  When the
>meat was cool, I cut it into 1/2 inch pieces.  I transferred the meat to
>another pot.  The lamb broth had a very strong flavor, so I diluted it 50/50
>with water.  I think I used 6 cups of diluted broth.  I added a
>pinch of saffron
>which I had ground up with a little salt, the cloves and cinnamon, the honey
>and almonds, and some white wine vinegar.  I brought the lamb to a simmer
>and let it cook for a maybe two hours.  I tasted it regularly, and adjusted
>the seasonings.  When it was done, I stirred in some store-bought dry
>breadcrumbs, then covered the pot and left it on low until it was time to
>leave for the potluck...

Elizabeth/Betty Cook (well behind on the list)