[Sca-cooks] Andalusian feast

[Mark Calderwood]

Promotional pamphlet for the Andalusian Twelfth Night Investiture
(Principality of Lochac)...for those who may be interested....

An Andalusian summer banquet from the court of the Cordoba
Giles de Laval, feast steward

The Place
In the early 8th century, Moslem armies had crossed the Strait of Gibraltar
and conquered the Visigothic kingdom of Spain, creating the land known as
al-Andalus. The principal city was Cordoba, on the Guadalquivir river in
southern Spain, which was the seat of the Umayyad Emirate: after 929 the
Emir (military commander or prince) also assumed the title of Caliph
(spiritual head of the Islamic community, and successor to the Prophet).
While most of Europe was languishing in the barbarism of the Dark Ages, the
Caliphate of al-Andalus, which covered most of modern day Spain, was a
haven of learning, commerce, science, poetry and culture.

At a time when the cities of Europe were little more than rude wooden
shacks clustered around a cathedral, the city of Cordoba was a model of
civilisation and prosperity. The citizens of Cordoba enjoyed paved streets
and street lighting, running water and sewage systems. They lived in
elegant stone and stucco houses, surrounding lush cool garden courtyards,
filled with shady trees, sweetly scented blossoms and an abundance of
fountains and pools; superbly suited to the midsummer heat. The city
featured over 300 mosques and libraries, and more than 700 bath houses. A
Saxon traveller, visiting in the 10th century described the city as "the
jewel of the world". It is this atmosphere of civilisation and elegant
sophistication we are aiming to recreate at this banquet.

The Style
As befits such a jewel, Cordoba attracted many fine and learned notables.
Chief among these was the Persian emigre and courtier Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn
Nafi, better known by his nickname Ziryab, which in Arabic means
"blackbird". Ziryab was among other things a strategist, a minister of
culture, an arbiter of fashion and taste, a musican, and a poet. Ziryab's
influence is felt to this day, especially in music and food. Prior to his
arrival in al-Andalus in 822, there had been no style in food presentation
since the Roman Empire. Food was served plainly on platters on bare tables,
much as remains the "traditional" style in the middle east to this day.

Ziryab changed that. He brought with him many dishes form his native
Baghdad, introduced fine tablecloths and glassware, and developed a new
order of service for the table. This "more elegant, better-bred and modern
style" became established in al-Andalus, thence spread across the Pyrenees
to Europe, and became the standard service we still use today. Hence the
banquet will be served according to the precepts of Ziryab, and so will
differ from a the "traditional" style of serving one associates with
Islamic food.

The Food
Arabic cookery is very distinctive in style and taste, especially the
cookery of al-Andalus, which profoundly influenced medieval and Renaissance
Mediterranean cooking. The menu makes use of all the distinctive foods of
the region, such as one would be served at a banquet at the court of
Cordoba: seafood, lamb, poultry, rice, oranges, pomegranates, olives, a
variety of fresh fruit and exotic vegetable dishes, Persian relishes and
delicate sweets, including some of Ziryab's special favourites. With a menu
of this variety , every taste is sure to be catered for!

All the dishes presented at this feast will, of course, be period. Much of
the Andalusian and Baghdad styles of cuisine has down to us in surviving
manuscripts: the principle sources used for this banquet are the Manuscrito
Anonimo (13th century Arab-Andalusian), the Baghdad Cookery Book (13th
century Persian), the cookbooks of al-Warraq (10th century Persian) and
other Andalusian manuscripts.

The Feast
An Arab poet wrote that pleasure had six forms: food, drink, clothes, sex,
scent and sound (the noblest of course being food!). With our guests seated
upon cushions in their finest clothes, amid the soft sounds of the oud and
splashing fountain, with the scents of citrus and jasmine in the air,
sipping wines and syrups and treated to the most luxurious food in the
history of Lochac, we are proud to offer at least five forms of earthly
pleasure. We bid you welcome to the Andalusian summer banquet!