[Sca-cooks] Pate = Period?

[Stefan li Rous]

Kristianne asked:
> I've just finished what is probably one of my better chicken liver pate
> concoctions and am wondering how period pate truly is?


Well, the following is a recipe from this file in the FOOD-MEATS section
of the Florilegium:

liver-msg         (37K)  2/11/02    Medieval cooking of liver. Recipes.


> Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2000 09:32:42 -0500
> From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
> Subject: Historic Liver recipes (was SC - liver )
>
> I was perusing Sabina Welserin last night and thinking about liver.  How was
> it prepared?  Were any types of liver avoided?  What was the medical
> philosophy concerning liver?  With Brighid's post from de Nola, I thought a
> thread on historic liver recipes and documentation might be fun.
>
> Not being into liverwurst, I'm thinking of trying the liver dish and the
> liver tart from Welser.  The recipes given below are from Valois Armstrong's
> translation of Das Kochbuch von Sabina Welserin.
>
> Bear

> 26 If you would make good liverwurst
>
> First take a quarter of a pig's liver, also a quarter of a pig's lungs, chop them small, after that chop bacon into small cubes and put salt and caraway seeds into it. The liver and lungs must first be cooked, before they are chopped, and afterwards pour as much of this broth on the chopped meat as you feel is enough. Then take the intestines from the slaughterhouse and fill them full, then you have good sausage.

> Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2000 20:19:49 GMT
> From: "Vincent Cuenca" <bootkiller at hotmail.com>
> Subject: SC - Re: New to the list (also historic liver)
>
>>The House of Aragon controlled both Sicily and Naples from 1442 to 1504,
>>when control of both was cede to Spain.  Sicily and Naples were
>>inter-related more ofthen than not from the 11th Century on.
>
> Aaaand not one, but TWO people on the list are translating a cookbook
> written for the King of Naples, Ferrante (or Fernando, for those of us  who
> speak God's good Spanish).  Lady Brighid is planning on making her version
> available on the Web; I plan to publish mine as a book.
>
> By the way, here's a liver recipe from it:
>
> Vinagre, Which Is Liver In Sauce
>
> Take onions, and cut them very fine like dice, and sweat them with fat
> bacon; then take liver of kid or lamb or goat and cut it into slices the
> size of half a nut and fry it gently it with the onion until it loses its
> color; then take a large piece of bread toasted and soaked in vinegar; and
> grind it well; then thin it with sweet white wine; then put it through a
> strainer; then add it to the onions and liver, all together in the
> casserole; and add ground cinnamon; and cook it until it is very thick and
> when it is done prepare the dishes.
>
> Vicente
> (not too fond of liver unless disguised in pate)

Here's another that may be even closer to your idea of "pate".

> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2001 16:46:08 -0400 (EDT)
> From: Morgan Cain <morgancain at earthlink.net>
> Subject: SC - Livyre Puddings (chicken liver pate)
>
>> Livyre Puddings (chicken liver pate) - chicken liver, crumbs, fat, currants,
>> nutmeg [Good Hous-wives Treasurie, 1588] (NOTE: may inadvertently
>> contain crumbs of almonds)
>
>>>>> Would you have this recipe handy? I know someone that
>>>>> is looking for this exact thing just now.
>
> I used the one in "To The Queen's Taste," but substituting chicken for pork where appropriate:
>
> "How to make Livering Puddinges.  Take the Liver of a Hogge, and give it three or fower warmes over the fier.  Then either grate or choppe it verye small, and take a little grated bread adn two egges well beaten, whites and all, and Currans, Nutmegges, Pepper, and Salte, and Hogges suet."
>
> (From "The Good Hous-Wives Treasurie", on p.40 of TTQT)
>
> My version (from the redaction):  Boil 7-8 pounds of chicken livers in salted water until cooked.  Drain and puree in a food processor.  Mix with two matzohs, crushed into crumbs, one half-cup fat (margarine or schmaltz), about 5-6 tsp. of nutmeg, 1-2 tsp. ground black pepper, and a cup of currants.  Chill until serving.  (NOTE:  It is fluffier if you prepare while the livers are hot, but this can make it harder to stir.  HOT!!  Also, I left out the eggs, being twitchy about raw eggs.)
>
>                           ---= Morgan

There is more commentary on this particular recipe in this file.
You might also take a look at this file in the same section:

organ-meats-msg   (72K)  2/11/02    Period cooking of organ meats.


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