[Sca-cooks] Beets (was Eggplant)

[Sue Clemenger]

I don't have the Shakespeare book, but I've got a copy of Lumbardy Tarts 
in my copy of _To The Queen's Taste_.  The source is given as "The Good 
Huswives Handmaid for Cookerie," and is dated to 1588.
The original follows:
"How to make Lumbardy Tarts.  Take beets, chop them small, and to them 
put grated bread and cheese, and mingle them wel in the chopping.  Take 
a few corrans, and a dishe of sweet butter, and melt it.  Ther stir al 
these in the butter, together with three yolkes of egges, sinamon, 
ginger, and sugar, and make your tart as large as you will, and fill it 
with the stuffe, bake it, and serve it in."

The redaction recommends using a mild cheese such as emmenthaler or 
monterey jack (perhaps for the melting qualities?), but outside of 
telling you to grate the cheese (if you take the adjective "grated" to 
refer to both the bread and the cheese, and not just the bread), there's 
really nothing in the recipe that specifies cheese type.  Might be 
interesting to experiment with....
It also doesn't say anything about pre-cooking the beets, although I 
think the one time (many years ago) that I did this recipe, I used 
canned, diced beets that I drained of their liquid (cost of fresh ones 
being prohibitive with that particular feast budget).

Oh, and on the same pages (68 and 69), there's a bit from Gerard on 
beets.  In part he says, "The red Beet, boyled and eaten with oyle, 
vinegre and pepper, is a most excellent and delicat sallad...."

Mmmmm....now I'm hungry!

--maire

ranvaig at columbus.rr.com wrote:

>> Have you tried the recipe from Dining with William Shakespeare for 
>> Lumdardy Tarts...they are wonderful, and friends who won't eat beets 
>> in any other form adore these.  Beets, cheddar cheese, currants, brown 
>> sugar, eggs...put in a pie shell...bake.  Ummmmmmmmm.
> 
> 
> Do you know which source this is from?
> Ranvaig
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