[Sca-cooks] Spanish Vigil Food

[David Friedman]

Anahita asked about food for the vigil of a Spanish-Islamic persona Laurel.

How about the stuffed tortillon, which is a 
filled bread? (Recipe from our Miscellany below.) 
I brought one to a Mists Investiture a year or 
two back--I don't remember if you were there and 
had a chance to try it.

Elizabeth/Betty Cook

Para Hazer Tortillon Relleno: To Make a Stuffed Tortillon
Diego Granado, Libro del arte de cozina, 1599
Tr.  Lady Brighid ni Chiarain (Robin Carroll-Mann)

Knead two pounds of the flower of the flour with 
six yolks of fresh eggs, and two ounces of 
rosewater, and one ounce of leaven diluted with 
tepid water, and four ounces of fresh cow's 
butter, or pork lard which has no bad odor, and 
salt, and be stirring said dough for the space of 
half an hour, and make a thin leaf or pastry and 
anoint it with melted fat which should not be 
very hot, and cut the edges around, sprinkle the 
pastry with four ounces of sugar, and one ounce 
of cinnamon, and then have a pound of small 
raisins of Corinth, which have been given a boil 
in wine, and a pound of dates cooked in the same 
wine, and cut small, and all of the said things 
should be mixed together with sugar, cinnamon, 
and cloves, and nutmeg, and put the said mixture 
spread over the pastry with some morsels of cow's 
butter, and beginning with the long end of the 
pastry, roll it upwards, taking care not to break 
the dough, and this tortillon or roll must not be 
rolled more than three turns, so that it will 
cook better, and it does not have to go very 
tight.  Anoint it on top with fat, not very hot. 
It will begin to twist by itself at one end which 
is not very closed, in such a manner that it 
becomes like a snail.  Have the pie pan ready 
with a pastry of the same dough, somewhat fatty, 
anointed with melted fat, and put the tortillon 
lightly upon it without pressing it, and make it 
cook in the oven, or under a large earthen pot 
with temperate fire, tending it from time to time 
by anointing it with melted cow's butter, and 
being almost cooked, put sugar on top, and 
rosewater, and serve it hot.  The pie pan in 
which you cook the tortillones must be wide, and 
must have very low edges. [end of original]

Translator's notes: All of the recipes which bear 
the name "tortillon" have a rolled-up pastry with 
some kind of filling.  If I had to translate the 
Spanish, I would render it as something like 
"roll-pastry". The noun "manteca" can mean either 
butter or lard.  I have translated "manteca de 
vaca" as cow's butter, "manteca de puerco" as 
pork lard, and undifferentiated "manteca" as fat.

dough:
2 lb = 7 c flour
4 oz = 1/2 c butter
6 egg yolks
2 oz = 4 T rose water
2 scant T dried yeast
1 1/4 c lukewarm water
2 t salt

filling:
1 lb = 3 1/2 c currents
1 lb = 3 1/2 c chopped dates
3 c wine
1/4 c sugar
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4+ t nutmeg
1/8 t cloves

to use in making loaf:
1/2 c sugar
1 oz = 3 1/2 T cinnamon
2 T butter
~3 T melted butter
1 t rosewater
1 T sugar

Mix flour and salt in a large bowl; mix yeast 
with warm water, beat egg yolks with rosewater, 
melt 1/4 c butter. Make a well in the center of 
the flour and pour the liquids into it, stir 
together with a wooden spoon, then knead for 
10-15 minutes, until smooth. (The original says 
half an hour, but the extra quarter hour doesn't 
seem to make much difference.) Let rise an hour 
and 20 minutes. To prepare filling, bring wine to 
a boil, add currents and dates and let boil two 
minutes; drain and add sugar and spices. When 
dough has risen, pinch off about an eighth of it 
and spread it out flat in the bottom of a greased 
11" pie pan; spread 1 t melted butter over it. 
Spread the rest of the dough out on a floured 
board to a rectangle ~21"x18", spread with 2 t 
melted butter, and sprinkle on 1/4 c sugar and 1 
oz cinnamon. Spread the filling on top of that; 
dot with 2 T of butter in pieces. Roll up from 
the long side and pinch together to seal, so that 
the filling won't all ooze out. Coil on top of 
the piece of dough in the pan and spread another 
2 t of melted butter over the top. Let rise 
another 10 minutes or so and put in a pre-heated 
oven at 350°. Bake 50 minutes or so, taking out 
once or twice to spread with more melted butter. 
After 45 minutes baking, sprinkle with rosewater 
and sugar, then put back in oven for another 5 
minutes.