[Sca-cooks] Beans, beans...

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

I wrote wrote:
>Also in the 14th C. Tuscan cookbook are recipes for "fasoli", which
>is "beans", but since most of what we call "beans" are New World, and
>favas have their own name, what does "fasoli" mean?

In response to several posts:
Fasoli are not fava beans. Favas have their own *sections*, one for 
fresh and one for dried.
Fasoli are not chick peas. Chickpeas have their own section.
Fasoli are not red beans. Those are New World and the 14th C. is way 
prior to Columbus...

Could they be black-eyed peas or a relative? Field peas (which are 
grey) or are these the peas? Something else?

In the order in which they appear:
7 Chickpea [ceci] recipes
5 Pea [pesi] recipes
5 Fresh Fava [fave sane] recipes
- - "fave sane" means "whole favas" but it's clear from the recipes 
that they are fresh.
2 Dried Fava [fave infrante] recipes
- - "fave infrante" means "split favas" but it's clear from the 
recipes that they are dried.
2 Lentil [lenti] recipes
3 Fasoli recipes - it's entirely not clear from the recipes if they 
are fresh or dried, although i lean toward dried, since they are 
boiled first before adding them to the recipes.

Here are the originals and Vittoria's translations:

[57]
De' fasoli. Fasoli bene lavati e bulliti, metti a cocere con oglio e 
cipolle, con sopradette spezie, cascio grattato, et ova dibattute.

Beans well cleaned and boiled, set them to cook with oil and onions, 
with aforementioned spices, grated cheese, and beaten eggs.

[58]
Altramente al modo trivisano. Metti fasoli bulliti, descaccati, a 
cocere con carne insalata, e con pepe, e zaffarano. E possonsi dare 
soffritti con oglio, postovi dentro un poco d'aceto, amido e sale.

Another preparation in the style of Treviso.  Put boiled beans, 
shelled, to cook with salted meat, and with pepper and saffron.  And 
this can be served fried in oil, put in a bit of vinegar, starch, and 
salt.

[59]
Altramente. Tolli i fasoli bulliti, e gittatane via l'acqua, mettili 
a cocere con carne di castrone, di porco, o di bue, o qualunche 
vuoli, e molto pesta, e un poco di zaffarano e sale, e da' mangiare.

Another preparation.  Take boiled beans, and throw away the water, 
set them to cook with mutton, pork, or beef, or whatever you like, 
and grind it well, and a bit of saffron and salt, and serve it.
-- 
Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)
the persona formerly known as Anahita