[Sca-cooks] Sca-cooks Digest, Vol 10, Issue 57

[Louise Smithson]

Jadwiga wrote: Since it's unclear how often salads were served, should I try to limit 
how often I make salad in the SCA?

Depends?  Now for 16th century Italian food, salads turn up just about every dinner in the first course, along with such other foods not eaten in the north such as raw fruit.  They are listed in just about every dinner menu made from any number of interesting things.  In addition there is a book 


Archidipno overo dell'insalata e dell'vso di essa ... / da Saluatore Massonio ...
In Venetia : appresso Marc'Antonio Brogiollo ..., 1627.
Which only talks about salads and it's free online at dioscoredes: 
http://alfama.sim.ucm.es/dioscorides/consulta_libro.asp?ref=B20397215&idioma=0
It talks about vinegar, oil, salt and why this is how a salad should be dressed, then talks about other dressing ingredients including: sapa, lemon and sour orange juice, pepper and garlic.  Then introduces each vegetable and herb that can be served in a salad, and how it is prepared for that salad.  It is more of a health manual than a cookbook so you have to wade through all the stuff plagiarized from worthy Latin sources to find the cooking information but is is there (usually in the form: and these are more healthful if roasted before serving cold, with a dressing of sour orange juice salt and olive oil).
Some vegetables covered: 
Parsnips, ramps, beet root, cress, turnip, radishes, sprouts, fennel, asparagus, truffles, lettuce, endive, chicory, rocket, nasturtium, borage, lemon balm, beans, cauliflower, peas, squash, and a whole bunch of herbs.  
So I say salad ahead, of course you'll need to start cooking 16th century Italian, but that's no bad thing:-)

Helewyse









 
____________________________________________________________________________________
Sucker-punch spam with award-winning protection. 
Try the free Yahoo! Mail Beta.
http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mailbeta/features_spam.html