[Sca-cooks] Couscous stuffed in a lamb - Fadalat

[Lilinah]

Otro plato de Alcuzcuz (de cordero)

Se toma un cordero grueso. se desuella y se le raja el vientre, 
saca'ndole las entra(ny)as; se limpia y se unta por dentro con grasa 
machacada con las especias que se emplean en la preparacio'n de las 
albo'ndigas. Cuando se tiene cocido el alcuzcuz, se soba con manteca, 
espicanardi, canela y un poco de alma'ciga, y con e'l se rellena el 
vientre del cordero, que se cose, y tambie'n la degolladura, y se 
pone en el tannur hasta que esta' tierno y suficientemente asado. 
Luego se vierte el alcuzcuz en una sopera, se despedaza por encima la 
carne del cordero, se espolvorea todo con canela y espicanardi, y se 
come.

Another Dish of Couscous (with lamb)

Take a heavy lamb, skin it, and slice open its belly, removing its 
entrails; clean it and smear it on the inside with fat crushed with 
the spices that are used in the preparation of meatballs.
[since we don't yet have a meat ball recipe from this book, i'm not 
sure which spices are meant - i'd suspect, based on recipes in 
Anon.Andalus. that among them are cinnamon, pepper, garlic, cilantro, 
murri - ground coriander seed and cumin are likely - and things like 
chopped onion, beaten egg, bread crumbs, seem to be optional]
When you have cooked the couscous, with the finger tips work in 
butter, spikenard, cinnamon and a little mastic, and with it fill up 
the belly of the lamb, sew it up, and the slit neck as well.
[based on some meanings of "sobar" i'm saying "work in with the 
finger tips". Actual kneading would be a bit rough on the couscous]
[since this is an Arabic recipe, manteca must be butter and not lard]
And put it in the tannur until it is tender and sufficiently roasted. 
Next pour the couscous into a soup pot, chop/tear apart over it the 
meat of the lamb, dust everything with cinnamon and spikenard, and 
eat it.

Couscous - what form did it take when this cookbook was written? It 
is currently a sort of teeny tiny pasta made from semolina flour, but 
at various points in time it was made of barley - and there are also 
some rather large couscous grains available, too. I'm not really sure 
which is most appropriate for this recipe...

NOTE: A tannur (cognate with tandoor, as in Indian tandoori cooking) 
is a Middle Eastern style oven that is more or less cylindrical and 
open at the top.
A horno/forno is a European style oven, rectangular and open in the front.

-- 
Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)
the persona formerly known as Anahita