[Sca-cooks] Late Italian feast and period cream puffs

Louise Smithson helewyse at yahoo.com
Thu Apr 10 16:35:29 PDT 2008


Lets see what we can really document here: 
Catherine Medici - Born 1519 was Queen consort of france from 1547 - 1559
She has occasionally been credited with introducing Italian Chefs to France, spreading ice cream (no proof), and now choux pastry.  
See here for the medici archive (http://www..medici.org/) an invaluable resource.  But clunky to search.

Now I work almost exclusively with the food and cuisine of Renaissance Italy, mostly working with Bartolomeo Scappi's (1500 -1577)  Opera dell'arte di cucinare - the large book published in 1570.  

He does indeed have a puff paste recipe in there (see below).  What is interesting is that there is no mention of filling these, they are simply dusted with fine sugar and served.  I did redact them at a class I did this spring at a RUM, they are yummy without a filling as they have more flavor than the modern ones.  The ones fried in lard were much much tastier though.  

If you want to find more Italian Renaissance recipes I suggest that you check out my website 
http://www.geocities.com/helewyse 
there are four feast menus, classes on various subjects, random translations of recipes and articles, all leading to a fuller understanding of real renaissance Italian food.   The pastry class isn't up there yet as I want to add some notes from what we found when we played with pastry. 
I have also been known to hunt through my recipes to find specifictypes of food for people for feasts.  I've got pretty much every bookpublished in Italy during and immediately after the renaissance at mydisposal, some on disk, some as printouts and some as really expensivefascimile editions (Opera).  They just need to be used.  I'm all forspreading Renaissance Italian cooking.

Helewyse


Per fare varie sorte di frittelle; & prima pre fare frittelle allaVenetiana Cap CXXXVI f 370
Faccinisi bollire sei libre dilatte di capra in una cazzuola ben stagnata con sei oncie di butiro fresco,& quattro oncie di zuccaro, & quattro oncie d’acqua rosa, & un pocodi zafferano, & sale a bastanza, & come il bollo si comincia ad alzare,si ponerà dentro libre due di farina a poco a poco, mescolando continuamentecol cocchiaro di legno, fino a tanto che sarà ben soda come la pasta del pane,cavisi d’essa cazzuola, & pongasi nel mortaro di pietra, e pestisi per unquarto d’hora; poi cavisi, & pongasi in un vaso di rame, overo di terra,mescolandola con la cocchiara di legno, o con le mani, fino a tanto che siraffreddi; poi habbinsi venti quattro ova fresche, & ponghisino dentro auno a uno, mescolando di continuo con la cocchiara di legno, o con le mani,fino a tanto che essa pasta sarà diventata liquida; finito che sarà di metterel’ove, battasi per un quarto d’hora fino a tanto che faccia le vesiche, &lascisi reposare per un quarto d’hora
 in luogo caldo, & ribattasi un altravolta.  Poi habbiasi apparecchiata unapadella con strutto caldo, & piglisi della compositione, & pongasisopra un tagliere, & con la bocca della caraffa bagnata di strutto freddo,overo col cannone di ferro bianco taglinisi le frittelle, & ponghisino nelstrutto, dandoli il fuoco adagio, & alcune volte muovasi la padella,facendo che le frittelle si voltino nel strutto, senza toccarle, & quandole frittelle comincieranno ad essere cotte creperanno, perche di naturagonfiano, & vengono a foggia di nespole, e molte volte si volgono da secome si vederà che haveranno preso alquanto di coloretto, & sarannoleggieri, cavisino con la cocchiara forata, & servisino calde con zuccarofino sopra.  D’essa pasta se ne puon farediversi lavorieri con la siringa, ma vuole essere alquanto piu sodetta diquella dell frittelle, dipoi che sarà quella della siringa per fare che la siamigliore, faccisi stare per mezz hora nel forno non troppo
 caldo, & servasicon zuccaro fino sopra.  
 
To make various sorts of fritters, and first to make Venetian frittersChapter 136, page 370
Put to boil six libre of goatsmilk in a casserole well tinned, with six ounces of fresh butter, four ouncesof sugar, four ounces of rose water, a little saffron and enough salt.  When the boil begins to rise add into it twopounds of flour little by little.  Mixcontinuously with a wooden spoon until it becomes stiff like bread dough.  Take it from the casserole and put it into astone mortare and pound it for a quarter of an hour.  Then take it out and put it into a bowl ofcopper or of ceramic, mix it with a wooden spoon or with a hand until itchills.  Then have twenty four fresh eggsand put them in one by one, mixing continuously with the wooden spoon or withthe hand until the paste because liquid. 
After adding the eggs beat for a quarter of an hour until it makesblisters (bubbles?) and leave it to rest for a quarter of an hour in a warmplace then beat again.  Then have ready afrying pan with hot lard, and take the mixture and put it over a plate and withthe mouth of a bottle well greased with cold lard or with a cane of white ironcut the fritters and put them into the lard and give them gentle heat, andseveral times move the pan making the fritters dance in the lard withouttouching (each other) and when the fritters begin to be cooked they will crack,because by nature they puff up and become like medlars.  Many times one will see that they have takenenough color and they are light, take them out with a slotted spoon and servethem hot with fine sugar on top.  Withthis paste one can make various works with the syringe (pastry bag) but itshould be somewhat thicker than that used for fritters if one wants to makethem better with the syringe.  Let
 thembake for half an hour in an oven which is not too hot and serve them with finesugar on top. 
 
What do we know? 
Not too hot an oven is the
requirement, for frying make it a softer batter, for baking a stiffer one, bake
in a moderate oven. 
Use a circular form (bottle neck)
to get donut shaped fritters. 
 
Ingredients
Asoriginally written                                          6thof recipe                              ModernChoux recipe
72fl ozgoat milk                                               12fl oz                                     5fl oz cold water
6 oz butter                                                        1oz butter                                2oz butter
4 fl ozrose water                                              2/3fl oz rose water                   n/a
saffron                                                              pinch                                        n/a
salt                                                                   pinch                                        pinch
24 oz whiteflour                                               4oz                                          2.5oz
24 fresheggs                                                    4eggs                                      2eggs
 
Method
Boil the saffron with the butter and goat milk, addthe flour all in one go, beat it hard. 
When it has come together as a nice smooth ball of paste transfer it tothe stand mixer.  Turn it on and let itgo this also helps cool it.  Beat theeggs in separate bowl and add in small installments, allowing them toincorporate before the next addition. 
Pipe or place spoonfuls on a greased baking sheet and bake at 400Falternatively cut pipe them into hot lard and fry until golden.  Serve dredged with sugar.

Lady Elizabeta Maria dei Medici mentioned:
<<< 2.  Catherine's pastry chef was an Italian, Popelini.
He created the Choux pastry recipe.>>>

What is Choux pastry? or maybe more important, what makes a pastry a  
Choux pastry?

<<<  Cream puffs are
period if you use some sort of sweet or savory filling
that would be period.  (I've used Ricotta mixed with
Honey or cinnamon and sugar or lemon curd.  All are
really good.) >>>






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