[Sca-cooks] Looking for a Roman sweet

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Euriol wrote:
>Something I made years ago was a pinenut custard. It was a baked 
>custard, and certainly something that can be done in advanced and 
>served cold.

It is a Patina, which, as i read the recipe, is not a custard, 
although i have eaten it prepared as a custard. Here is a custard 
version, from my website, as served at my Greco-Roman feast:

PINE NUT PATINA

Original:
An Inverted Patina as Dessert: Pine nuts, peeled and chopped nuts, 
are roasted, grind with honey, pepper, fish sauce, milk, eggs, a 
little undiluted wine and oil. Turn into a plate.
[ ----- Apicius, Book IV, Chapter II, Recipe 16] (as published in 
Flower and Rosenbaum)

Feast Version:
Modern recipe courtesy of Cordelia Toser, who cooked them all for the 
feast, including a special custard cup for the Prince that had soy 
milk instead of regular milk.

50 large Eggs (4 doz. + 2 eggs)
5 cups ground Pine Nuts
5 cups Clover Honey
2-1/2 tsp Black Pepper
5 tsp Salt (= 1 Tb. + 2 tsp.)
2 Tb. and 1-1/2 tsp White Wine
2 Tb. Olive Oil
30 cups Whole Milk (= 1 gallon + 3 quarts + 2 cups)

Butter each 1-1/2 quart glass casserole.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In large bowl, beat eggs until uniform.
Add other ingredients and blend until smooth.
Place casserole in large baking pan that is about 2 inches deep.
Pour egg mixture into casserole and add warm water into baking pan.
Try to get the water level about the same as the egg mixture.
Gently place pan in center oven.
Bake until the edges of the custard should be brown and the center is 
no longer liquid.  That should be about 35 to 40 minutes.
Remove casserole from oven and cool on wire rack until it reaches 
room temperature.

It may be served warm or cold.  Leftovers must be refrigerated.

NOTE:
I figure this is not very much like the actual Roman version. But the 
recipe is scrumptious and super yummy and it was a big hit. Some 
diners ate five helpings.

----- End Recipe -----

I confess i'm not entirely sure how many baking pans this takes, 10, 
i think, given how many we were feeding. And it does keep for days in 
the fridge.
-- 
Urtatim [that's err-tah-TEEM]
the persona formerly known as Anahita