[Sca-cooks] OT - Dessert Suggestions for a Restaurant

[Ian Kusz]

some of my favorite recipes from this list:

On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 4:59 PM, <wheezul at canby.com> wrote:

> My mother's friend owns a restaurant and my Mom is asking me for
> historical recipes.  If so inclined, might you share period recipe ideas
> that you find really exceptional that might get some mileage in a modern
> restaurant?  And for that matter, if you'd like to privately share links
> of places you know that have really good reputations as the 'dessert spot'
> in your locale, I'd be most interested.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Katrine
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Sca-cooks mailing list
> Sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org
> http://lists.ansteorra.org/listinfo.cgi/sca-cooks-ansteorra.org
>



-- 
Ian of Oertha
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Adamantius Cheese Sauce

1/4 cup flour
2 ounces / 4 Tbs / .5 stick butter
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
pinch white pepper
optional: a little onion powder, etc
~6-8 ounces grated cheese, such as cheddar and/or parmigiano

Melt butter, stir in flour over low heat in heavy pan for around three to five minutes or until the flour just begins to have a toasty aroma, but has not begun to brown.

Add milk and whisk till smooth, bring to a simmer, stirring frequently, whisk once more, reduce heat and simmer over low heat ~15-20 minutes. Skim if necessary.

Add cheese, whisk until cheese is melted and smooth. Check and adjust seasoning and serve.

Makes about three cups, can easily be doubled if necessary.

Adamantius
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Euriol
 
Original Recipe:
Maestro Martino: Libro de arte coquinaria (sec. XV).
-- Based on: Arte della cucina. Libri di ricette, testi sopra lo scalco, i
trinciante e i vini. Dal XIV al XIX secolo. A cura di Emilio Faccioli. Vol. 1.
Milano 1966, 115-204.
-- Digital version: Valeria Romanelli, 7/2004.
http://www.uni-giessen.de/gloning/tx/martino2.htm
[Altre frittelle di pomi.]
Monda et netta le poma molto bene, et falle cocere allesso o
sotto la brascia, et cavatene fora quello duro di mezo pistarale
molto bene et inseme gli mettirai un poco de lievito et un poco
di fiore di farina, et del zuccaro; et fa' le frittelle frigendole in
bono olio.

English Translation:
The Art of Cooking, Martino of Como (Pg 94)
Peel & clean the apples well and boil or cook under coals; remove the hard part
from their middles and crush well; and add a little yeast together with a bit of
sifted flour and some sugar; and prepare the fritters, frying them in good oil.
 
Ingredients
1 pound Apple sauce
1 package Yeast
1 1/2 cup Flour
1/2 cup Sugar
Oil for frying

 
Instructions
Combine apple sauce, yeast, flour & sugar until well mixed. Let rest for 10-30
minutes in a warm spot. Deep fry in oil until dark golden brown.
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I've got a couple that I've fixed with some success (unfortunately, I'm not
sure I can find my reconstructions():

Perre. (2 15th C Cookery Books)
¶ Take grene pesyn¯, and boile hem in a potte; And whan¯ they ben¯
y-broke, drawe the brot? a good quantite þorg? a streynour into a
potte, And sitte hit on¯ the fire; and take oynons and parcelly, and hewe
hem small togidre, And caste hem thereto; And take pouder of Canell and
peper, and caste thereto, and lete boile; And take vynegur and pouder of
ginger, and caste thereto; And then¯ take Saffron¯ and salte, a litull
quantite, and caste thereto; And take faire peces of paynmain, or elles of
suc? tendur brede, and kutte hit yn fere mosselles, and caste there-to;
And þen¯ serue hit so fort?.

(This is, pretty much, the recipe on the back of the dried peas bag, I
think, with vinegar, cinnamon, saffron, and ginger to taste, then serve
over croutons or slices of bread). Here's what I did when I made it:
2 cups lb dried green peas
2 quarts water
3 small onion
a handful parsley
spices to taste (cinnamon, pepper, ginger, saffron, salt)
3 Tbsp cider vinegar

Boil peas until they are "broken", then puree. Add finely chopped onions
and parsley with cinnamon and pepper and boil awhile. Add vinegar, ginger,
saffron and salt to taste and boil for a little longer. Sprinkle with
croutons or diced bread and serve.  This is best made at least a day ahead
and reheated before serving.


There is a cream of fresh pea soup in one of the French cookery books (the
Viander, perhaps?) I cooked it for an event, but seem to have lost the
recipes for it in one of my various computer crashes.  It is a rich, yummy
thing, though.

toodles, margaret
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Here are the recipes, as "written" by Martinelli and from Duke Cariadoc's website. Some of Martinelli's changes are minor, but a few...
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Tharida with Lamb and Spinach, Moist Cheese and Butter

From Martinelli, p. 38: (she resentenced and added breaks)
This used to be made in Cordoba in the spring by the doctor Abu al-Hasan al-Bunani, God have mercy on him and pardon us and him.

Take the meat of a fat lamb, cut it and put it in the pot with salt, onion juice, pepper, coriander seed, caraway and oil. Put it on the fire and when it has *cooked*, put in it chopped and washed spinach in sufficient quantity, *grated* moist cheese *[a soft, fresh cheese]* and butter.

When it has *cooked*, take the pot off the fire and *add more* butter. Let there be crumbs of bread moderately leavened *[add the crumbs to the liquid first, then]* put your meat on it.

And if he, God have mercy on him, lacked lamb meat, he would make a tharida of spinach, moist cheese, butter and the previously mentioned spices and eggs instead of meat.

http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Andalusian/andalusian8.htm 
This used to be made in Cordoba in the spring by the doctor Abu al-Hasan al-Bunani, God have mercy on him and pardon us and him. Take the meat of a fat lamb, cut it and put it in the pot with salt, onion juice, pepper, coriander seed, [p. 58, recto] caraway and oil; put it to the fire and when it has *finished*, put in it chopped and washed spinach in sufficient quantity, *rubbed* moist cheese[148] and butter. When it has *finished*, take the pot off the fire and *moisten with* butter. Let there be crumbs of bread moderately leavened*, *and put your meat on them, and if he (God have mercy on him) lacked lamb meat, he would make a tharida of spinach, moist cheese, butter and the previously mentioned spices and eggs instead of meat.
[148] Presumably a fresh farmer's cheese or cottage cheese. (CP)





Oh god, yum!

[148] I would tend to go for fresh, mild feta. As soon as I get some lamb, that is.
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1. This one includes both hummus and tahini but is clearly NOT a dip/spread.

Hummus Kasa
Chickpea Blanket

ORIGINAL RECIPE:
Take chickpeas and pound them fine after boiling them. Then take vinegar, oil, tahineh, pepper, atraf tib (mixed spices), mint, parsley, dry thyme, [pounded] walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds and pistachios, cinnamon, toasted caraway, dry coriander, salt and [minced] salted lemons and olives. Stir it *and roll it out flat, and leave it overnight and serve it.* (emphasis mine)

--- Kitab Wasf al-Atima al-Mutada
(The Book of the Description of Familiar Foods)
an anonymous 13th-century Egyptian cookbook
translated by Charles Perry, in Medieval Arab Cookery, p. 383

Kiri provided a very altered version to try to make it like the modern dish. But if one follows the original directions, one will have a rather thin, somewhat dry, highly textured, and tasty dish, quite unlike the fluid modern hummus bi tahini.

===

2. Here's a period recipe for a tahini and walnut puree that contains no hummus/chickpeas.

Sals Abyad
White Sauce

ORIGINAL RECIPE:
Walnuts, garlic, pepper, Chinese cinnamon, white mustard, tahineh and lemon juice.
--- Kitab Wasf al-At'ima al-Mu'tada
(Book of the Description of Familiar Foods)
translated by Charles Perry, in Medieval Arab Cookery, p. 389

Yes, that is all it says, so preparation directions are conjectural; however, it is a sauce, so i have assumed it has a somewhat more fluid character.

MY VERSION:
1/2 pound walnuts
several cloves garlic, smashed or pressed
3/4 tsp ground black or white pepper
3/4 tsp powdered cassia cinnamon
2 tsp to 1 Tb yellow mustard powder, according to taste
1/2 tsp salt (not called for, but improves the flavor)
2 cups sesame tahini (Sahadi brand is nice)
- - - dense sesame paste doesn't work as well
juice from 2 lemons
water as needed
more lemon juice as needed

1. Heat walnuts in 350 F. oven or a dry skillet on the stove, but do not toast; then rub to remove skins while still warm.
2. Grind skinned walnuts finely.
3. Mix together garlic, pepper, cinnamon, mustard, and walnuts.
4. Stir seasoned walnuts into tahini.
5. Stir in lemon juice and water until the consistency of a sauce.
6. Let stand several hours or overnight for flavors to develop.
7. Shortly before serving add more water as needed and more fresh lemon juice, a bit at a time, to get the appropriate consistency.

Note: This turns purple if the walnuts are not skinned.

Based on a number of other SCA period Arabic language recipes, i suspect it was used as a sauce for fish. It is also delicious on vegetables; and modernly i have cheated and used it as a dip.

===

3. And here's a period recipe for chickpea puree that contains no tahini:

Hummus bi-Zinjibil
Chickpeas with Ginger

ORIGINAL
Cook the chickpeas in water, then mash them in a mortar to make a puree. Push the puree through a sieve for wheat, unless it is already fine enough, in which case this step is not necessary. Mix it then with wine vinegar, the pulp of pickled lemons, and cinnamon, pepper, ginger, parsley of the best quality, mint, and rue that have all been chopped and placed on the surface of a serving dish [zubdiyya]. Finally pour over a generous amount of oil of good quality

--- Kanz al-Fawa'id fi Tanwi' al-Mawa'id
(The Treasure-Trove of Delicious Things for the Diversification of the Table's Dishes)
anonymous Mamluk Egypt - between 1250-1517, probably 14th c.
translated by Lilia Zaouali, in "Medieval Cuisine of the Islamic World", p. 65.

How this Hummus was eaten was not specified.

MY VERSION

one 1-lb can chickpeas
1/4 c. white or red wine vinegar [see Note 1]
the pulp of 2 Moroccan salted lemons (or to taste - you may prefer less)
- - - [see Note 2 for substitution]
1/2 tsp powdered cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground black or white pepper
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
[adjust spices to taste]
3 Tb. finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
3 Tb. finely chopped mint
1/4 cup high quality extra-virgin olive oil or cold-pressed sesame oil (i used a bit more)
additional high quality extra-virgin olive oil or sesame oil for garnish
[do NOT use dark roasted sesame oil - that's Far East Asian]

1. Drain canned chickpeas well.
2. Remove skins by hand: gently rub chickpeas between your hands and discard the skins. You don't have to be perfectionist - a few getting through is OK.
3. Puree the skinned chickpeas.
4. Mix puree with wine vinegar, the pulp of salted lemons, and cinnamon, pepper, ginger. Adjust flavor.
Note: Flavor will develop if this is not eaten immediately and is allowed to sit for a while.
5. To serve, reserve some chopped parsley and mint; then sprinkle most of chopped herbs over the surface of the serving dish [zubdiyya].
6. Put puree in center.
7. Sprinkle with the reserved herbs.
8. Top with a generous amount of oil - high quality, really green, extra-virgin olive oil will look and taste very nice - and high quality cold-pressed golden sesame oil will taste lovely as well.

Note 1: Including some champagne and/or sherry vinegar would taste nice, although neither would be historically accurate.
Note 2: If you didn't make your own salted lemons, here's a quick substitute:
Wash well, then quarter (preferably organic) lemons. Put lemons in a small sauce pan and cover with much *non-iodized* salt and just enough lemon juice or water to start dissolving the salt - more juice will come out of the lemons as they cook. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lemon peels are just translucent. If this is too dry add a bit more lemon juice or water - this should NOT burn or even caramelize at all.

===

Since modern pita is not much like period bread, i serve lavash which is VERY like period ruqaq, and with some modern Persian and Afghan breads. The latter are not necessarily like period breads, but they seem quite close, after reading the large number of bread recipes in ibn Sayyar's 10th c. compendium. Plus they are a pleasant change from the same-old same-old dull boring pita. There's a lot more to ancient and modern Near and Middle Eastern bakers' repertoires than pita!

-- 
Urtatim [that's err-tah-TEEM]
the persona formerly known as Anahita
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Zabarbada of Fresh Cheese
Andalusian p. A-13

Take fresh cheese, clean it, cut it up and crumble it; take fresh coriander
and onion, chop and throw over the cheese, stir and add spices and pepper,
shake the pot with two tablespoons of oil and another of water and salt,
then throw this mixture in the pot and put on the fire and cook; when it is
cooked, take the pot from the fire and thicken with egg and some flour and
serve.

8 oz farmer's cheese
1 t cumin
1 T water
1 c loosely packed chopped green coriander = 1 oz
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
2 onions = 6 oz
1/2 t pepper
1 egg
1 t ground coriander seed
2 T oil
2-3 T flour

Mix together cheese, green coriander, onion, and spices. Put oil, water and
salt in a large frying pan or a dutch oven; shake to cover the bottom. Put
in the cheese mixture and cook on medium-high to high about 3 minutes,
stirring almost constantly, until the mixture becomes a uniform goo. Remove
from heat, stir in egg, sprinkle on flour and stir in, serve forth. It ends
up as a sort of thick dip, good over bread. It is still good when cold.

We have also used cheddar, feta, mozzarella and ricotta; all came out well,
although with the feta it was a little salty, even with the salt in the
recipe omitted. Some cheeses will require more flour to thicken it; the
most we used was 1/2 cup.

David/Cariadoc