[Sca-cooks] looking for lentil recipe

[Robin Carroll-Mann]

On Wed, Mar 9, 2011 at 5:35 AM, Claire Clarke <angharad at adam.com.au> wrote:
> This is one from late 16th century Spain that I discovered when
> digging around online for 16th century Spanish recipes last year.
> I picked the translation off someone's blog - apologies for the lack
> of credit if it was yours!

A little googling shows that the blog in question belongs to Duchess
Juana Isabella, who is a member of this list.  The recipe, as she
indicated, was translated by Dan Gillespie (SCA: Antoine de Bayonne).

'Caldo' means 'broth' in Spanish, but it and the word for 'hot'
('caliente') both come from the same Latin root.

I think that this is definitely a lentil soup, meant to be served hot.
 The verb 'cocer' means 'to cook', but it also has the more specific
meaning of cooking in liquid.  If I saw a period Spanish recipe for a
food that can be cooked in multiple ways -- chicken or rggplant, for
example -- and it said 'cocer', I would be reaching for a pot and
filling it with water.

I have one question about your redaction: are you deliberately
omitting spices?  The recipe says to add ground spices, mint, and
parsley.  Mint and parsley are herbs.  Ground spices ('especias
molidas') might include such things as black pepper, cinnamon, cloves,
etc.  Antoine's redaction of this recipe is in the Florilegium file
for lentils, and he includes pepper, ginger, cumin, coriander (seed, I
assume), cloves, and salt.

Does anyone know what's happened to Antoine?  Does he still play in
the SCA and is he still working on his translation?


Brighid ni Chiarain