All posts by SoshaRuark

Roman Cookery

Giacosa NOT Herkotz

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When I first started redacting, I did a common mistake in that I assumed that Herkotz was the author of the book A Taste of Ancient Rome.  This is my mistake.  The author is Ilaria G. Giacosa, while Anne Herkotz is the translator.  If you see my redactions with the name of Herkotz as the author…please disregard this and know that the correct research reference is Giacosa.

I have tried to correct this error in all subsequent Roman redactions though I have missed some corrections in my older posts.  I do not wish lead any one astray who wants to use my redactions and research for their own cooking needs.

Panis Alexandrinus (Cumin and Honey Bread), Panis Alexandrinus (Cumin and Honey Bread), Roman Breads, Roman Cookery

Panis Alexandrinus (Cumin and Honey Bread)

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When I was doing the Roman research paper for Steppes Artisan (and Laural’s Prize Tourny), I was reading about the different breads eaten at banquets.  One of the odder ones struck me as strange but yummy.  I mean really, who puts cumin in bread…with honey even?!  I knew the Romans were a little strange in their eating, but seriously?  So of course I HAD to try this.  Oh my…I must say, either my palate has changed for all time or this bread is really really really good!  You have to try this at least once.

Panis Alexandrinus

Cumin and Honey Bread

Translation:

A popular and frequently mentioned bread.  We do not know exactly how it was made except that it contained Egyptian cumin, hence the name and probably honey. (Faas, pp. 191)

Ingredients:

4 C Flour

2 Tbs cumin (Egyption if possible)

1 tsp salt

1 C Honey + 1 tsp for yeast

1 C water

1 tsp yeast.

 

Redaction:

First mix 1 tsp of honey with yeast and water in a small cup or bowl allow to sit for 5 minutes.

Here is the honey and the 2 tbs of cumin, the milky looking cup contains the honey, water and yeast foaming just a little.

Next, in a larger bowl, mix the flour salt and cumin together.

(In this picture I had added the yeast originally for the first batch…the honey makes this bread very dense so the yeast needs a little help, so I suggest doing yeast in water and honey to give the yeast a little extra head start…)

Next add in the honey and yeast mixture.

*A note about period flour.  Period flour was not just one type of flour or another.  Depending on where the flour was in the que of grinding depended on how much semolina, barley or rye might be found in the wheat.  Not matter where in the que though or how much of wheat flour was being ground, traces of other flours would show up.  This is because period grist mills did not clean between grinds.  Unlike today’s flour there was always a little extra to the wheat flour.

Once the dough has been kneaded for 5 minutes (for a better crumb)

coat with oil, place in a bowl and allow to sit for 90 minutes in a warm spot, covered with a towel.  After 90 minutes, remove the dough from the bowl and do a quick kneed, 30-60 seconds.

Place the dough in a greased square pan

Here is the original cumin and honey loaf.

And now the interior of this loaf.

This is very very dense.  The second baking, with the yeast given a bit of a head start, also produced a dense heave loaf but less dense then the first.

I am still playing around with this recipe myself.  I find the taste incredible but the crumb still much denser then I am use to modernly.  The bread may just be a dense type of bread and may never achieve a fluffy crumb but I keep trying for fun!

 

Classes, Coffee in Period class at Pennsic 2012

Coffee in Period Class

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This is the overview with out the pictures.  For the full research, check out Medieval Research Papers > Coffee in Period.  The class was hands on with lots of discussion.

Highlights from the class:

One gentleman comment how he was instructed to let the coffee boil, and then pull off the fire for the length of a prayer (roughly 1 minutes) and to repeat twice more with sugar added.  Also the adding of sugar to the coffee while making.  Boiling 3 times was the suggested by  current connoisseurs of yummy Turkish coffee,(I could only find references to boiling twice at most in period but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t boiled 3x with sugar!)

There was a lively discussion on types of pans used for the actual roasting of the coffee.  I described the picture of one period dish looking much like a modern wok, though Hattox ( Coffee and Coffeehouses author) mentions a metal sheet on several occasions also used to roast beans over hot fires.  (Metal sheets used for cooking can be found in several of the cooking text…seems to be an easy item to use and carry!)

One young gentleman did an impromptu, and much welcomed, display on recreated deep ceramic/clay dishes from which men at the coffee houses drank from.  This young man brought in 3-4 cups that looked like small painted clay soup bowls that were recreated from archeological digs of re-discovered coffee houses ruins.  His replicates were estimated by the experts who recreated them from the original fragments to be roughly 7mm off (either lager or smaller) then the originals.  I had to say this was one of my favorite parts!  The sharing of knowledge and actually being able to handle an item that would have been used in period.  That was my “Squeeee!” moment of the class!

One lady came up after class to point out that, as a barista, not all blonde roasts give more caffeine then dark roasts.  Some do, some don’t, though the rule of thumb is the lighter the roast the more oil still in the bean equaling more caffeine with a darker roast having more flavor.

I must say the class was very enjoyable and I have to say the people who came to talk and watch the roasting of beans was just awesome!

 

 

 

Uncategorized

Return from Pennsic 2012

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After coming home from Pennsic 2012 , a very wet year, I am all but bouncing to do MORE cooking.  I can not wait to break into two of the 3 books I bought.  (I had wanted to get one more but budget constraints are the pits!)

I have a few Roman dishes I’ll be posting this week and next, but for now I shall post the two classes from Pennsic.  I hope every one who could go had as much fun (or more) then I!!

Ingredients and Spices, Rose Water

Rose Water

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Now we all know that rose water is an easy ingredient to buy.  However this was not always the case.  Rose water actually was made by hand back in the day.  There was no going to the corner HEB and buying rose water so strong you only needed half a cap or even a whole cap full to flavor the cookies, bread or fish.  Rose water use to be made from fresh roses.  Enough roses to fill an English garden or in this case the Sultan’s garden.  It took many many flowers…oh the many flowers!

Rose Water

 Translation:

Take a ratl of dried roses, and cover with three ratls of boiling water, for a night and leave it until they fall apart in the water.  Press it and clarify it, take the clear part…

(Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook of the Thriteenth Century)

Ingredients:

4 oz dried roses/rose petals

4 C boiling water

Redaction:

Now this recipe is renders less then 4 cups of rose scented/flavored water.

Ignore the wine and wine bottle, the main focus is the Pakistani roses used.  That bag…is 4 oz or rose petals.

I didn’t want to use American rose petals but rose petals as close to period as possible.  Hence the use of Pakistani dried roses.  The 4 ozs of rose petals were place into a largish pottery bowl.

These smell soooo good.  The scent of roses with out being cloying.

4 oz of dried roses takes up a LOT of room.  This is roughly about 4-5 cups of rose petals.   The dried roses will absorb a lot of water so plan accordingly with amount of rose petals to the amount of water.

After placing the rose petals in the bowl, I poured the boiling water over them, and mooshed (yes this is a technical term) the rose petals down into the water to make sure they are thoroughly saturated.

Let this mixture sit for 24 hours.

The next day, start removing the rose petals a handful at a time.

Squeeze each handful tightly multiple times, over the rose water bowl, till the handful of rose petals no longer leaks scented water.  Do this until all the rose petals are removed from the original bowl.  You can strain the rose water to remove any remaining petals.

You’ll get about 3-4 cups worth of rose water back.  Now pour into a bottle.

This rose water is NOT like the rose water found in the stores today.  This is actually the color of the roses not clear for starters.  This rose water is milder, much milder, then bottles we buy today.  Today’s rose water is so strong that only a cap full at a time can be used, if that, so that a dish is not over powered with the scent and taste of roses.  The home made rose water is a) closer to period and b) far less pervasive then today’s so more can be used.

Roman Carrots with Saracen Lamb, Roman Vegetarian

Roman Carrots (or Parsnips)

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I like carrots.  Very very tasty veggies!  I found this recipe and now I really LIKE carrots.  This recipe is one of the best for making carrots crunchy tasty or roasted chewy tasty.  Cook’s choice!

I did do this recipe as a combination of Roman carrots with Saracen lamb.  Not precisely in the recipe books but hey, it’s Roman and anything goes for a Roman cook!

Roman Parsnips and or Carrots

Quick addendum:

Apicus equated parsnip with the carrot with the recipes being interchangeable with out detriment to either vegetables taste. (Faas, pp. 214)

Translation:

Cut the boiled carrots into small pieces and boil in a cumin sauce with a little oil.

(Faas, pp. 214).

Cumin, salt, old wine, and oil.  Fi you wish add pepper, lovage, mint, rue and coriander. (Ap.118/Faas, pp. 215)

Ingredients:

24 oz carrots (I use baby carrots)

Water to cover

1 tsp salt

Sauce:

1 tsp each of  salt, ground pepper, ground cumin, ground coriander and whole thyme.

1/3 c olive oil

½ C wine (red or white depending on taste) if desired.

Redaction:

I have added a slightly different twist to this due to my own palate.  Boiling carrots till they are just cooked leaves, even with spices, a slightly bland taste.  I have altered this as to boil then roast then carrots for a richer taste.  This is my own preference.  Should roasting not be desired stop at the boiling of carrots and mixing in of the sauce.

First boil the carrots until just slightly tender.  Usually about 10 minutes.  The carrots are then drained.  While the carrots are draining I mix all the spices and oil together.

This is the oil and spices on the carrots.  I forgot to take a picture of the carrots/spice mix.  It looks better once everything is mixed together!

I do a taste test to make sure no one ingredient is over powering the others.  The fresher the spice the stronger the flavor, so if one spice is not as strong as it should be, add in more starting at ¼ a tsp at a time.

I usually do not add wine.  In my opinion this makes the sauce a little to soupy.  I want my spice mix to stick to the carrots.

Next I place the carrots in a backing dish, mix the spices over and roast for 30-45 minutes.  This gives the carrots a deep rich roasting flavor that will quickly endear them to any palate.

I have also done this dish where I added foreleg of lamb with a Middle Eastern rub spice mix called Rogan Josh.  This mix contains Paprika, garlic, ginger, coriander, cumin, turmeric, cayenne, Saigon cinnamon, cardamon, cloves and spices. (From the Savory Spice Shop)

I decided on foreleg as a whole leg was to big but a foreleg was just enough meat for one person.

When the meat was cooked over the carrots there is this delectable rich meatiness as well as the wonderful taste of spicy carrot goodness.

This is an awesomely delectable dish that you can not go wrong on!  The foreleg per person may be to much to do for a feast but for 2-4 people they are just right over Roman Carrots!

 

 

Ingredients and Spices, Measurements

Measurements

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This post will be important.  A lot of Medieval Middle Eastern recipes do not have measurements, those that do have period measurements.  Here is a listing with modern conversions.

 

1 lb (Ratl) = 400 g

1 ounce (uqiya) = 3.3 grams

1 dinar = 4.25 grams

1 dirham = 3 grams

1 rub (a quarter of a measure called qadah = 23.5 deciliters or about 1 measuring cup (American)

1 danaq = .5 grams

(Perry, pp. 22)

 

These are the measurements used for making mead when measuring out the spices.  Ok roughly.  I used the American grams that measured more in the 3 gram ranger then then 4.25 gram range.

Classes, Edible Body of Works for A&S

Edible Body of Works for A&S Competition (Research, Presentation, Practicality)

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Edible Body of Works for A&S Competition

(Research, Presentation, Practicality)

By

Honorable Lady Sosha Lyon’s O’Rourke

Before you buy your first chicken and period cook book, ask yourself a few questions.  This will help narrow the focus from everything in a buck shot attempt at cooking, to a laser focus on what is important to you and the message you are trying to achieve.

1). What is the main focus

a.) Do I want to do feasts foods or common types of period foods.

b.)  If feasts what type of feasts i.e. wedding, grand occasions etc.

c.) What makes the chosen dishes worth displaying?

2). What types of foods

a.) Type of i.e. Roman, English, German.

b.) Common foods for common people or fancy foods for crown and nobles.

c.) What is the common dish theme i.e. desserts, main courses, dishes with fruit etc.

3.) Where would the foods normally be served at

a.) Pubs

b.) Homes

c.) Castles

4.) When is the time setting

a.) Time period

b.) Time of day

c.) Time of year (seasonality was a very important part of what was available to a cook)

5.) Why

a.) Why were these foods picked as important (sustaining foods, medicinal, impressing to nobles or foreign dignitaries

b.) Why were these dishes chosen for the venue i.e. peacock, stuffed  dormice or monkey brains.

Research:

Once the basic questions (there are lots more but this is a start) have started to tumble through the brain, cooking research can begin.

1.)     Find the type of cooking you really want.

2.)    Find the time period (narrow or broad i.e. just 1100’s or from 1000 through 1500s)

3.)    Acquire books, library cards and internet websites

“Books” is a generic term not only for cook books but for history books in that time period.  Some great ideas are art books that display different types of important historic happenings.   An example of stumbling across some thing very interesting food, was is in a portrait Middle Eastern Prince during a hunt.  The painting is in a museum display book, showing a bowl holding half of a watermelon.  I have found no other pictures, detailing an end of the hunt feast or luncheon with watermelon so clearly painted.

This picture starts a hunt for books or websites for the origins of watermelon.  Then the researching of gardening books that deal with heirloom type of fruits/vegetables.  Next comes the search for recipes in the chosen time period(s) in which this item might have been used as an ingredient.  I have yet to come across any Middle Eastern recipes where watermelon is used as a part of a dish.  I know that watermelon is period from the research done, I just cannot find a recipe with this ingredient included.  I could and do make the conclusion that watermelon was known and eaten as a refreshing snack/dessert/treat instead of being an ingredient.  So a watermelon salad or soup is going to be reaching but not the fact that watermelon is period and eaten.

Conclusion:  Cooking research is not just found in cook books (and watermelon seems to be a stand alone food item in medieval Middle Eastern foods).

Presentation:

To quote one of my favorite movies.

“Oh, there’s a difference between you and me.  You’re a villain alright.   But I am a super villain.”

“What’s the difference?”

“PRESENTATION!”  Cue dramatic music and lighting.

A presentation can make or break any display.  Don’t just throw food on a table (especially not a rickety table!) and expect people to go “Wow!  All this work is perfect!”.  The likely response will be “Eh…tasty enough but it looks like a Denny’s breakfast bar.”

1.)    Table set up

  1. Table cloth (clean and unstained).  Plain will do but make sure the color is vivid.  Brocades can work but do not let the material speak louder than the dishes.
  2. Bowls and plates can be out of wood, silver, or pottery.  For those who don’t throw pottery, Etsy is a very good website in which different potters can display their wares for public sale.  Or collect pieces from the different SCA wars from excellent vendors; who you can chat with and touch their pottery before buying.  Also check out different city festivals i.e. Pecan Festival in Austin.  Wooden items or silver are really easy to find at Goodwill. Note: DO NOT put your wooden bowls in a dishwasher!!!  You’ll damage them beyond repair/use.
  3. Raise one display item above the others.  This item should either display an excellent dish OR an unusual cooking technique unique to the dish being displayed i.e. a bake,fried,roasted whole fish (A French Spectacular food item…3 different cooking techniques on one whole fish…very different and shows off the cook’s skill).
  4. Labels for each dish.

 

2.)    Eating ease

  1. Have small plates, forks, spoons, cups at the start of the table.
  2. Have 2 sets of documentation ready for reading.
  3. At the end of the table open a paper trash back lined with a plastic trash back so that there is a convenient trash receptacle for plates/cutlery etc when the tasting is done.

 

3.)    Be ready to discuss any and all sections of your research including the occasional esoteric tidbit

  1. Most people are hesitant to step outside their normal eating habits, be ready to talk up beef tongue.
  2. Different doesn’t mean disgusting.  Emphasize the good things not the weird. i.e. sugar and spices in the comfit not the ground up bug parts you used to get the period red color in your food.

Practicality:

This is more of a common sense or how driven are you to make a display.  Are you really willing to drive 2 hours to find the rare herb/ingredient that can’t be shipped to you or bought in your local ethnic/hippie/farmers market?  Is it easier to grow this item?  Buy it and make a road trip with a cooler to purchase? Substitute something else?  Consider each set of dishes carefully and what ingredients you may have to do some serious searching/driving for.

Overview:

Start simply.  Ask where your main interests lay.  Broad or narrow focus once a field of study has been chosen.  Look in unusual places for clues, hints and ideas.  Be ready to document everything; including your cutlery and ingredients!  Look for nice display pieces.  Wooden bowls and silver serving platters.  (Goodwill etc is a boon in this area).  Search out elegant or fun pottery pieces that can be used in the SCA displays and at home for regular meals.  Don’t be afraid to talk to other period cooks.  They won’t eat you.  Long pig is illegal.

Do not get discouraged!

Remember displays aren’t really period.  Period food was served or hosted to individuals.  These period feasts were show casing the host’s wealth and ability to hire great cooks…not just displayed, tasted and judged in a rushed environment.  Judging food is as much an art as making it.  You have to help educate the judges on what they are seeing and reading in documentations, and not just tasting.  The documentation needs to be not only full of supporting period documentation but easy to read and understand.  One of the best ways to write documentation is to keep in mind the average reading level is that of a 5th grader.  Do not make the documentation readable only by PhD’s or so easy that the reader feels insulted by a first grade primer.  Mix fact with fun while displaying tasty foods.

 

The ONE dish to rule them all

The ONE dish to rule them all

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The ONE dish to rule them all

By

Honorable Lady Sosha Lyon’s O’Rourke

 

Creating the ONE dish that makes people at an event stop and stare does not happen over night.  There is a great deal involved in creating a piece of edible art.  This class is an exploration of ideas, ingredients, techniques, research and display.

Every stunning dish starts with an idea.  That idea can be anything edible.  One idea is faux candy grapes.  Also known as purple marzipan balls with green marzipan vines.  Marzipan is a great medium for doing faux food.  (hint: this is very period to!)  Perhaps a scaled down size of a mostly edible elephant.  (This too is a period idea…documented too! Which we’ll get to a little later). And now for the bain of my existence in trying to recreate…I give you the Turducken.  Yes…Turkey is period but only the VERY wealthy could afford this.

Idea:

Above we have three ideas listed.  First one is simplistic.  A little almond flour, sugar, and food coloring and voila! You have a display.  The second idea requires a little more work, a wooden frame with some chicken wire, ground meat to cover (a really big oven!!) and perhaps mulmak barding for the saddle and parsnips for the tusks.  The third idea requires a LOT of work.  A turkey, a chicken a duck and 9 quail walk into a kitchen.  Oh and don’t forget the rabbit(s) and HUGE pastry shell.  If this sounds like a bad joke, it’s not.  It just takes two days of prep (6 hours each day) and then a third day for the cooking.

So…the first order of making a supreme dish is to figure the level of expertise you have for making stuff.  And by stuff I mean artistically and patience wise bending food and accessories to your will.  Period cooks, the wealthier the household the bigger the cook’s kitchen and staff as well as access to esoteric supplies/items that could be bought.

An example of wealth, supplies and over the top cooking is the wedding of  the Grand Duke Fernandino I de’Medici to Christine de Lorraine just the niece of French king Henri III and granddaughter to Catherine de’Medici.  The wedding demanded planning and resources to accommodate thousands.  Because the Grand Duke was the Grand Duke and he had great power/money the wedding planners co-opted all the ingredients of the markets for one month.  No one could buy or sell anything that the wedding might need first. http://gherkinstomatoes.com/2009/11/16/14994/  Now that was a wedding feast of extreme pomp and circumstances with HUGE kitchen space and lots of sous chefs at the head chef’s beck and call.

If you aren’t up for wood working and wrestling chicken wire (which will have to be documented) but you can form balls and leaves from playdoh or clay, go with the basic marzipan idea.  If you can carve 100 year old oak stumps into designer bowls using your fingers and a pen knife, take that marzipan and carve out St. George slaying a dragon on a horse in 3D!  If you can debone a duck but don’t have 6 hours deboning 12 birds, do a stuffed duck in a pastry shell with lots of dough artwork. i.e. braiding on the side or cut out pastry leaves with veining and vining.

The closer and idea is to looking almost impossible or weird (to our modern eyes but period) the better off your display has of being noticed.

Ingredients:

The ingredients you use, need to be as close to organic as much as possible.  Using the same type of ingredient found in period i.e. Ethiopian coffee beans when doing a coffee roasting display for example as opposed to a Costa Rican bean.  Yes they are both coffee beans but the idea is to use what was available to the area and time line of your magnificent dish.

If an item is not available an explanation is owed as to why.  Roman dishes were notorious for adding/dropping ingredients on whim.  So fudging a little in the Roman way is ok, however questions will need to be answered WHY the work around happened and the item wasn’t bought with your first born child.  Well other then the whole CPS really frowns upon that sort of thing.  Trading children for piglets!  What is this world coming to!

Technique:

Technique isn’t research, though the two dovetail a bit.  Technique is what you do to achieve your project. i.e. forming dough by hand instead of using a mixer.  The technique used for making and cooking your dish, needs to be as close to period as possible.  HOWEVER this does not mean you need to go out and build a mud and brick beehive oven.  You don’t.  I would suggest noting in the research part why you didn’t/couldn’t.  i.e. Homeowners association had a fit the last time you tried to build a period burning man with wicker and goats.  If you can build the beehive oven, you’ll get extra credit points though.  Hell that could be a really cool idea all on it’s own for A&S!

Research:

Researching an item isn’t just “Hey they stuffed pig’s heads and ate ‘em!”.  Research takes a little more work.  If you are displaying ONE dish.  Everything from the type of pig used for a stuffed pig’s head used, to the type of wood used to fire up the English oven’s and the type of oven used to roast the head in.  Research on a 4×4 index card is no longer an acceptable means of telling What, When, Why, Who and Where a project came from.  Research consists of everything used to make this item, everything used in this item, everything used on this item, everything used to display this item and every one who would be seeing/eating this item.  Every statement in the documentation has to be backed up with a point of fact.  Two or more points of fact would be better as a point of reference.

Information from the internet needs to be viewed with jaundice eye.  Not everything is believable or useable.  Use caution when using online information.

Presentation:

To quote one of my favorite movies:

“Oh, there’s a difference between you and me.  You’re a villain alright.   But I am a super villain.”

“What’s the difference?”

“PRESENTATION!”  Cue dramatic music and lighting.

A presentation can make or break any display.  Don’t just throw food on a table (especially not a rickety table!) and expect people to go “Wow!  All this work is perfect!”.  The likely response will be “Eh…tasty enough but it looks like a Denny’s breakfast bar.”

Table set up:

Start with a table cloth (clean and unstained).  Plain will do but make sure the color is vivid.  Brocades can work but do not let the material speak louder then the dish.

The dish you present your work of art in/on should be just as unique and fitting as the edible art is.  Wood, silver, and pottery dishes are period ways in which to display the tasty food on.  If the dish is for a noble’s table, go for a silver tray or well thrown pottery.  Wood tray’s or bowls are good ways to display either ingredients or for more common tableaus.

Silver trays and wooden bowls/plates can be found at Goodwill for a fraction of buying new.  With all the organic food items used or rare spices, every penny counts!  For those who don’t throw pottery, Etsy is a very good website in which different potters can display their wares for public sale.  Or collect pieces from the different SCA wars from excellent vendors; who you can chat with and touch their pottery before buying.  Also check out different city festivals i.e. Pecan Festival in Austin.

If possible raise the dish up.  Put a stable platform underneath the table cloth, and then add the dish.

Eating ease:

Have small plates, forks, spoons, cups at the start of the table.  Have 2 sets of documentation ready for reading.  At the end of the table open a paper trash back lined with a plastic trash back so that there is a convenient trash receptacle for plates/cutlery etc when the tasting is done.  Be ready to discuss any and all sections of your research including the occasional esoteric tidbit.  Most people are hesitant to step outside their normal eating habits, be ready to talk up beef tongue.  Different doesn’t mean disgusting.  Emphasize the good things not the weird. i.e. sugar and spices in the comfit not the ground up bug parts you used to get the period red color in your food.
 Conclusion:

Find an idea that is right for you.  Some thing that is fun but not usual.  Some thing that can be made with ingredients that are accessible and period.  Practice making the ONE dish at least once prior to the big day.  Research everything.  Leave nothing to be questioned.  Provide pictures if you can of the steps taken to get from point A to point DD.  Have fun!  Remember this project should be both edible and fun.  If it makes you giggle thinking of some one eating it, you’re probably on the right track.

 

Hilyauniyya Asparagus wrapped in Meat (one version), Plain Dishes (Sawadhij)

Hilyauniyya Asparagus stuffed in Meat (one version)

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I really like asparagus.  It’s one of the best things about spring and summer.  Ok not one of the best but a very tasty part of summer!  So when I have extra asparagus on hand (which isn’t often) I try to find new ways to cook it.  Here is one version of some thing I found.

A version of

Hilyauniyya

Asparagus with Meat stuffing

Translation:

Take asparagus, the largest you have, clean and boil, after taking tender meat and pounding  fine; throw in pepper, caraway, coriander seed, cilantro juice, some oil and egg white; take the boiled asparagus, one after another, and dress with this ground meat, and do so carefully. Put an earthenware pot on the fire, after putting in it water, salt, a spoon of murri and another of oil, cilantro juice pepper, caraway and coriander seed; little by little wile the pot boils, throw in it the asparagus wrapped in meat.  Boil in the pot and throw in it meatballs of this ground meat, and when it is all evenly cooked cover with egg, breadcrumbs some of the stuffed meat already mentioned and decorate with egg, God willing.

(An Anonymous Andalusion Cookbook of the 13th Centry, pp. A-41)

Ingredients:

Asparagus spears         1 lb ground meat (I used beef)

2 tsp pepper, caraway, coriander (seed or powdered), cilantro (I used dried), olive oil

2 eggs                          1 ½ C of ground bread crumbs

1 tsp salt

 

Redaction:

This recipe has several steps.  It’s not a put together and throw into a pot type of dish.

This is the first round of spices.  There will be a second round.  It’s on the test!

First trim off the white ends of the asparagus, throw these away, and put the green tips into boiling water for about 2-3 minutes, or until the asparagus turns bright green.

Once the asparagus has turned bright green, remove from water and set to the side.

Next gather all the spices together and separate into two batches, each batch to have 1 tsp of each spice.

Separate 1 of the 2 eggs.

Put the egg white in with the meat and set the yolk in a bowl with the other egg.

Put one set of spices, into the ground meat and kneed well.

Add the oil.

The meat will be very moist and slippery!

It looks not so tasty but gets better soon!

Take a ball of meat and flatten it out.

Wrap the meat around the asparagus carefully.

Due to the slipperiness, the meat will try to slide off the asparagus or not cover very well.  Some times a meat patch of extra spiced meat can be applied, or the original coating can be pinched back over the meat back over hole covering the asparagus.

Some times you just have to unwrap the whole things and restart.  Place each bit of meat and asparagus to the side.

I did not have an open fire pit in which to put a clay pot so I had to use a metal pot over the stove.  Put enough water to come only half way up a meat wrapped asparagus. Add the spices.

Here the fish sauce has melded into the salt a little, hence the damp/wet looking salt and spices.

I added the spices all at the same time instead of bit by bit.

Then place each meat/asparagus piece into the pot carefully.

You can use your fingers but I’d use tongs if at all possible.  Do not worry if the water boils over the meat.  This is suppose to happen.

Let the meat cook through and reduce a little roughly 7 minutes.  I do suggest doing a taste test around the 5 minute mark.

The next step is to combine the eggs and the breadcrumbs.

Here is the cup of bread crumbs with one egg and the yolk of the first egg.  You’ll want to combine these quickly.

Once the meat has thoroughly cooked and is slightly evaporated.  Add the breadcrumb mixture to the water.

The breadcrumbs and eggs will absorb the water and cook very very quickly.  The more water and fewer breadcrumbs the more porridge like this becomes.  The less water, the more solid the bread crumbs become and slightly crispy at the bottom.

Color wise this is not very pretty.  Taste wise though, this is pretty darn tasty! If you need a bit of coloring add parsley over the top as a garnish to look less boring, though this really is anything but boring!