Asides

Ova Elixas: Roman Deviled Eggs

Aside July 21, 2015 SoshaRuark Leave a comment

My house is redolent of spice, honey and decanted mead. Had to do a couple of new Persian mead batches which meant emptying the full carboys to bottles to make room for the new. What does this have to do with eggs you ask? Not a thing but if you’re going to have deviled eggs you might as well have some excellent mead to go with them.

Ova Elixas: Boiled Egg or Roman Deviled Eggs.

Translation:

Boil 5 eggs for 5 minutes. Crush 1 clove of garlic with some pepper and 5 anchovies. Add the egg yolks and pound smooth. Add a little olive oil and a little wine and stir well. Pile the mixture into the white egg whites.

Faas, pp. 315)

Ingredients:

5 eggs (boiled, peeled and cut in half eggs removed)

1 clove Garlic

1/2 tsp pepper

5 anchovies

Olive oil

Wine

Redaction:

Gather up all your ingredients. Do NOT add more garlic. You’re going to be tempted. Just don’t. One clove is more than sufficient to flavor these 5 yolks. Trust me. You will still be able to scare off vampires with just this one clove and the anchovies.

Boil 5 eggs. Peel the shell off, cut in half and remove the yolk to a separate container.

Place the empty half egg whites on a plate.

Mash the yolk, pepper, anchovies with a little olive oil and wine together to form a paste. Roughly about a tsp each of the wine and olive oil. Just enough to stick everything together.

Take a teaspoon and refill the empty egg whites.

This is pretty good. A bit garlicky and a bit fishy with a great blend of the flavors. Not sure I would eat this everyday but this dish will shake up any party or feast.

Plain Dishes (Sawadhij)

Ujja Bayda (White Omelet)

Aside June 29, 2015 SoshaRuark Leave a comment

In the tradition of spring and summer, when the hens are laying at their peak, out come the egg dishes…because damned if I don’t have eggs coming out of my ears! So here is the first in several egg ideas!

Ujja Bayda (White Omelet)

Translation:

Thoroughly wash a frying pan and pour into it 2 TBS sweet and mellow olive oil. Now take 10 eggs break them in a green glazed bowl and pour into them 1/3 cup milk. Add a handful of ground pistachio, almond and walnut, all ground. Beat the mixture very well and pour it into the frying pan.

When the bottom side is done, flip it to the the other side. Then take it away from the fire. It will taste like busr, remarkably excellent and delicious.

(al-Warraq’s, pp. 326)

Ingredients:

10 raw eggs

1/3 C. Milk (or 1/2 & 1/2)

1/4 C. ea ground pistachio, walnuts, and almonds

2 Tbs Olive oil

Redaction:

Grind your nuts to a nice flour but not nut butter. Then crack your eggs into a bowl and whisk. A green bowl is optional but does look lovely.

Mix the nuts into the whisked eggs.

Pour oil into the egg mixture.

Allow to cook then flip (or attempt to flip).

My flipping is not on par with a good chef but we try! Place flipped omelet onto plate.

I think this is a pretty good dish, but not as an “omelet” as we know it. This is almost like a blintz. Just needs a little sweet marzipan and an apricot jam to be the perfect brunch dessert!

Library

Annals of the Caliphs’ Kitchens Review

Aside June 15, 2015 SoshaRuark Leave a comment

The latest addition to my library was bought for a very specific recipe. I didn’t actually use the recipe I bought the book for; however I found many many more (including period ME Sausage recipes which are rarer then hens teeth to find!) that I am very excited to try out.

Overall the book is divided into many chapters with each chapter a certain type of recipe i.e. sausages and nothing but sausages. The usual rule for period recipes holds true still. The recipes have few if any regular measurements or cooking instructions, you’re just suppose to know how it works.

This book is a definite must have. A for great recipes A- for cooking instructions. So yes, if you have the chance to get this book, do!

I bought mine from the evil empire called Amazon. Unfortunately I haven’t seen any “inexpensive” copies on any site listed so far. This one will set you back a fair bit of gold!

Roman Cookery, Roman Meats

Piscium in Coriandri Crustarum (Fish in Coriander Crust)

Aside April 2, 2015 SoshaRuark Leave a comment

As promised a MUCH better fish dish. Yes I am on a fish kick, thank you for noticing. Unfortunately modern day dishes seem to concentrate on meat, lots and lots of red meat to be specific or cheap chicken meat. Period food was a bit of everything and a lot of modern day “Period” cooks forget to add fish dishes. So here is a Roman fish dish. Really liking these Roman fishes.

Piscium in Coriandri Crustarum

(Fish in Coriander Crust)

Translation:

Prepare the fish carefully, put in a mortar salt and corander see, crush finely, roll the fish in it, put in a backing dish, cover, seal, bake in the bread oven. When cooked remove, season with very sharp vinegar and serve. (Ap 10, 1.4/Dalby & Grainger pp. 65

Ingredients:

1lb fish (I used Atlantic Cod)

2 Tbs coriander

1 Tbs salt (Sea salt is very good here)

Balsamic vinegar

Redaction:

Gather up your ingredients. Three of them to start.

This is a very simple and fantastic fish dish. The fish was already skinned and deboned. I personally would prefer the skin but that’s how it came.

Take the coriander and the salt mixe them together and pour onto a flat plat. Use a sea salt. Do NOT use iodized salt. The iodized salt has a flat metallic taste that will take away from the fish (and most any dish). Dredge the fish in the mix on both sides. Very easy

Place the fish in a baking dish.

I used a bit of olive oil on the bottom of the dish to help with the removal of the cooked fished once finished, even though the recipe didn’t say. I think this is just a basic step every cook should know or do (my opinion here). Place in over till done 15-20 minutes and serve.

My serving skills from pan to plate were not up to the task on this, so there are pieces instead of one smooth savory fish fillet. Do not let that fool you! This dish is the fish dish if you like coriander and salt. Personally, I am tempted to add avocado slices on the side just for the creamy compliment the flavor would add. Enjoy!

Elizabethan

Dyuerse Bake Metis (Pike Pie)

Aside March 29, 2015 SoshaRuark Leave a comment

I was on the look out for a fish pie. I wanted a tasty tasty fish taco in medieval pie form. I didn’t find that…well at least not yet! What I found was a pie with protein, lots of protein that was probably an excellent go to dish for feeding the hungry masses cheaply. I…I can not recommend this dish unless you really are in need of a lent dish that wont actually be eaten. I promise to add a better fish dish soon!

Dyuerse Bake Metis

(Pike Pie)

Translation:

Another manner of preparing Darioles. Take pike, almond milk, & boil it thick, & let it cool: then take eggs & cheese & grind together, & put thereto; take powdered sugar & cast thereto, & put in thine coffins, & not covered & bake & serve forth. (Renfrow, pp. 386)

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs. fish (pike preferably)

4 eggs

1 C cheese (farmers or cream cheese)

1 tbs. sugar

Crust

Redaction:

So the first thing is I didn’t have pike, but I did have Atlantic cod. I think the cod was too mild for the dish to be honest. I made the almond milk by taking ground almonds and mixing them with water. This went into the pan, than the fish. The fish was cooked in about 7-10 minutes. Turn off the pan at this point and let it cool.

While the fish is cooking, mix the eggs and cheese together. I would suggest a cream cheese or farmer’s cheese, possibly even brie. I had feta on hand.

(Yes, I threw stuff I had at the recipe to see what would happen.)

After the egg and cheese mixture was thoroughly creamed, or at least mostly lump free, make a crust and line a baking dish.

I oiled the dish a little first then added the lard crust. I added the fish, drained, then the egg mixture on top. I sprinkled a bit of sugar on top.

I think this is an excellent Lent dish, but not one I would serve at a party as being to…bland. This does not go on my list of eating more than once, which is very sad. This dish I am going to chalk up to more of a medieval taste than one for the modern palate, lots of protein and edible just not very flavorful.

Elizabethan

Chawettys: Pork and Blue Cheese Pies

Aside March 22, 2015 SoshaRuark Leave a comment

I was in a quandry a few nights ago. I had to use the pork I had pulled from the freezer. I didn’t have enough for a full meal of sweet and sour (blackberry vinegar and brown sugar) pork or Roman pork with apricots. So I hit the books for a quick idea. Luckily I had everything on hand!

Chawettys:

Pork and Blue Cheese Pies

Translation:

Small pies. Take pork seethed & minced dates, and grind them small together; take yolks of eggs & put thereto a good heap & green cheese put thereto; & when it is small enough take Ginger, Cinnamon & mix weel they mixture therewith & put in thine coffins; then take olks of Eggs hard seethed and cut them in two, & lay above & backe them & so not closed, serve forth. (Renfrow, pg 130)

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground pork

5-10 well chopped dates (remove pits)

2 tsp each ground ginger and ground cinnamon

2 raw egg yolks

5 cooked egg yolks

1 C. blue cheese

Redaction:

I took two pounds of pork and ground it fine. Possibly to fine as I used my Cuisinart. (No slave labor or kitchen serf to do the hand grinding.) I chopped up the dates very fine. The eggs are from my English Speckled Sussex chickens. The hens are laying very well during the spring and summer months.

Once you have everything gathered this goes pretty fast. Add the blue cheese and dates to the meat.

Then add the spices. Mix well together.

I added the eggs (raw) to the meat and mixed again.

The finished mix is pretty much looking like a pork meatloaf.

The crust is a butter crust from Scappi. I used Scappi instead of more English crust because as the cook, I like the Italian crust a bit better. Cook’s choice and all that.

Two pounds could probably get 4 pies but I only have 3 pie forms…hence the three pies. The savory pie is supposed to be served open, without a top crust, however I had enough dough to make a small top hat that just looks cute (and a little more polished) for presentation. The boiled egg yolks were cut in half and placed decoratively around the pie crust top hat. Cook at 350 for 45 minutes.

I might have overfilled the open face pies a little (a lot).

The finished pie(s).

This is damn good. My husband is asking for this on a regular basis after the first bite (and pie). I would do a couple of things slightly different but these are a taste thing. The dates were far more subtle than I liked. I really like the dichotomy between savory pork and sweet dates. If you prefer more savory and only a hint of the sweet stick with 5 dates, if you want a little more sweet in your savory add a few more dates.

Ingredients and Spices

Savory Crusts

Aside March 22, 2015 SoshaRuark Leave a comment

This is by no means the only three crusts to use in pies, these are more like the very basic. Feel free to play around or add to. The butter crust is my favorite, not only for the taste but for the ease in which it is made. Love it!

Savory Crusts:

The butter crust recipe was given to me at a class many Gulf Wars ago. Teacher’s name is Magistra Rosemounde of Mercia. She did the original recipe from Scappi. This is just a basic butter crust that will make 2 crust pastries.

This is my fall back pastry crust when I want a really rich wonderful crust to go with sweet (or savory). For some reason I just find this crust a lot easier even though the ingredient measurements are basically the same for all.

A quick note, the butter crust can be used in Middle Eastern cuisine but the pork lard can not. If you want a lard crust for Middle Eastern cooking use rendered beef or sheep fat.

Butter:

2C Flour

1 1/3 stick of butter

1/4 C. chilled water

1/2 tsp salt

For English pies I have found The English Housewife to be of immense help for crusts. Recipes 108 and 109 describe the various types of meats pies that require sturdy crusts or puff pastries. If you don’t have this book…I would suggest getting it soon.

Lard:

1 1/2 C. Flour

1/2 C. pork fat

1/4 C. water

1/2 tsp salt

This is from Rodinson for the Middle Eastern oil crusts. Again a very basic oil crust with saffron and thyme mixed in the flour. This is great for all savory pies where the crust is going to be eaten. There are a ton of pastries for sweets.

Oil Crust:

2 C. Flour

1/2 C. Olive Oil

1/4 C. Water

1 tsp salt

Spices (saffron and thyme)

Using the butter crust as my main example, I gather all the ingredients together.

Next I melt the butter to add to the flour and salt.

You don’t have to melt the butter. If you want to work room temperature butter into the flour to form a crumb, go for it! I just find melting the butter just as easy as working the butter in.

Next add the chilled water. You wont use all of it. The water helps bring everything together for the dough stage.

Once the ball has formed,

flour the rolling surface,

and dust both sides of the ball before rolling.

From here just roll the crust(s) out and go to town with the making of pies!

Meat Porridges (Hara'is) and Oven Dishes (Tannuriyyat), Medieval Middle Eastern Redactions

Sharah’Ih (Strips of Meat wrapped around Lamb)

Aside March 6, 2015 SoshaRuark Leave a comment

I finished making another original redaction (The Ansteorran Dragon). This is the recipe I used for the main body. OMG…so damn good. Meat with meat and meat scales. If you like your meat this is the dish for you!

Sharah’Ih (Strips of Meat wrapped around Lamb)

Translation:

Pound lean meat. Add pepper, mastic, Chinese cinnamon, caraway, salt and oil to it and make it into cakes. Wrap them in the wrapping of the fine fat which is on the stomach. Then put them on a skewer and grill them on low fire and eat them. (Rodinson, pp. 375).

Ingredients:

4 lbs. ground beef

4 Tbs. ground pepper

1 tsp. ground mastic

4 Tbs. caraway seeds

4 Tbs. salt

1/4 C. oil (olive, walnut or sesame)

1 lb. beef brisket bacon

Optional:

2 lbs. lamb ribs

2 Tbs. limous lamb rub.

Long wooden skewers

Redaction:

I took a couple of liberties with the finalized version. I took my favorite spice (Rogan Josh) and added it to the ground meat.

Take 4lb’s of meat with spices and mix together.

Take the lamb ribs and rub with the limous lamb rub.

Here you see the ribs as connected. If you aren’t worried about making actual “dragon spines” you can totally do it this way. If you are going to make spaced out dragon spines you will need to cut through the ribs to have individual “spines”.

Next I made a hollow in the ground meat.

Then I added the lamb ribs also known as the “dragon spines”.

Packing the ground meat around each spine.

I had to take a bit of liberty since caul fat (fat found around organ meats) is unavailable at the regular stores, much like unicorn meat. You have to know someone who knows someone at a farm for organ meat fat. Remember the smoked beef brisket bacon a little bit ago? Well here is THE recipe to use it on!

Slice the beef brisket bacon into to triangular pieces with fat or long strips.

Next place the beef brisket bacon (skewered with wooden tooth picks) along the top and sides of the ground beef.

Cook for 35 minutes at 350.

The final dish is a carnivores mouthwatering dream.

Fish Dishes (Fresh and Salted), Medieval Middle Eastern Redactions

Tababajab min al-Ruiyan: Fried Dish Made from Shrimp

Aside February 26, 2015 SoshaRuark Leave a comment

I’ve been wanting to do a shrimp dish for awhile now. I had the perfect opportunity when friends came over with a variety of dietary differences. One didn’t eat red meat, another no wheat, and another no sugar. I had to find a few dishes that everyone could eat and agree upon. Shrimp was the choice for the main dish. And an excellent choice it is!

Tababajab min al-Ruiyan:

Fried Dish Made from Shrimp

Translation:

Take Shrimp, shell them, boil them and remove them from the water. Gently drain them or be patient until they dry from their water then place them in a pot. Chip onions for them. Fry in olive oil and throw in dried spices. Sprinkl with vinegar and scatter rue over the top of it. Then serve. (Al-Warraq/Salloum, pp. 116-117

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs Shrimp

1 Tbs. each dried coriander, fresh ground pepper, caraway

1 onion

2 Tbs. fresh ginger

Olive oil

Redaction:

All the spices in one spot with the chopped up onion.

I did this slightly backwards. I boiled the shrimp first then peeled.

A minor difference. From there I put the onions into a pan with lots and lots of olive oil.

You could use butter or sesame oil if you prefer. Try the olive oil first then a different oil next time. The onions were turning slightly translucent when I added the ginger, then the spices.

Once the spices were mixed with the onions, I added a bit more olive oil as the onions had absorbed a good percent. The shrimp were added.

I cooked and stirred till the shrimp were well coated in the spices.

This is one of the best shrimp dishes I’ve had in a long time.

Medieval Middle Eastern Redactions, Plain Dishes (Sawadhij)

Sukhtur/Kiba Lamb Neck with Garbanzo Beans and Rice

Aside February 4, 2015 SoshaRuark Leave a comment

I keep trying for new lamb recipes. Lamb and mutton is iconic to the region and a very important part of traditional foods. I’m not a huge lamb fan (and no I don’t like mutton), but I keep trying. This dish is tasty but looks brown…plain boring brown. Give it a try. I think it would go well with flat bread and a nice yogurt sauce as well. More color as the taste is already fantastic.

Sukhtur/Kiba Lamb Neck with Garbanzo Beans and Rice

Translation:

It is that you have recourse to fat gut, and you wash it and clean it. Cut (meat) small, and (take) as much rice as necessary, a third as much as the meat, and a handful of chickpeas,…and dyed with saffron. Mix them with the meat and put in that gut. Season it with salt and put Chinese Cinnamon stick son it, and mastic and as much of spices as it will bear. Sew the gut shut and put it in the pot and cover it with water, and cover the top of the pot all night in a tannur on a good fire until morning. It comes out excellently. (Rodinson, pp. 368, 369)

Ingredients:

2 lbs lamb neck (or beef or chicken)

Saffron

Cinnamon sticks or 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 Tbs. spices (Tan Tan Moroccan Seasoning: includes paprika, sugar, cumin, salt cinnamon, cardamom, parsley, coriander, and turmeric)

1 can Garbanzo beans

1 1/2 C Jasmine Rice

1/4 C Butter

Salt to taste

Redaction:

I had to change things a little bit. The first being I didn’t have a sheep stomach or stomach of any sort to sew the meat and spices into. Stomach is one of those odd organ meats that is really hard to come buy unless you own a farm or know someone who lives on a farm and can get the stomach fresh for you. So with that in mind, we’re going straight to the meat and spices.

The second modification is that I had to use a slow cooker instead of the oven because my oven is still out!! The slow cooker will take 5 hours instead of the 2.5 hours in the oven. Dinner will still be served just not the way I had planned.

I put olive oil on the bottom of the pan as this is supposed to be a rich fatty dish. Next I add the garbanzo beans and rice with enough water to cover the rice.

The crock pot looks five gallons deep. It’s not. This is a normal crock pot with a long shot from the top. This will make enough to feed 4 easily.

Then comes the meat. Sprinkle the spice mixture over meat. Place the lid over this bad boy and let it simmer away while you play.

Let this slow cook for the next 5 hours (or until the meat is falling off the bone). At the end before serving I added 1/4 C (or a stick of butter) to the dish. This give a rich fatty taste that I believe the stomach/gut would have added and it really boosted the flavor to the next level.

I really do love the flavor of this, I just don’t like the brown on brown and more brown. I added some salt, a bit of butter and the parsley is to help break up the brown. Dinner was tasty!

Sosha Lyon's O'Rourk's Medieval Redactions English, Italian, Middle Eastern, Roman, Medieval Redactions and Recipes, Medieval Research Papers, Subtleties – Grill Mistress of the Pork