CIGARRAS

grasshopper on tomato plant Photo from: Fun Monitor grasshoppers. These were eaten by Andalusian peasants to quench the thirst. They can be eaten raw or fried. Since the discovery of chocolate in America, the Japanese cover them with chocolate and eat them as a delicacy. [Villena/Calero. 2002:23b]

CIERZO WITH 14TH C CHICKEN SOPS RECIPE

"Cierzo" attack
from EvaMen

OCast çierço, cold north wind. In the northern regions of Spain, pigeons, chickens and other domestic fowl were raised in cots or pens protected from the north wind during the winter. [Gázquez. Cocina. 2002:190]

CHICKEN AND UNLEAVEN BREAD CRUMB SOPS ADAPTED FROM SENT STOVÍ (14) 9. SOPA DESMIGADA DE PAN ACIMO HECHA CON GALLINA, p 85

Ingredients

Adding the vegetables
Photo by: Lord-Williams

1chicken

salt to taste

½ tsp white pepper

1 tbsp chopped cilantro

1 tbsp virgin olive oil

1 onion chopped

4 lettuce hearts

1 bulb fennel

½ lb green broad beans (habas)

1 lb  mushrooms

1 c breadcrumbs

1 c fresh cheese

¼ c butter

1 tsp cinnamon

Preparation

A Really Wholesome Dish
Photo by: Lord-Williams

Remove the entrails and wash the chicken inside and out. Chop off the appendages and chop the breast in half. Put it in a pot.  Add salt, pepper, cilantro, oil and the onion chopped. Cover this with water. Heat it and gently boil until the meat falls off the bones. Remove the chicken from the broth and remove the bones. Slice the meat into bite-sized pieces and return it to the pot.

Add the hearts of lettuce and fennel, core removed, and chopped. Remove the pods of the broad beans, or use baby beans. Slice the mushrooms and add all. Cook until the vegetables are done.

Dice the cheese and cover with breadcrumbs. Clarify the butter in a clay pot. Cover the breadcrumbs with the butter. Add this to the meat and vegetables. Sprinkle with cinnamon and serve.

CIERVO WITH PLUM SAUCE FOR VENISON

Deer´+ç
 Meat Stand at Marvillas Market in Madrid,  Spain
Photo by MRSamper

OCast çiervo, L. Cervus, Eng deer, doe, stag, hart. Deer were abundant in Al-Andalus. Milking deer was part of  select gastronomy. After the fawns, the most valued meat was doe, more than the male. The male did, however, have one virtue, which was the penis. It was dried, ground and consumed to produce sexual excitement. The animal’s appearance was somewhat like the goat as it was smaller in the Middle Ages then it is today. The Archpriest of Hita relates that hunting deer was part of a noble boy’s education. At that time, deer were mostly killed with bows and arrows. Celestina claimed that the heart of the deer has a bone used as a remedy to love well. Dioscorides claimed that the smell of deer scared house snakes away. Laguna stated that if the humor of the tail of the deer is drunk, it could cause agony in the heart, for which the only remedy is emerald powder or that of hyacinth, drunk after vomiting. [Benavides-Barajas. Nueva-Clásica. 1995:219-220; ES: Ruíz, Nov 18, 05:133c; Espasa. 1988:13:CI:165-171; Laza. 2002:115-117:142; and Villena/Calero. 2002:22b]

PLUM SAUCE FOR VENISON[1]

Frying Plum Sauce for Venison
Photo by: Lord-Williams

Ingredients

1 chopped leek

¼ c olive oil

1 lb dried damsons soaked overnight (a mix of prunes and sour cherries can be used if not available)

½ tsp pepper

½ tsp lovage seeds (or celery seeds)

1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp liquamen (or Nam Pla, Thai fish sauce)[2]

1 tbsp  savory, finely chopped
½ c vinegar

1 c red wine

So Delicious for Any Meats!
Photo by: Lord-Williams

Preparation

Slice the leak. Heat the frying pan. Add the olive oil and when warm sauté the leek. Chop the dried damsons into small chunks. Add them and the remaining ingredients to the frying pan. Stir them together and slowly bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and cook slowly for an hour.  Pour into a sauce bowl and serve with roast venison.

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[1] Inspired from Celtnet: < http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/roman/fetch-recipe.php?rid=roman-plum-sauce-venison>

which in turn is adapted from Apicius/Flower Book VIII, section II, Aliter in cervum assum iura ferventia. The amounts of ingredients have been changed as well as the cooking process. Further, neither damsons nor bitter cherries were available. Prunes, therefore, were used.

[2] Although not period a fish bouillon cube was used instead of liquamen or other fish sauces.

CIDRADA WITH RECIPE FOR CANDIED CITRON PEELS

"Buddha's hand" citron...
Photo from Joel Abroad

diacitrón 1. candied citron  peel; 2. a 14^th C electuary preserved in cider used against the plague. See costrada. [Castro. Alimentación. 1996:298; Gázquez. Cocina. 2002:248; and [Ruíz/Brey. 1965:1335b:206]

CANDIED CITRON PEELS ADAPTED FROM PLATINA, p. 42 (BOOK 3) ON CANDIED PINE NUTS

Ingredients[1]

½ c citron zest[2]

3/4  c sugar

Preparation

Heat a frying pan. Add sugar. Stir constantly until it carmelizes. Add citron zest. Shape the pieces with a spoon. Remove from heat and place on a non-stick surface. When cool enough, make cylinders by rolling them between two hands.  Note: one must be very fast as the sugar cools quickly.  Sometimes it is necessary to reheat the peel and sugar until all the peels are carmelized in cylinder shapes.

Candied Citron Zest
Photo by: Lord-Williams

This was a first and a last course at medieval meals.
___________________________

[1] Pine nuts can be added. The combination of them with citron peels was common.

[2] As this is rather difficult to find other citrus fruits may be used such as lemons or oranges. 

CIDRA, -O WITH 13TH C RECIPE FOR CITRON LEAF SYRUP

Citron tree, Dahdah Palace,...
Photo from: jmlwinder

(the fruit)  citrino, (the tree), cetrino (lemon colored, greenish yellow), OCast çidra, L. Citrus medica, Hebr. citrin, Eng. citron. This is a pale yellow oblong or round fruit shaped like an ostrich egg similar to a lemon but larger, having a thicker rind and being less acid. Formerly, “citron” could be citron or a citrus fruit like the orange. Citron comes from a tree that grows to be three to five meters high in warm countries including the Atlantic and the Mediterranean coasts of the Iberian Peninsula. It emits an aroma like cidar. The skin is yellow and the pulp is white. It yields little juice. At the beginning of the Christian era, it was taken to Rome from Media, an ancient country that today is NW Iran. The tree, however, did not become established there until the 3^rd or 4^th C. The Muslims, prior to the 12 C., brought the tree to Spain from Persia. The size varied on the Iberian Peninsula. Although those gown in Andalusia and Valencia were large, those from Genoa were bigger. It has been described as an “Oriental purgatory spice.” The peel, juice and seed are used in medicines for these purposes. Further, it was used to make fruit syrups, liquors and perfume for its aroma. It was cultivated mostly for its spongy rind, which still is candied and often used in fruitcakes but the juice also was used all year on the Mediterranean with roasted foods. Arabs used citrus juice in cooking, but not as frequently as rosewater. During the Feast of the Tabernacle, Jews consume citron during celebrations. Citron came to signify healing and psychic powers. It was used as a remedy against the plague and an antidote against poisoning. In the north, normally citrus fruits were  not available but when they appeared they were sold at exorbitant prices. See costrada. [AUTH. 1976:I:A:343; Covarrubias. 1998:414ES: Herbs. Oct 8, 02; Morton. Apr 2, 99; Usher. 1974:156; and Villena/Calero. 2002:23a]

HOW TO MAKE CITRON LEAF SYRUP ADAPTED FROM ANÓN AL-ANDALUS  #491. JARABE DE HOJAS DE CIDRA. MANERA DE HACERLO, p 269

Ingredients

Citron Syrup Ready to Drink
Photo by: Lord-Williams

50 citron leaves

2 c sugar

1 aloe stem or 1 c aloe juice

1 cinnamon stick about 7” long

3 tsp cloves

Preparation

Rub off the dust on 50 citron leaves with a cloth. Put them in a pot and cover them with water (about 1 qt). Bring to a boil and continue cooking until limp. Add sugar. Add the gel from the aloe stem or juice and the cinnamon stick. Put the cloves in a cloth bag and add them to the pot. Bring to a boil and boil gently until flavorful. Remove from heat.

Strain the liquid and prepare glasses with 1 oz syrup and 3 oz water. The juice is beneficial as it cheers the heart, fortifies internal organs and gently softens the bowels; it is extraordinary.

CIDERUEDAS WITH 13TH C RECIPE FOR ROAST LAMB BREAST

Mixing Scrapes of Meat with Cheese and Lard
Photo by: Lord-Williams

cideruelas, OCast çidiérbedas, Eng 1. long stripes of meat. 2. residue of thick scraps of meat left after scraping the meat from the bones of a butchered animal. 3. pork rib end. Avenzoar instructed that after the animal was butchered by slitting its throat, the meat must be washed to remove anything touched like illicit blood and other substances and that the scraps were to be removed from the bones as they are noxious once they have come into contact with the air. Neither Christians, nor many Muslims, as seen in the Anón Al Andalus, had problem about eating scraps. In el Libro de Buen Amor, Mark Singlton translates the word as “ribs”: “Mr. Salt Pork was with a lot of jerked meat,/Ribs and loins, swelled in the kitchen. . .”  Obviously, the largest amount of scraps come from off of the rib bones. See aprovechables. [Cejador. 1990:99; ES: Ruíz, Nov 18, 05:1093b; Ibn Zuhr/García Sánchez. 1992:92; Sanz. 1967:15; Singleton. 1975:108; Villena/Calero. 2002:32a; Villena/Navarro. 1879:262; and Villena/Saínz. 1986:134]

ROAST LAMB BREAST OR FLANK[1] ADAPTED FROM HUICI’S TRANSLATION OF ANÓN AL-ANDALUS #32. COSTADO ASADO, p 31

Stuffed Stomach with Breast of Lamb
Photo by: Lord Williams 

Ingredients

1 lb scraps from the ribs of a lamb

½ lb lamb fat

1 onion

1 tbsp cilantro

1 tsp coriander

1 c fresh cheese

½ c almonds

½ c walnuts

1 tsp murri[2]

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp white pepper

1 ginger scraping

1 beast of lamb

1 lamb stomach[3] or palm leaves

Preparation

An Excellent Dish on a Cold Winter Day
Photo be: Lord-Williams

Pound the meat in a stone mortar. Dice the fat and add chopped onion, cilantro, coriander and cheese.

Shell and peel the nuts. Grind them and add them to the above mixture and continue pounding. Add the murri and spices. Knead the mixture until all is well mixed.

PREHEAT OVEN TO 375ºF/190º C

Fill lamb’s stomach or the palm leaves. with the stuffing. Roast covered for 1 ½ hours. Add the breast and continue roasting for ½ hour or until the meat is done.

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[1] Perry’s addition.
[2] See blog titled almorí, published on August 25, 2011 for recipe

[3] a pig stomach may be used instead.

CHURRO WITH 13TH C HISPANO-MUSLIM RECIPE

Churros Machine at Paliza St.,...
Photo from: NanaNinaFairy

churro, today a thick coiled fritter of deep fried dough. Churros existed in Al-Andalus and were called “gachas de masa,” see gachas. They are made with various combinations of butter, water, flour and/or eggs. Then they are fried in oil and and can be sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, spices and/or covered with honey. The dough is made over low heat, then run through a funnel with a 1 cm. opening into a fryer containing boiling hot oil. They may or may not be joined at both ends. Today, it is such a popular breakfast item that street vendors have special machines for making churros but they can be homemade as well.  They are best when eaten warm. They are  accompanied with a liquid, coffee or hot chocolate today, wine in the Middle Ages and they are dunked into the liquid before each bite. See frutas de sartén. [Benavides-Barajas. Nueva-Clásica. 1995:263; Fernández González. 1994:193; and Pers. Memories. Slaughters Mostoles. 2000-2001:2003.]

PREPARATION OF CHURROS ADAPTED FROM AL-ANDALUS

#447. PREPARACIÓN DE ZULÂBIYYA, pp 245-246

For 2-3 servings

Churreria-Chocolateria La Andaluza, Calle Hernani 20, Madrid
An undying tradition
Photo by: Lord-Williams

Ingredients

1 cup water
1 tbsp vegetable oil a pinch of salt
2 ½ tbsp sugar
1 cup white flour
1 pgk yeast

Garnish: spiced honey
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Preparation

Put water, vegetable oil, salt and sugar in a sauce pan and bring it to a boil.  Put the flour in a bowl and mix it with yeast. Slowly pour the boiling water over the flour, stirring non-stop until the dough is smooth.  Put it in a pot and leave it a warm place to rise. It will be done when the side of the pot is tapped with the finger and a thick, dense sound is emitted.

Heat a frying pan. Add the oil. When it boils, take a vessel and cut a hole in the bottom no larger than a finger. Pour the dough into the vessel while covering the hole with a finger. Put the vessel over the frying pan and remove the finger while turning the vessel in circles to form rings or lattices or make a straight line.

Churros Oozing with Honey, Saffron, 
Sugar and Cinnamon!
Photo by: Lord-Williams

Take care that the oil does not cool or the batter will stick to the pan.

When the churros is golden brown place them on a plate of skimmed spiced honey. If desired  color it with the addition juices made from  brazilwood[1], gum lac, madder, saffron, fennel or fox grape.

.

When the churro has absorbed the honey place the them on another dish and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

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[1] Huici sites this as campechy wood. Perry claims it is Brazilwood and explains that “Brazilwood, Caesalpinia sappan, is not a New World plant but an East Indian dyewood well known in the Middle Ages. When campeachy wood or logwood, Haematoxylon campeachianum, was discovered in what is now Brazil, it was at first called "brazilwood” for its reddish dye called brazilin. “Since it was Brazil's first big export, the country took its name from it. . ."

CHURRASCO WITH A 14TH C HALF ROASTED CHICKEN RECIPE

Churrasco
Photo from: Tadeu 76

churrano (Leon), grilled or roasted meat. [García Rey. 1934:72; and Sanz. 1967:445]

ANOTHER RECIPE FOR HALF ROASTED ADAPTED FROM SENT SOVÍ #LV QUI PARLA EN ALTRA MANERA CON SE FFA MIG-RAUST.[1] pp 99-100

Ingredients

3 lb chicken
3 qt almond milk
2 oz lard
2 oz bacon
3 chicken livers
1 c bitter grape juice or vinegar

Half Roasting the Bird
Photo by: Lord-Williams

 spices:
 1 cinnamon stick
 4 cloves
 1 tsp pepper corns
 1 scraping ginger
 1 tsp thyme

Preparation

Clean the chicken inside and out and pat dry. Place it on a spit and turn it over the fire. Grease it a little with lard until roasted. Once the chicken is half roasted remove it from the spit and carve it into pieces of equal size and put it in a roasting pan without the grease used for roasting it. Save the grease.

A Rich "Half Roasted"
Photo by: Lord-Williams

Put the almond milk with spices in a saucepan and cook ½ hr over moderate heat for it to take on the flavor.  Next, strain the almond milk over the chicken. Add the bacon and let all roast slowly. As chicken meat is very firm, cooking time varies and it can take between one and two hours.  About 10 minutes before done, add the chicken livers mashed in a mortar and diluted with bitter grape juice or vinegar. Add a little salt and sugar if desired for it to take on a sweet and sour taste. Serve in bowls with the bacon diced.

Nola claims that this dish: “is one of the three most important in cookery along with peacock sauce and blancmange and that of all the dishes in the world these are the best. . .           

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[1] Mig-raust means half roasted in Catalan. This was a typical way of preparing chicken in the Middle Ages. See the blog titled ast, published December 7, 2011 for another version of this recipe.

CHURRAASCADO WITH 13TH C RECIPE FOR HEN SOPES

Scorching the Pig's Skin with Dried Grass
Photo by: Lord-Williams

(fr. churrar, to toast), Eng. a slaughtered pig sufficiently toasted after scorching the skin with dried grass. See chamuscar. escoberas and socarrar. [Pers. Memories. Slaughters Mostoles. 2000-2001:2003; and Serradilla.1996:142]

HEN SOPES ADAPTED FROM FADALAT 2:12 SOPA DESMIGADA LLAMADA AL-MUKARRARA (“LA REPEDIDA”)[1] p 88-89

Ingredients

Thickening the Broth with Breadcrumbs
Photo by: Lord-Williams

6 onions

1 hen

¼ c olive oil

1 ½ tsp white pepper

1 tbsp cilantro chopped

¾ c breadcrumbs

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp spikenard root[2]

4 eggs

Preparation

Skin the onions and cut into quarters. Put them in a food processor and purée them. Strain them letting the juice run into a bowl. This makes about ½ c onion juice. Save it and discard the solid parts of the onions.

Not only Decorative, Tasty Too!
Photo by: Lord-Williams

Wash a hen, fattened with barley, inside and out. Chop off the appendages and cut the breast in half. Fry it in a frying pan with olive oil. Add 1 tsp pepper, cilantro and onion juice.  Pour 1 qt water over it and gently boil until the meat falls off the bones, which can take up to two hours.

When cooked remove the hen from the pan. Pour some of the broth over the breadcrumbs in a clay dish. Keep adding broth until it has thickened. 

Then remove the bones from the chicken, shred the meat and place the pieces on top of the sopes.

Sprinkle with cinnamon, pepper and spikenard. Separate the yolks from the whites of the eggs and decorate the dish with the raw egg yolks. Place the lid on top and put it over very low heat in the oven until the eggs are cooked and serve.

This sops "strengthens the blood and restores energy to those who are exhausted."

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[1] The meal during the first day of the slaughter does not necessarily contain pork products as the pig is cooling off from being scorched.

[2] This can be obtained from spice retailers. On line a 4 oz root  costs $8.00. 

CHURRA WITH A 15TH CENTURY RECIPE FOR JANET OF MUTTON

Jarrod with Friend
Photo from: lamb lady

P. surro, Eng. 1. bastard. 2. churro. This is an ancient Iberian breed of sheep brought by the Celts. Actually, churra is an adjective meaning farm, farming or work as in farmhouse or workhorse. The sheep also have been called burda (coarse, ordinary) and basta (coarse) for their long, coarse wool, riberiega (riverside) as they are found north of the Duero River and raza castellana (Castellan breed). It roams around Castile and León, principally the regions of Tierra de Campos (León) and Cerrato de Palencia (Palencia). The quality of their wool is not inferior to that of a merino. It is not as long. The churro is known for having its head and hooves covered with a thick coat of rigid hair Although secondary to the merino, it is an older breed and valued for its stamina and flexibility. These tireless roamers, also, are known for their lively temperament and persistence in seeking food in unfavorable conditions. Their surroundings of natural herbs and a microclimate produce the spirit and character of the stock. This bred is the most longevous, the most prolific and the carrier of the least number on congenital illnesses. Further, it is the mother of the best quality of lamb’s meat. Sucking lamb is traditionally roasted for Easter in León but weened lambs are juicier. The churro was the first breed of domesticated sheep taken to the New World and became a major livelihood for the Navajo Indians. There the ending of the churra was corrupted to end in “o” instead of “a”. Spaniards ask if it was because the Indians ate them for breakfast instead of churros. 3. calf or heifer. [ES: Raza.” Nov 13, 00; and Pacho. “Cocina.” 1994:153-154]

A POTTAGE CALLED JANETE OF MUTTON ADAPTED FROM NOLA xvii-1 

POTAJE DE CARNERO ADOBADO QUE SE DICE JANETE DE CARNERO

Frying Ingredients
Photo by: Lord-Williams

Ingredients

1 k/ 2 lbs breast and neck of lamb[1]

1 ½ onions

3 small pears

1 quince

1 tbsp sugar

125 gr salt pork (tocino)

1 tbsp virgin olive oil

63 g sheep’s liver

25 gr almonds

1 slice of toasted bread

1/3  c  vinegar

1 garlic clove

1 tbsp honey

½ white pepper

½ tsp rosemary

½ tsp freshly scraped ginger

salt to taste

Garnish:

1 tbsp chopped parsley

Preparation

An Excellent Dish for Sweet and Sour Lovers
Photo by: Lord-Williams

Cut the meat into pieces the size of a walnut and boil it until for 10 minutes. Then remove from heat and drain off water. Put sliced onion into a pan and boil. In another pan boil pears and the quince, quartered cored, with the sugar.

Dice the salt pork, without skin, put it in a pan with 1 tbsp olive oil. Fry the salt pork; when half done remove it from the pan and add it to the lamb. Chio the liver and add it to the pan. Cook until rare and set aside. Slice the onions and brown them in the pan. Once fried, remove from them pan and drain off all the fat and oil possible. Put the onions in a pot with the meat and diced salt pork. Cover this with broth from the meat and water from the pears and quinces and boil gently.

Grind almonds in a mortar with the liver and bread soaked in vinegar with a garlic clove. Add a little broth and honey. Add this mixture to the meat mixture. Boil gently. Five minutes before finished, add the spices.

Serve in soup bowls and garnish with parsley.

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[1] As this is confusing and costly as it is mostly bones, a small leg of lamb was used.

CHUFA WITH AN TIGER NUT DRINK RECIPE

Washing Tiger Nuts
Photo by: Lord-Williams

Cat xufla, L. Cyperus esculentus, Ar. fulful al-Sudan, Eng. tiger nut, chufa nut, earth almond, yellow nutsedge. Actually these are not nuts but tubers or edible roots of the weed chufa. They grow to various sizes and shapes. The most common are the round and the elongated, which are at least 7.5 mm long. They only grow in temperate climates at sea level in well-drained level sandy soil.

In Africa and India, the tubers have been eaten raw, roasted or cooked as a vegetable. Dried, they can be made into flour. The seeds have been used as coffee substitute. In the Middle Ages, they were found in S. Afrasia (N. Africa, east of the Sahara) and S.W. Asia and were sometimes called habb al-Zelm in Arabic. Muslims brought them to Levante, Spain from Egypt. Now they are cultivated in 16 towns in the province of Valencia. Today, it is the primary producer particularly in the region of L’Horta. The town of Alboraya is the home of tigernuts.

They are harvested between mid November and mid December. Then they are washed, ground and let to dry for three months at least. By the 10^th C, chufas were used to make llet de xufes (chufa nut milk), the forerunner of horchata (tiger nut drink). Also, it is thought that Sent Soví’s two recipes for ordait (barley water) and for avenat (oat water) are forerunners of horchata. Arabs used the tubers to make other drinks and desserts, including a comfit served as an after dinner sweet. In times of grain famine chufas were ground into flour to make bread. Chufa oil can be extracted from the tubers, which contain 15-20% sucrose and 22% starch.

Villena advised not to cut them but to clean out the soil in the wrinkles with the fingernail before eating. Consumption of chufa nuts prevents arteriosclerosis, increases good cholesterol (HDL) and diminishes bad cholesterol (LDL). They contain potassium and phosphate. They activate the intestinal defense mechanism. Tiger nut allergy is rare.

Valencians brag that they are the best horchata in the world. As horchata keeps for one day if refrigerated, that found in supermarkets is not the real McCoy. [Anón/Grewe. 1982:LXXXXVII:128-129:LXXXXVIII:129:130:LXXXXVIIII:130; Barajas. Alhambra.1999:165; Castro. Alimentación. 1996:205; ES: Chufa. Jun 12, 05; Font. Plantas. 1999:657:922-925; Villena/Calero. 2002:40a; and Usher. 1974:195]

ORXATA DE XUFLA[1] ADAPTED FROM SPANISH HORCHATA RECIPE[2]
For 4 glasses

A Refreshing Summer Drink
Photo by: Lord-Williams

Ingredients

9 oz tiger nuts

½ c sugar

½ tsp cinnamon

lemon zest

Preparation

Clean out the soil in the wrinkles with the fingernail

Soak them covered with water for 12 hours. If any float, discard them for being bad.

Drain them and grind them in a food processor. Slowly add 1 qt water. Mix ell and allow them to sit for 2-3 hours.

Sift them through a cheesecloth. Add sugar and mix well. Add cinnamon and lemon zest. Serve immediately or refrigerate to make it ice cold.

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[1] Catalan for Sp Horchata de chufa, Eng Tigernut Drink
[2] found at: http://www.mediterranean-food-recipes.com/horchata.html