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Fresh Green Asparagus Photo by: Lord-Williams |
OCat esparaguat, espárrec, Cat espàrechs, L. Asparagus officinalis, Ar. isfarāj
or asfarāj, Hisp Ar. junjul, Fr. asperge, Eng asparagus. Greeks and Romans found them
cultivated as a delicacy in Egypt and subsequently took them back to their
countries. The Lusitanians consumed them in the 2nd C BC. Romans first cultivated them for
to make medicines and later they became luxury food at their feasts. It is
thought that asparagus were cultivated in Spain when under the Roman Empire but
during the Visigothic rule in Spain consumption of asparagus declined.
Upon the arrival of
Ziryab, the famous Kurd musician, in 822 he found green asparagus growing wild
around Cordova where he became a member of the caliphate’s court (see Ziryab). He reintroduced
consumption of asparagus in Al-Andalus cuisine, which brought about the
cultivation in Spain of white asparagus (espárragos).
Aphrodisiac asparagus were those with thick pale stems between purple and
rose color. They have to be firm from top to bottom. They were eaten daily for
fortification with fat, egg yolk and ground condiments.
Less erotic were wild asparagus, Cast. trigueros (green, Ar. asfaraŷ). Wild asparagus, which has more flavor but the least valued,
was used in the same way as cultivated white asparagus. The difference between
the three types is that white asparagus receives no sun, being protected by
mounds turf, purple asparagus is that which has been exposed to a little sun
light prior to building the mounds and green asparagus is totally exposed to
the sun.
They were served hot or cold, in stuffing, as a dish alone, with meats,
cilantro, chickpeas and other ingredients. One medieval recipe calls for
asparagus stuffed with minced meat, cilantro, pepper, caraway, olive oil and
egg yolks. Once stuffed, they were boiled in water and then mixture was
thickened with eggs, breadcrumbs and more minced meat. Always, meatballs were
served with this dish. Asparagus roots with sprouts were thought exquisite.
Powders were made from them were considered to be a good aphrodisiac.
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Preparing Fresh White Asparagus for Cooking Photo by: Lord-Williams |
Medicinally, this vegetable relieves bee stings when directly rubbed on
them. It was used in syrups for rheumatism, insomnia, nerves and diabetes.
The fall of Arab domination in Seville and Cordova, in the 13th
century, renewed the decline of asparagus but Muslims in Granada kept up the
tradition. The 13th Century Al-Andalus
manuscript contains four recipes for asparagus. It is interesting to note that
the 14th Century Catalan manuscript Sent Soví also contains four recipes for asparagus but Nola’s Catalan
manuscript from the 15th century makes no mention of asparagus at
all.
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Frying Breaded Asparagus Photo by: Lord-Williams |
[Anón/Grewe. 1982:CXVII:142:CXVIII:142.CXVIIII:143 etc; Anón/Huici.
1966:257:151-152; Arjona. 1983:32; Benavides-Barajas. Nueva-Clásica. 1995:129; Bodelón. 1994:77; Bolens. 1990:29:329; ES: Sorrenti. Apr 4, 02; Groundes-Peace.
1971:24; and Muñoz.
TALKING ABOUT
ASPARAGUS ADAPTED FROM SENT SOVÍ
CXVII QUI PARLA CON SE FFA ESPARAGUAT,
p 142
Ingredients
1 bunch of
asparagus, about 12 ounces
salt to taste
1 egg
1 c flour
olive oil for
frying
½ c white wine[1]
1
tbsp freshly chopped parsley
1 tbsp ginger scrapings
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp sugar
Preparation
Wash and peel asparagus. Cut off tough ends. Fill a pot with salted water and bring to a boil.
Add the asparagus and boil, until almost done. (White asparagus
take longer than green asparagus. White asparagus may take10 minutes if well
peeled, while green asparagus may take as little as 2 minutes.) Remove, pat dry
and gently squeeze each stem to try to remove excess water, using a cloth or
paper towels.
Dip each stem into slightly beaten egg and then in flour. Gently
fry in olive oil until almost done. Heat the wine and sprinkle it over them,
then the seasoning and sugar and serve.
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