FALDA WITH 15TH CENTURY RECIPE FOR MUTTON STEAKS

Maria Barbara de Braganza (d.1758)
Queen of Spain (oil)
 by Dupra, Domenico (1689-1770)
from: OCEASR ONADA XTL215049

OCast halda,1. skirt. 2. steak (of meat); loins. 3. perritos de halda, lap dogs. [Ares. “Comidas.” 1994:118; Nola. 1989:xxiii-4; and Nola/Pérez. 1992:199]

STUFFING FOR KID OR POTTAGE ADAPTED FROM NOLA xxiii-4 RELLENO DE CABRITO 

Ingredients

1 lb mutton loin

goat entrails[1]

4 ½ oz bacon in one piece

1 tbp parsley[2]

1 tsp salsas finas[3]

1 tsp mashed and dissolved saffron

1 lb goat or piglet

1 c breadcrumbs

4 eggs

1 c grated cheese

Preparation

Mutton and Pork Pottage
Photo by: Lord-Williams

Boil mutton and goat entails with a chunk of streaky bacon. When done remove it from the broth and grind it. Add breadcrumbs and grated cheese with chopped parsley. Add eggs slightly beaten with salsa finas and a lot of saffron because this pottage[4] should be quite yellow. Then lightly fry the goat or piglet meat[5]and add it to the pottage.

It is assumed that all the ingredients above were mixed together and served as a pottage or the liquid could have been drained off and the solids stuff into a goat or piglet for roasting.

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[1] Use chicken if goat entails cannot be found.

[2] If using pork omit the parsley or use cilantro.

[3] See blog titled dárselo published November 29, 2013 for recipe.
[4] This is contradictory. Is this a pottage or stuffing? As cooks today do not have facilities to roast whole animals, it is convenient that this recipe be treated as a pottage.
[5] The recipe never calls for stuffing an animal as insinuated by the title. This seems to be a pottage so the goat or piglet meat should probably be chopped. This is an example of how scribes were not cooks!