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Rue Plant Photo by: Lord-Williams |
In early Christian rituals, branches were used to sprinkle holy water as
a sign of repentance. Graveolens means strong smelling. It is believed
that the club on playing cards is modeled after the leaf of the rue plant.
Greeks and Romans thought that it did not grow as well if planted from seed as
plants stolen from neighbors’ gardens.
Pliny claimed it improved artists’
eyesight. Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangleo ate rue to improve their creative
vision. It has been used as an eyewash for tired or stained eyesight and since
it has been proved to relieve eye tension. To decrease blood pressure and
strengthen blood vessels, it has been consumed for its rutin content. It also
has been used for colic, intestinal worms, poisons, vertigo, epilepsy and
hysteria. Consumed in large amounts, however, it can be carcinogenic or toxic.
Women ate it to abort. Arabs chewed it to dispel halitosis.
In cookery it was a
basic ingredient for moretum, a Roman dish also containing aged goat
cheese, oil vinegar and garlic. It is eaten as a vegetable and it added to
stews, sausages and other meat dishes and wine. It is used to flavor cheeses,
salad dressing and sauces and added to pickles for fruits. Further, over the
ages, it has been used as an insect repellant. In Al-Andalus, it was associated
with sumac. In spite of all this, Gitlitz claims that today it is
unsafe for culinary use. There are American sumacs, which are poisoneous.
[Anón/Huici.1966:10:20:192:123;
Apicius/Flower. 1958: JMI:XVIII:57-58:II:I:4:63:etc; Covarrubias.
1998:916:38-61 ES: “Medicinal.” Sep 30, 02; Gitlitz. 1999:200; Lord. ES: Medieval Spanish Chef, “ánginas de
esparto.” Dec 10, ‘’11: and “manzana.” Mar 3, 16; and Pepys 1047. 15th C?:11]
VI: III:3 FOR PARTRIDGE, HAZEL-HEN OR TURTLE-DOVE, p. 145 ADAPTED FROM APICIUS/FLOWER IV: 111:3. IN PERDICE T ATTAGENA ET IN TURTURE, p 144
Ingredients
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Delicious Rue Stuffing Photo by: Lord-Williams |
1 c chopped celery leaves
1 tbsp chopped mint
1 tsp rue leaves
½ c liquamen
½ c wine
½ c liquamen
½ c wine
1 tbsp oil
Preparation
Prepare fowl for roasting or roasting on a spit. Make a stuffing with a mixture of the remaining solid ingredients. When done, put stuffing in blender and with broth, wine and oil. Serve with cooked fowl.
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