historical cooking – Page 13

July 29, 2010

Old Twist on Meatloaf (14th Century English recipe)

From the July issue of Renaissance Magazine

Over the years, my historical research with cooking, recipes, and food has taken me to different cultures and tasting their cuisines. Occasionally, I will encounter a new tidbit of information that will surprise me as well as culinary professional colleagues and amateur foodies alike.

The modern meatloaf usually consists of a combination of bread or cracker crumbs, eggs, and ketchup; some other ingredients may be added to each recipe making it unique for the geographic region or various family traditions. Meatloaf has been with us for a very long time, but under different names.

The oldest recorded ground meat recipe can be found in Apicius, an ancient Roman cooking text. This recipe consisted of finely chopped meat (or mince), combined with pepper, garum (a fermented fish sauce popular In Roman cooking), and pine nuts while its center contained white bread crumbs soaked in wine. This mince was wrapped in a sheep’s stomach or upper intestines and then baked in a large oven.

Other versions of meatloaf can be traced to German, Belgium, and Holland 5th century recipes. These central and northern Europeans regional forms of meatloaf usually consisted of minced or ground pork, hard boiled eggs, and bacon with bread soaked in milk or wine to help form the hand-shaped loaf and then baked. These later forms influenced recipes from other cultures including the Middle Eastern kofta and Italian meatballs. All meatloaf recipes came about for the same reason; by adding various fillers including bread, rice, or oatmeal to chopped, minced, or ground meat, anyone could stretch a small amount of meat to feed others. Today, meatloaf has become a mainstay in the comfort food menus in many homes. In this issue of Renaissance Magazine, I am sharing a meatloaf recipe from 14th century England.

Meatloaf
2 lbs. (4 cups) ground or minced beef
1 cup of oatmeal
1 / 3 cup of red wine
4 eggs
1 /4 tsp black pepper
1 / 4 tsp of ground cinnamon
1 / 8 tsp ground mace
1 / 8 tsp ground cloves

Combine ingredients in large bowl and shape into a loaf or place in deep casserole pan. Add a pinch of the mace and ground cloves and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Drain off fat and tip onto serving platter and slice up servings. Serves 4-6

Glazed Root Vegetables
4 cups of root vegetables, largely diced (carrots, rutabagas, turnips)
1/2 cup of brown sugar or honey
1/4 cup brandy
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp of ground clove
1 / 4 tsp ground ginger
Salt to taste

Cook vegetables in pot of water until tender. Drain water. In a separate saucepan, melt the butter over low heat and add the brown sugar or honey, cinnamon and cloves. Continue to stir, slowly adding the brandy to the sauce mixture. If honey is being used, the sauce will need to be reduced by one half. Turn up the heat to medium and add the root vegetables. Continue to cook over medium until sauce thickens. Serves 4.

Unlike the modern meatloaf recipes that have a saltier finish due to the use of ketchup, this recipe has a sweet/spicy finish due to the cloves, cinnamon, and mace. The oatmeal provides an even binder when combined with the red wine and eggs. I’ve also partnered this recipe with a side dish of Glazed Root Vegetables. Both dishes complement each other rather well and may be served with red wine.

June 12, 2010

15th Century Oyster dish (translated and easy)

Oysters in Bruette (oysters in beer)

This particular dish has been a favorite of mine. When I found it, it was in old French. A friend of mine who specializes in European history, helped me translate the dish.

I was fortunate enough to test this in my kitchen and it is pretty good. I usually serve this with some French bread to sop the sauce.

1 1/4 c oysters
3/4 c liquid from oysters
3/4 c ale (I recommend a dark, heady ale)
2 slices bread, torn up small
1/8 t cinnamon
3 pinches of ground clove
3/16 t ginger
1/4 t sea salt
a few shakes of pepper
a pinch of saffron

Rinse and strain shelled oysters. In a pot add the ale and the bread. Place the pot over medium heat and add the seasonings and begin to simmer. Once the bread comes apart and begins to thicken the “broth,” add the oysters until done.

Serve

May 24, 2010

Lemon Bread Pudding

From the May 2010 Renaissance Magazine by Alice the Cook
Over the past year, I have presented readers with various period appropriate entree and side dish recipes ranging from stews, roasts, soups, and pasties. I have used most meats and through in some vegetarian options as well. These recipes encourage you, the reader, to create the recipes in your own home and to share them with family and friends. Fans have approached me and asked about desserts. They want to go to a dinner or a potluck and want to bring something unexpected and yet tasty.

My assistant, Nicholas, and I thought long and hard about what to make. Many of the desserts during the Renaissance required a lot more work as many of the ingredients are not readily available in modern markets or even culinary specialty shops. Items like almond milk (milk boiled with hand-ground almonds) and rosewater were used to either sweeten or enhance the flavors of the dish being made. Liqueurs were added as well, but we wanted to keep this recipe somewhat simple, yet different, and that won’t scare your friends too much. I’ve included a brief overview of the history of desserts along with a recipe that Nicholas and I have enjoyed for years.

Continue reading “Lemon Bread Pudding”

May 17, 2010

Barbecue is Best

Memorial Day is quickly approaching and it is a time to get together, remember those who we have lost, and a time for family. My own family visits friends, go fishing, and enjoy a nice barbecue. Proper barbecue (BBQ) is slow-cooking meat at a low temperature for a long time over wood or charcoal. In North America, BBQ originated in the late 1800s during the cattle drives. The cowboys were fed the less than perfect cuts of meat, often brisket, a tough and stringy piece of meat that required five to seven hours of cooking to tenderize. Other barbecue meats used were pork butt, pork ribs, beef ribs, venison and goat.

The slow cooking would allow the toughest of meats to tenderize during the slow cooking process. It is no secret that I enjoy cooking over a fire. BBQ and smoking meats is a nice way of creating a tasty meal out of the cheapest cuts. Sometimes even sealing up a tough piece of meat, like brisket, can be tender using a slow cooked method. On of my favorites, is using a cast iron pot on the fire or grill. I place thinly sliced onions or leeks at the bottom with the brisket on top with just a bit of salt, pepper, and chili powder and then place it fat side up and cover the pot.

The onions will keep the meat from sticking to the pot, help flavor the meat, and help keep it moist while it slow cooks. When using this method, I let it cook for 2-3 hours. It’s hard to resist though as it cooks, it smells so good. When done, I use the onions as a side dish to be served with the brisket. I avoid the sauces as it just creates a mess. Keep the flavors simple and you will enjoy your dish.

Other variations can include:

marinade of soy sauce and honey or using curry powder for an Asian influenced
marinade of Coca-Cola, so a bit of a “pop.” The sugar in this version will help caramelize the outside while leaving the inside moist and flavorful.
A Latin inspired, chili powder and cumin with garlic

Using a wood fire:

Depending on the types of wood you use, can determine the heat of the fire and how long it will last. Hard wood like Oak, will burn slower and longer. Pine will burn fast and hot. I prefer to use fruit tree wood or cedar due to its aromatic influences. Wood fires are very different the standard BBQ or stove/oven cooking. I strongly encourage you to try wood fire cooking if you haven’t already. Please make sure you use safe precautions including having a bucket of water or a hose ready in case the fire gets out of control.

I hope all of my readers have a safe Memorial Day.

April 27, 2010January 17, 2013

The Hearty Pasty

Pasties have always been one of my guilty pleasures. It’s flaky crust and hearty insides can make any cold day bright and happy. Whether the you follow the traditional Cornish (southern tip of England) recipe or the Americanized version made in the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan, this dish was the original sandwich and researchers in Devon, England have been able to trace references to this delightful dish to the 16th century.

The pasty was developed to help feed the Cornish tin miners who were unable to return to the surface to eat their lunch. Covered head to toe in dirt, the miners, and later farmers, were able to eat their lunch and discard their now dirty crust “wrapper” to appease the mischievous fey in the mines including leprechauns and brownies. Today, other variations can be found that include chicken, ham, pork and apples, and vegetables.

Cornish miners, who migrated to America, brought over their family recipes and influenced other cultures in creating their own version of the pasty including the Finnish copper miners of Michigan and the Mexican silver miners of Hidalgo. Both ethnic groups created their own versions of the Cornish recipe and are available for purchase in various markets in their respected regions.

Cornish Pasties
Pastry Crust Ingredients:
4 cups of flour
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 sticks of butter (softened) (do not use olive oil or margarine as the crust will be hard instead of flaky)
1 egg
a bit of water

Pasty Filling Ingredients:
1 lb. round or chuck steak (diced)
4 medium red potatoes (sliced thin)
1 large onion, sliced thin
1 medium turnip, peeled and sliced thin
3 medium carrots, sliced thin
1/2 stick of butter
pinch of rosemary
pinch of thyme
3 cloves minced garlic, minced
Salt
Pepper

For the Crust:
Sift together dry ingredients and blend with softened butter. Combine egg with enough water to make 1 cup and add to mixture. Mix lightly and divide into 4 parts. Roll each part to a 10-inch dinner plate size, using a plate as a template, cut a circle out, and lightly flour the surface. Any scrap crust can be used to make additional crusts or be added as decoration to the pasties being made.

For the filling:
Divide the filling ingredients into four parts. Place one of the divided parts of the filling on the one half of the crust round. Sprinkle the filling with herbs and spices and add one-tablespoon butter. Fold the pastry in half and seal by brushing melted butter on edges before pressing together and brush top of pastry with butter and pierce top of pastry. I like doing a braided twist on the crust, which adds a nice touch to the pasty. Begin at one of the corners of the half circle, lift and fold over by 45 degrees, pick up the new crust point that has been formed and fold that over 45 degrees. Continue until the pasties are completed. The folding over process creates a braided appearance to the crust. Using a knife, slice three small cuts in the top of the crust to let the steam out.

Bake at 350 degree for approx. 1 hour or until golden brown.
Serves 8

Variations:
By following the crust recipe, you can make a vegetarian version-using root vegetables: potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, parsnips, and beets. Which provides a very colorful presentation and dish.