Each year during the Minnesota Renaissance Festival, my assistant and I demonstrate pasta making. Many people may not realize that the modern Italian pasta evolved from the Arabs and not from Marco Polo’s visits to the Far East (Asia). Below is an adapted recipe from one of the original texts. This recipe was recreated out at the show. It has a very different taste than most pastas and I hope you enjoy it.
Ingredients:
2 cup flour
2 eggs
2 TB olive oil
2 TB water
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp of ground clove
1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg
Blend ingredients together to form slightly rubbery dough. Knead on floured board and store for at least least an hour in the fridge before using (an entire day is better).
If you can, use a pasta press to create spaghetti style pasta (normally this would be rolled out and hand cut). Heat water with 2 TB of salt to 2 TB of oil in the water. Bring to a high boil and drop pasta in until el dente (between 2-3 minutes). pull out of pot and let slightly cool out of bowl (clean cutting board works great).
Once slightly cool (warmer than room temp, but not hot), begin adding the pasta to a bowl and include a 1 tsp of honey to each layer. Blend the pasta well. This would normally be served with roast lamb or falafel.
Braised Leeks with Carrots
Due to time and space, I could not include the side dish featured in the July issue of Renaissance Magazine. I offer readers and opportunity to find it here on the website in case they want to prepare it for themselves.
Ingredients:
5 TB butter
1 and a half lbs. of carrots, thickly sliced
1 tsp honey
2 fresh bay leaves
5 TB water
1 and a half lbs. leeks, cut into 2 inch lengths
1/2 cup white wine
2 TB chopped parsley
salt and ground black pepper
Melt 2 TB butter in a wide, heavy pan and cook the carrots without allowing them to brown, for about 5 minutes.Add the bay leaves, seasoning, honey, and the water and cook for 10 minutes or until the carrots are tender.Uncover the pan and boil until the juices have evaporated, leaving the carrots moist and glazed.Remove the carrots from the pan and set aside.
Melt 2 TB of remaining butter in the pan.Add the leeks and fry them over low heat for 4 -5 minutes without allowing them to brown.Add seasoning, a couple of drops of honey, the wine, and half of the chopped herbs.Heat until simmering, then cover and cook gently for 5 – 8 minutes, until the leeks are tender, but not collapsed.
Uncover the leeks and turn them in the buttery juices, increase the heat and then boil the liquid rapidly until reduced to a few tablespoons.Add the carrots to the leeks and reheat them gently, stirring occasionally, then add the remaining butter.Adjust the seasoning, if necessary.Transfer to a warmed serving dish and serve sprinkled with the remaining chopped herbs.
Curried Lamb
I love lamb and curry. Curry dishes are a lot of fun. When preparing this dish, use ceramic bowls and avoid metal utensils. The curry can stain other bowls and the metal utensils can leave a metallic taste in your mouth.
Ingredients
2 lamb shanks, 2 lamb shoulders steaks (yielding about 2 lbs of meat without the bone) Marinade the lamb overnight in the marinade recipe below
2 large onions, chopped
3-5 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp clarified butter or olive oil with butter
2 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 Meyer lemon sliced (with rind)
1 cup of chicken broth
8 small red potatoes, quartered
Marinade:
Grind –
1 Tbsp of coriander seeds
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp fresh rosemary leaves
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
and mix with 2 Tbsp of olive oil
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. On stovetop, brown the meat in a little bit of olive oil in an oven-safe pan. Remove meat from pan.
Add butter or olive oil with a little bit of butter to pan, add curry powder, cook gently for a minute or two. Add onions and garlic and cook 5 minutes. Return meat to pan.
Add sliced lemon, chicken broth, salt and pepper. Put pan, covered, in oven and cook for 3 hours. In the last 45 minutes, remove from oven and put in potatoes. Return to oven.
Serve with rice or in a pita with shredded lettuce.
Serves 6
Oxtail Soup Recipe
Below is the recipe as it appears in the May issue of Renaissance Magazine.
Oxtail dishes are found across cultures. From Northern Europe, across the British Isles, Ottoman Empire, Mediterranean, Arabic, and Far Eastern cultures have all used oxtail in a variety of dishes. Some dishes were primarily delicacies, but secondarily offered homeopathic cures to various ailments including back and hip pain.
The Chinese added shredded cabbage mushrooms, and carrots, among other vegetables to provide a heart stew. Arabic and Mediterranean cultures added tomatoes and chickpeas, while European cultures, including Italy even added wine or brandy to the dish during the post-Restoration period.
Oxtails were once inexpensive, but with their increased use in many cuisines, the price of oxtails has become expensive. Asian grocery stores offer oxtails at about a third of the cost of main stream grocery stores.
The dish below is hearty and alcohol was not added as I wanted to keep the dish true to its original roots in Britannia. This is a favorite among my male friends as oxtails, when cooked properly, can take on a prime rib flavor and texture.
Oxtail Soup
Ingredients:
3 lbs of oxtails
1 lbs of beef shoulder soup bones.
2 lbs red potatoes, thinly sliced
3 parsnips, peeled and shredded
1 lbs of leeks, cut into rings
3 sprigs of rosemary
1/4 cup of butter or oil
2 lbs carrots, thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small can of tomato paste (optional)
Kosher or sea salt
Black pepper
Begin preparing the dish by adding the beef shoulder bones in a large pot with enough water to cover the bones and add 1 tsp of sea or kosher salt. Bring items to a boil for a half an hour. Remove and dispose of the bones and reserve the broth.
Heat oil or melt butter in a different soup pot. Once heated, add the oxtails to brown and slowly add the leeks and garlic; continuing to cook. Once browned, add enough of the new broth to cover the cover the oxtails by an additional 3 inches, water may be added to increase the amount of liquid. At this moment, one may add optional tomato paste. Let cook for 1 hour and stir occasionally. After an hour, remove the soup bones, but leave in the oxtails. Begin adding the potatoes, carrots and rosemary. Cook for an additional 20 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.
This dish is very rich and if one’s constitution prefers a less rich version, one may choose to put the soup in a cooler and remove the excess fat from the top before reheating. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
Serves 6-8.
The photograph, prepared by Chris Olsen, was presented this way as it was more appealing than a bowl of soup. Traditionally, this dish is served in a bowl with vegetables, broth, and all.
Individual Shepherd/Cottage Pies
When I was younger and visited various renaissance festivals and rendezvous, I would always look forward to a few dishes. One of which was cottage or shepherd pies. This dish is great and with some creativity, can be utilized and adjusted for making leftovers a more tasty treat.
Cottage Pies
Ingredients:
1 tb extra virgin olive oil
1 cup carrots, julienned
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1 tb garlic, minced
1 lb sirloin steak, chopped into small pieces (left over turkey or venison can be used instead)
3 cups of beef demi glace (3 cups of hot water blended with concentrated store bought demi glace)
2 tsp fresh rosemary, snipped
2 tsp fresh thyme, snipped
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp crushed peppercorns or fresh ground pepper
1 tb flour
1 lb of mashed potatoes
1 tb fresh Italian parsley, snipped
1 tb unsalted butter, melted
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat; stir in the carrots, onion, celery, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened (about 5 minutes). Add the sirloin and increase the heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until beef is browned (about 5 minutes).
Add the beef demi glace, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper; reduce heat to low. Demi glace can be purchased at higher-end and specialty grocery stores. Simmer the pot with the beef, demi glace, and vegetables until the beef if cooked through (10 – 15 minutes); whisk in the flour until thickened.
With the mashed potatoes, stir in the parsley and blend. Pre-prepared boxed mashed potatoes do work for this recipe, but with anything that you cook, food made from scratch tastes significantly better. Divide the beef and vegetable mixture into 4 portions in 1 cup ramekins. Spread the mashed potatoes over the top and brush with the melted butter. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven until the potatoes are lightly browned (approx 20-25 minutes).
Serves 4