Eating in the Middle Ages
Emanuel Postolache IIICC
1)Venison, fallow deer or roe deer soup with aromatic mince
Ingredients: ribs or other parts of the chosen meat. Water, red wine, wine vinegar,
chopped parsley and sage, black pepper, cloves, nutmeg, salt
Procedure (Method): Remove the fat from the meat, boil the water in a saucepan and
add the meat, cook for 45 min. Remove from the heat and cut the meat into small
pieces, put everything back to boil with herbs and spices for another 30 min. The
meat must be well cooked. Serve over thick slices of bread like a bowl.
Equipment needed: cutting board, saucepan, knife, pot, plate, paring knife, ladle,
skimmer.
2)Green sauce
Ingredients: wine vinegar, finely chopped shallot and parsley, salt and ginger powder
Procedure: put all the ingredients in a large bowl and marinate for more than an hour.
Excellent on lamb or kid meat
Equipment needed: knife, bowl, spoon.
3)Ravagliolo
Ingredients: flour, water and aniseed or fennel.
Procedure: Mix all the ingredients to obtain a thick cream that will be cooked in a pan
where pork lard is boiling. Turn it on both sides to brown it well and make a large
pancake a couple of fingers high.
Cut into wedges and enjoy while still hot sprinkled with liquefied honey
Equipment needed: spoon, bowl, tongs, fork, knife, pan and plate.
The infusion is a liquid preparation obtained by pouring boiling water on the
vegetable source from which the water-soluble component is to be extracted. Of all
the extraction techniques, infusion is undoubtedly the most practical and common,
thanks to the great availability of water and the simplicity of preparation.
Infusions:
Sweet serenade infusion
Prepare with lemon balm leaves, mallow leaves and flowers, lavender flowers,
chamomile flowers, a cup in the evening is recommended for normal relaxation and
sleep.
Infusion "of the afternoon"
Lemon balm leaves, mint, sage, thyme, plants with bitter active ingredients that help
digestion, but also excellent as an aperitif, half an hour before meals.
Infusion "Colors of winter"
Elderflower, thyme leaves, calendula, mallow leaves and flowers that have
decongestant properties and can relieve minor ailments of the winter season
CASTAGNACCIO
Castagnaccio is a Tuscan dessert that is mainly prepared in autumn because its main
ingredient is, as you can guess from the name, chestnut flour.
The castagnaccio between history and legends
Castagnaccio is a rustic cake with very ancient origins. In 1500 it was already well known in
Tuscany where it was mainly prepared by farmers as a poor dish. Only in the 19th century
the recipe became famous throughout Italy and was enriched with raisins and pine nuts that
were originally missing.
It was said that this dessert was magical because the rosemary leaves had the power to
make you fall in love like a real potion.
The original recipe for castagnaccio
No eggs and no butter, the castagnaccio is a simple cake made with chestnut flour, water,
raisins and pine nuts, walnuts, with a moist and compact and unleavened consistency.
To prepare the castagnaccio you have to sift 300 g of chestnut flour and mix it with 4
tablespoons of sugar, 1 glass of water and 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
Then add to this mixture a handful of raisins softened in water, pine nuts and walnuts and a
few needles of rosemary.
Pour everything into a greased pan and decorate the surface with other pine nuts, walnuts
and raisins and rosemary. Bake at 180 degrees for about 30 minutes.
Castagnaccio should be served warm and cut into diamonds. It also goes very well in
combination with cold cuts and cheeses. Try it with fresh ricotta.