Platina-Lunch-art - 5/24/01
An 15th Century Italian luncheon created using recipes from Platina. Includes the menu and the recipes used.
NOTE: See also the files: cb-rv-Platina-msg, p-Italy-food-bib, Platina-bib, pasta-msg, salads-msg, mushrooms-msg.
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Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 12:48:03 -0500 (EST)
From: Gretchen M Beck <grm+ at andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: SC - Platina lunch (15th c Italian, too)
Here's the redactions of my Lunch from Platina (15th C Italian, by the
way), with comments on what I'd change for the next time. Lunch was
very well received. Any and all comments on these are welcome.
Asparagus
Mushrooms in green salsa
Green salad
Ham with cherry and mustard sauces
Macaroni
Fresh Fruit
Bread
1st comment. This fed 8 very comfortably. For an SCA feast, it would
undoubtably be enough for 2 tables of 8. I had about 1/2 the salad left
over, 1/4 of the macaroni, 1/3 of the ham. No asparagus and only a
couple of mushrooms.
Asparagus
2 lbs asparagus
olive oil (2-3 Tbsp or to taste)
Balsamic vinegar (1-2 Tbsp or to taste)
salt
Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Wash asparagus and trim ends.
Put in pot, and boil for 5-7 minutes or until desired texture (some like
it mushy, some like it just this side of raw). Lay asparagus on
platter, sprinkle on salt. Pour on olive oil, toss. Pour on vinegar,
toss. Serve.
Mushrooms in green salsa
2 lbs mushrooms
4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
salt
1-3 Tbsp olive oil
Put whole mushrooms in a pot with salted water and garlic cloves.
Bring to boil. Boil about 10 minutes (if you're using white mushrooms,
boil until they start to change color). Drain.
(you can do this the night before.) Heat olive oil in skillet. Add
mushrooms, saute about 10 minutes. Pour on salsa, serve.
Green Salsa
20 vine leaves (I used bottled cause I didn't have access to fresh. If
you use fresh, use more vinegar and salt. I used leaves because I didn't
have access to tendrils.)
2-3 cloves garlic
3-4 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2/4 slice white bread crumbs
If using bottled leaves, rinse well in water. Grind leaves in mortar
(or run through food processor). Add garlic and crumbs and
grind/process some more. If using fresh leaves/tendrils add salt at this
point, too. Add vinegar and grind/process more. At this point, it
should look like a moist "swamp=thing". Put in food mill and strain.
(this step is EXTREMELY important -- otherwise it not only looks like a
moist "swamp-thing" but tastes like it too. After straining, though,
you have a really nice green sauce.) Pour over mushrooms and serve.
Green Salad
I've done this several times before, and it's basically "make a base of
romaine lettuce, and add whatever green herbs are on hand. Pour on salt
and oil and toss. Add vinegar and toss. Serve.". Today the ingredients
were:
14 leaves romaine lettuce
1 lb fresh spinach
1/4 cup parsley leaves, loosely packed
20 mint leaves
leaves from 3 sprigs tarragon.
Ham served with cherry and mustard sauce
4 lbs ham (I used pre-cooked sugar cured cause that's what the grocery
store had. Next time I'm getting a country ham, but I have to travel
for that...)
1 bottle white wine (I used a jug wine a trifle less sweet than a
reisling. Reisling would be good for this, though)
Water.
Put ham in pot. Cover with 50/50 mixture wine/water. Bring to boil.
Simmer for about 45 minutes. Let cool. Slice. Serve.
Cherry sauce
I wasn't satisfied with this sauce, probably because I used the wrong
cherries. This was a "it's what the store had and I forgot to check the
frozen food aisle". Next time I'll use fresh, or if need be frozen. It
needed a stronger cherry flavor, but wasn't too horrible for all that.
1 can Queen Anne cherries in heavy syrup. (yuck!)
2 Tbsp bread crumbs
Vinegar to taste (I put in too much, and then added sugar to counteract
it, which added to the problems the sauce had.)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ginger.
If using canned in syrup, rinse cherries well. Blend cherries, bread
crumbs and vinegar in food process or mortar. Put sauce on stove and
simmer for 20 minutes stirring often. (this time will vary with fresh
cherries, since this will be necessary to cook them) Sprinkle on
cinnamon and ginger. Cool. Serve.
Reddish Mustard
5 Tbsp mustard seed
1 Tbsp raisins
1-2 tsp flour
12 - 3/4 piece toast, crumbled.
Sprinkle cinnamon
Red wine vinegar to desired consistency. (I used about 4 Tbsp.)
Grind mustard seeds in spice grinder or mortar. In mortar or food
processor, grind/process in mustard seeds, raisins, flour, toast and
cinnamon. Add vinegar and grind/process. Keep adding vinegar until
mustard is desired consistency. If you like course ground, serve. If
you like smooth, run it through a strainer and serve.
Macaroni
Note: I didn't make my own noodles. I'm also not sure how to interpret
the "This dish should be cooked for two hours" Does this mean the
noodles, or that you should cook the boiled noodles cheese and herb
mixture? Anyhow:
1 1lb box penne rotini
Beef boillion/stock/broth (I used 5 cubes in the water used to boil the
noodles.)
1 cup fresh grated 50/50 Romano/Parmasan mixture
2 Tbsp butter
1 tbsp each chopped parsley and basil
3 sage leaves, chopped.
Bring pot of broth/boillion to a boil. Add noodles and boil until
noodles are as done as you want them to be. (my husband and I have
arguments about mushy or al dente...). Drain off most, but not all of
the remaining broth. Return noodles to pot and mix in butter. Pour
noodles into a lasagna/sheet cake pan (or into oven proof serving
dishes). Spinkle on cheese. Mix herbs together and sprinkle on. Place
in slow oven until cheese melts. Serve.
<the end>