3-Span-Sweets-art - 4/26/01 Three Spanish sweet dishes from de Nola: the Torta Genovesa, Frutas de Mazapan, and the Burnia de Higos entered by Vicente (Vincent Cuenca) in the Queen's Prize Tourney in Dun Ard, Calontir. NOTE: See also the files: fd-Spain-msg, desserts-msg, pastries-msg, cookies-msg, pies-msg, fruit-pies-msg, fruits-msg, sugar-msg, marzipan-msg, nuts-msg. ************************************************************************ NOTICE - This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday. This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous Stefan at florilegium.org ************************************************************************ Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2001 21:06:03 From: "Vincent Cuenca" Subject: SC - A&S entry (long) This past weekend, I went to the Queen's Prize Tourney in Dun Ard, Calontir. Queens' Prize is a combination A&S showcase and competition intended for novice-level entrants. Each entrant is sponsored by GoA- or PoA-level artisans (Calon Lily for arts, Silver Hammer for Sciences), who supply small prizes for other entrants. Everybody wins something. I entered three sweet dishes from de Nola: the Torta Genovesa, Frutas de Mazapan, and the Burnia de Higos. "Torta a la Genovesa Una libra de almendras mondadas; y otra de piÒones, y otra de avellanas tostadas; y majarlo todo junto en un mortero y despuÈs de majado dejarlo aparte, y tomar una olla con agua y sal y aceite, y esto sea en dÌa de carne; y c·talo que estÈ bueno de sal, y tomar media libra de pasas sin los granillos; y tres onzas de d·tiles mondados de los cuescos, y hechos cuatro partes; y tres o cuatro manzanas agras o dulces; y hacerlas cuartos y quitarles el corazÛn y las pepitas, y echarlo en la olla porque cueza; y desque haya bien hervido, las manzanas ser·n cocidas, y despuÈs sacarlas de la agua; y majarlas con los d·tiles y pasas y almendras y con las avellanas y piÒones; y despuÈs de bien majado todo desatarlo con el dicho caldo; y si es dia de carne puedes echar en el mortero una docena de huevos majados con las sobredichas cosas, y despuÈs pasarlo por un cedazo; y hecho esto, tomar masa que sea buena y bien sobada, y has de ella un tajadero tan grande como fuere el suelo de la sartÈn que tuvieres; y hacerle sus orillas como a una empanada sin cobertor; empero que sea del tamaÒo de la sartÈn ni m·s ni menos, y ponla dentro de la sartÈn y desque estÈ dentro Èchale un poco de aceite debajo porque la masa no se pegue en la sartÈn; y despuÈs echar·s toda aquella salsa o manjar dentro de la empanada; y ponla sobre buenas cenizas calientes, y despuÈs tomar una cobertera que sea tan grande como la sartÈn, que la cubra bien, y ponle buen fuego de carbÛn arriba y abajo y al derredor y desque estÈ asÌ un poco, quitarle sotilmente la cobertera de encima; y echar dentro en la torta dos onzas de az˙car, y otra de canela molida, y despues tÛrnala a cubrir con su cobertera, y cueza dos horas hasta que la masa se aparte de la sartÈn; y entonces es cocida; y s·cala en un plato asÌ como si fuese una tortilla de huevos; y ponla en la mesa asÌ como empanada." Genovese Torte One pound of shelled almonds; and another of pine nuts, and another of toasted hazelnuts; and grind them all together in a mortar and once they are ground set them aside, and take a pot with water and salt and oil, and this should be on a meat day, and taste it for saltiness, and take half a pound of raisins without the little seeds; and three ounces of dates with the stones removed, and cut into four parts; and three or four tart or sweet apples; and cut them into fourths and remove the core and the seeds, and put them in the pot so they can cook; and when they have boiled for a while, the apples will be cooked, and then take them from the water; and mash them with the dates and raisins and almonds and with the hazelnuts and pine nuts; and when it is all ground together thin it with the aforementioned broth; and if it is a meat day you can add a dozen eggs to the mortar mixed in with the aforementioned things, and then pass it through a strainer; and when this is done, take dough that is good and well mixed, and make from this a flat piece the size of the bottom of the frying pan that you have, and fix up the edges as for a pasty without a cover, but it should be the size of the pan, no bigger or smaller, and put it in the frying pan and when it is in add a little fine lard so that the dough does not stick to the frying pan; and then add all this sauce or dish to the pasty; and place it over good hot coals, and then take a lid which is as big as the frying pan, which will cover it well, and put good burning charcoal above and below and around it and once it has been like this a bit, gently remove the cover from on top; and add to the torte two ounces of sugar, and another of ground cinnamon, and then cover it again with its lid, and cook it for two hours until the dough comes away from the pan; and so it is cooked; and turn it out on a plate as if it were an egg omelet; and place it on the table as if it were a pasty. This is a lengthy recipe, but not all that complex. I reduced the proportions by fourths: 4 oz almonds 4 oz hazelnuts 4 oz pine nuts 2 oz raisins 3/4 oz dates 1 apple 3 eggs After blanching and toasting the nuts, I ground them to a coarse meal in an electric food grinder. The fruits were cooked in salted water, then forced through a china cap with a pestle. I mixed the nuts with the pureed fruits and eggs then poured the mixture into a torte pan lined with the p‚te a p‚te recipe from "The Medieval Kitchen". For effect, I made a fretwork of dough strips on the bottom of the pan. I baked the torte at 350 degrees for ten minutes, then scattered 1/4 oz cinnamon mixed with 1/2 oz sugar over the top and continued with the baking until the filling was set. As directed, I inverted the torte onto a plate. BurnÌa de Higos Muy buenos higos pasados tomar·s, bien melados; y allanarlos bien uno a uno; y quitarlos lo duro de los pezones; y tomar una aljafana o plato hondo que sean nuevos y muy limpios, y pon al suelo de la aljafana un lecho de rosas coloradas, quitando el blanco de ellas con unas tijeras, y sobre las rosas un poco de az˙car y despuÈs un lecho de los higos y desta manera haciendo un lecho de las rosas y az˙car, y otro de los higos, enchir la aljafana o plato y hecho esto atapar bien la aljafana, porque estÈ asi quince o veinte dias, y despuÈs comer destos higos; y es muy gentil manjar. Burnia of Figs Take dried figs, very sweet; and flatten them out one by one; and remove the hard part of the stems; and take a washbasin or platter which should be new and very clean, and place on the bottom of the plate a layer of red roses, removing the white part with scissors, and scatter a little sugar over the roses and then a layer of the figs, and fill the plate in this manner, with a layer of roses and sugar and a layer of figs, and once this is done cover the basin very well, for it will sit for fifteen to twenty days, and then eat the figs; and this is a very remarkable dish. This dish is hard to classify, but easy to interpret. It does not fit into the usual categories of confit or preserved fruit, or any other confection. For visual effect, I alternated Black Mission figs with white Greek figs, removing the stems, pressing them flat with a cleaver, and arranging them in layers alternated with rose petals and sugar. After the time recommended in the recipe, the rose petals were dried and nearly odorless, and not very appetizing. This is in keeping with the recipe, which clearly states that the figs, and not the rose petals, are eaten. The white figs took the flavor of the roses better than the black ones. Fruta de Mazapan Tomar almendras blancas muy bien majadas; y como se fueren majando ir echando az˙car; y para una libra de almendras otra libra de az˙car; y majarlo todo junto y como se vaya majando irlo cebando con agua rosada, y sea lo m·s molido que pueda; y despuÈs tomar harina muy cernida, y amasarla con huevos y manteca; y un poco de vino blanco, y hacer unas tortillas; y echar aquella pasta en ellas, y poner una sartÈn con manteca, y despuÈs de bien caliente echar la fruta dentro; y frÌase de su espacio; y despuÈs en el plato Èchenle miel y az˙car y canela. Marzipan Rissoles Take well ground white almonds; and while grinding them add sugar; and for a pound of almonds another pound of sugar; and grind it all together and while grinding sprinkle it with rose water, and it should be as well milled as possible; and then take very well sifted flour, and make a dough with eggs and lard; and a little white wine, and make some little cakes; and put the paste in them, and set a frying pan with lard, and when it is very hot toss in the cakes; and fry them with plenty of space between them and not too quickly; and then add honey and sugar and cinnamon on the plate. De Nola uses the phrase fruta de sartÈn (lit. ìfruit of the frying panî) or simply fruta to indicate rissoles or pancakes, whether sweet or savory. These sweet rissoles bear a certain comparison to the caliscioni found in Martinoís Libro de Arte Coquinaria, although these are fried rather than baked. The recipe is quite simple to follow: one pound of blanched almonds, one pound of sugar, ground together and moistened with rosewater, then wrapped in a dough of lard, flour, eggs and wine and fried. As an experiment, I used an unrefined Mexican sugar called piloncillo to more closely approximate period sugar. This stuff comes in rock-hard cones. I had to break it apart with a hammer, then grind it in a mortar to make it useable. I ground a pound of almonds with an electric grinder, ground an equal measure of sugar by hand, then mixed them together with enough rosewater to make a paste. It was not as fine-textured as modern marzipan, with a much more pronounced flavor of molasses from the sugar. I used the same dough recipe as for the Genovese torte, substituting white wine for the water. I cut out small rounds of dough, then filled the rounds with spoonfuls of marzipan paste and folded them over to make a crescent shape. I fluted the edges with a fork, then fried them in oil until they were golden, then drizzled them with syrup of thinned honey mixed with cinnamon on top. Responses: The judges were quite taken with the complexity of the dishes, and the display. I put the rissoles in a copper bowl lined with a white napkin, and the torte and figs on silver plates, all on a simple white tablecloth. I lost a few points on documentation, because I didn't make a big deal about how hard it was to blanch the hazelnuts and grind the sugar by hand. The torte was greatly appreciated by all, the figs were nibbled, then wolfed even by those who don't like figs, and fights broke out over the marzipan rissoles. I had to set aside a couple at risk of life and limb to give to Her Majesty. (She took one bite and immediately hid them from her retinue.) I got lots of compliments, requests for recipes, and a few ounces of grains of paradise as my prize. I was also informed (not asked, but INFORMED) by several Laurels that I WILL be entering Kingdom A&S this year. I had a blast, in spite of a case of the barking laryngitis. Next time I'll bring more copies of the documentation, more food, and plenty to drink. Maybe I'll try some cold meat dishes, or pasties. Hmmm.... Vicente (giddy with the possibilities) Edited by Mark S. Harris 3-Span-Sweets-art Page 4 of 4