eggplant-msg

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eggplant-msg – 11/22/18

Period eggplant (aubergine) and eggplant recipes.

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Stefan at florilegium.org

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Date: Mon, 1 Dec 1997 13:04:35 +1100 (EST)

From: Charles McCN <charlesn at sunrise.srl.rmit.edu.au>

Subject: Re: SC - Period veges

On Fri, 28 Nov 1997, Kathleen M Everitt wrote:

> Does anyone have a good, tried and true, period recipe for eggplant? I've

> never seen it served at a feast and I think it might be fun to try.

> Julleran

Peel the things, slice about 1/2" thick, boil very briefly. Mix

breadcrumbs, sugar and spices (I can't recall anymore what the original

said -I use what seems good at the time) and crumb the eggplants (do the

egg then crumbs thing) and fry them. Yum. Another good campig recipe, but

definitely a middle-east thing rather than europe.

Charles Ragnar

Date: Mon, 1 Dec 1997 17:57:39 -0500

From: dangilsp at intrepid.net (Dan Gillespie)

Subject: Re: SC - Period veges

Elizabeth also wrote: "Eggplant (aubergine), I know lots of good Islamic recipes for this, but no non-Muslim European ones. Does anyone else?

There are a couple of eggplant recipes in the Arte de Cozina text from 1607

that I'm currently working with. I haven't done any redactions with these

recipes yet, so I can't say how tasty they are. Here's my translation:

"Book III Chapter 19: How to make eggplant

Cook the eggplant in water & salt, & being cooked remove the water, & chop them well, & cast them in a casserole dish to fry with a lot of oil, & cast to them grated cheese & bread, & 6 or 8 maravedis of spices {fairly heavily spiced}, & some garlic, all mashed, & cook everything with this mixture, & thicken it with eggs, setting fire on top. This is called " a nun's casserole of eggplant": also you may give it out cooked in the grease from the pot, & serve it with fat bacon, pepper, or parsley. These eggplants may be stored all year in a syrup of grape juice/ wine, & made in this manner, cooking it in this syrup, & casting some cloves & cinnamon to it while it cooks, & cast it in a glass pot, where it

will be stored."

A note on the spices....the text mentions the principal ones as cinnamon,

ginger, pepper, nutmeg, cloves & saffron. The text also mentions clearly

mint & parsley (these very often), bay leaves, oregano & marojam (these

infrequently) & possibly fresh cilantro. Also, cumin & maybe coriander

seed, both infrequently.

Please let me know if you try any of these recipes, how they turn out.

Take care,

Antoine de Bayonne

Dan Gillespie

dangilsp at intrepid.net

Dan_Gillespie at usgs.gov

Martinsburg, West Virginia, USA

Date: Tue, 16 Dec 1997 21:19:11 -0500

From: dangilsp at intrepid.net (Dan Gillespie)

Subject: SC - eggplant follow-up

A while back someone was asking for European recipes for eggplant.

I posted a translation of a Spanish recipe. It sounded rather nice, so I

finally got around to trying it. Here are the results:

Cap xix Como se han de hazer las berengenas

Han se de cozer las berengenas en agua, y sal, y estando cozidas se le

quitara el agua, y se picara(n) bie(n), y se echara(n) en una caçuela a

freyr co(n) mucha azeyte, y se le echara queso rallado y pan, y seys o ocho

maravedis despecias, y unos ajos, todo majado, y cozeran co(n) todo este

recaudo; y se quajaran con huevos, poniendole lumbre encima. Esta se llama

caçuela mongil de bere(n)genas.

Chap 19 How to make eggplant

Cook the eggplant in water & salt, & being cooked remove the water, & chop

them well, & cast them in a casserole to fry with a lot of oil, & cast to

them grated cheese & bread, & 6 or 8 maravedis of spices, & some garlic, all

mashed, & cook everything with this mixture; & thicken it with eggs, setting

fire on top. This is called "a nun's casserole of eggplant"

Nun's Eggplant Casserole

- -2 medium eggplants, cut into large chunks

- -3 Tbsp olive oil

- -4 cloves garlic, minced

- -1 cup grated Romano cheese

- -1/2 tsp pepper

- -1 tsp ground coriander seed

- -1/2 tsp ginger

- -1/2 tsp oregano

- -1 tsp cumin

- -2 eggs, beaten

- -1 cup of slightly stale bread, torn into pieces

Boil the eggplant in well salted water til tender, about 15 or 20 minutes.

Drain, let cool & chop.

Heat the oil in a large pot & add the eggplant & garlic. Cook til the

eggplant begins to dry out & the garlic is softened. Mix all the spices &

bread pieces together. Stir the eggplant into the bread. Stir the cheese

into the mix & the beaten eggs. Put all this into a greased casserole pan &

bake for 40 minutes at 325 degrees.

This made a tasty dish. There are 2 things that I might do different next

time. Put a bit of extra cheese on top of the dish before baking. Also,

the color was an unappetizing shade of gray. I would remove the eggplant

skins before chopping the pulp & perhaps color the dish with a bit of

saffron (or turmeric if you're short on money). Let me know how this

strikes your taste buds if you do try it.

Holiday calories don't really count, do they?

Antoine

Dan Gillespie

dangilsp at intrepid.net

Dan_Gillespie at usgs.gov

Martinsburg, West Virginia, USA

Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2000 00:36:14 -0800

From: lilinah at earthlink.net

Subject: SC - Badinjan Muhassa

In the "Best Food for War" thread, Lord Cariadoc said:

"Badinjan Muhassa is a yummy period dip."

I asked if this was in the Miscellany on line. I never heard back,

but it could easily have gotten lost in the Trimaris turmoil. So here

it is, from the Miscellany

http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cariadoc/islamic_w_veggies.html#3

If you haven't explored Lord Cariadoc's on-line Miscellany, i highly

recommend it. I've redacted some of the recipes myself. It's so nice

to have the original, and to see how an experienced cook does it, but

i'm pig-headed (odd for a Muslim persona) and redact them my way.

I have a question for Lord Cariadoc: I've had some experience with

purchased eggplant dips fermenting. Does this keep well? I do bring a

cooler to events, but i know you usually don't. Or do you cook it on

the spot and have it eaten almost immediately so you've no experience

of how long it keeps?

Anahita al-shazhiyya

- -----

Badinjan Muhassa

Ibn al-Mahdi's cookbook in 10th c. collection, Charles Perry tr.

Cook eggplants until soft by baking, boiling or grilling over the

fire, leaving them whole. When they are cool, remove the loose skin,

drain the bitter liquor and chop the flesh fine. It should be coarser

than a true purÈe. Grind walnuts fine and make into a dough with

vinegar and salt. Form into a patty and fry on both sides until the

taste of raw walnut is gone; the vinegar is to delay scorching of the

nuts. Mix the cooked walnuts into the chopped eggplant and season to

taste with vinegar and ground caraway seed, salt and pepper. Serve

with a topping of chopped raw or fried onion.

3/4 lb eggplant

1 c walnuts

2 T vinegar (for nut dough)

1/2 t salt (for nut dough)

1/8 t each pepper and salt

1 t caraway seed

1 1/2 T vinegar (at the end)

1/4 c chopped raw onion

Simmer the eggplant 20 to 30 minutes in salted water (1/2 t salt in a

pint of water). Let it cool. Peel it. Slice it and let the slices sit

on a colander or a cloth for an hour or so, to let out the bitter

juice.

Grind the walnuts, add vinegar and salt to make a dough. Make patties

about 1/2" thick and put them on a frying pan at medium to medium

high heat, without oil. In about half a minute, when the bottom side

has browned a little, turn the patty over and use your pancake turner

to squash it down to about 1/4" (the cooked side is less likely to

stick to your implement than the uncooked side). Continue cooking,

turning whenever the patty seems about to scorch. When you are done,

the surface of the patty will be crisp, brown to black-and since it

is thin, the patty is mostly surface. If the patties start giving up

lots of walnut oil (it is obvious-they will quickly be swimming in

the stuff) the pan is too hot; throw them out, turn down the heat and

make some more.

Chop up the eggplant, mix in the nut patties (they will break up in

the process), add pepper, salt, caraway (ground in a spice grinder or

mortar and pestle), and vinegar. Top with onion. Eat by itself or on

bread.

Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2000 11:03:17 -0600

From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com>

Subject: Re: SC - Badinjan Muhassa

At 12:36 AM -0800 2/27/00, lilinah at earthlink.net wrote:

>I have a question for Lord Cariadoc: I've had some experience with

>purchased eggplant dips fermenting. Does this keep well? I do bring

>a cooler to events, but i know you usually don't. Or do you cook it

>on the spot and have it eaten almost immediately so you've no

>experience of how long it keeps?

I've never cooked it an event, just made it at home and brought it.

My impression is that it keeps pretty well, but it generally gets

eaten, so I don't have any long term experiments.

David Friedman

From: Stavropoulos, Basil <BStavropoulos at munichre.com>

To: 'BYZANS-L at lists.missouri.edu' <BYZANS-L at lists.missouri.edu>

Date: Wednesday, March 01, 2000 7:00 PM

Subject: RE: Eggplant

><<By the way you have not lived if you have not eaten papoutsakia -

> eggplant stuffed and covered with bechamel sauce. >>

>Melitzanosalata - roast an eggplant in the Weber until it is totally black.

>Let cool. Peel. Process flesh with as much garlic as you can take, some

>wine vinegar, and dribble in extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil until it is

>a glutinous mass. Break a loaf of fresh bread into pieces and try and stop

>eating before you are bloated.

Date: Fri, 05 May 2000 14:47:08 EDT

From: allilyn at juno.com

Subject: Re: SC - an interesting challenge...and its even about medieval food! :)

Eggplant

This appeared in Tournaments Illuminated, no. 89, Winter A.S. XXIII, p. 27.

by Nige of the Cleftlands, with assistance from Mathilde Meyer.

Original: BERENGENAS EN CACUELA [the second c has a cedilla above it,

but can't do it on juno]

Tomar berengenas y mondarlas dela corteza muy bie y cortarlas en tres o

quartro pedacos cada una: y cozer las en buen caldo de carnero co nv par

de cebollas...(Spanish)

68. De alberginies en cassola

Albergines pendras e neteja-les de la escorca e talla-les en tres o

quatre tocos cascuna. E metles a coure ab bon brou de molto ab un parell

de cebes...

Our Translation:

Take eggplants and peel them well and cut them in 3 or 4 pieces each, and

cook them in good mutton broth with a pair of onion, and cook them until

they are well cooked; and being cooked, take them from the pan; and chop

them on a cutting board till they are very small; and then add good

grated Aragon cheese and some egg yolks. And mince it all like the

stuffing for a kid, and add salsa fina, putting all of these spices into

the casserole, well mixed: ginger, mace, nutmeg, green coriander; and

parsley; then take the casserole to the oven. and when it is cooked,

sprinkle it with sugar and cinnamon.

Salsa fina is a bit of a mystery, but as the spices listed immediately

afterwards are also referred to as salsa, they may be what is actually

intended. ....snip

Sources

Libre del coch. Mestre Robert, Barcelona, 1977

Libro de guisados manjares y potages intitulado Libro de Cozina, Facsimil

de la edicion de Logrone, 1529. Rupert de Nola, Madrid: Ediciones

Guillermo Blasquez.

_______________________________________________

Test version prepared for Known World Heraldry Road Show.

What I did:

Sliced eggplant in half, longways. Scooped out most of pulp, leaving a

little 'wall' with the skin. Chopped the pulp, adding chopped onions,

and some minced cilantro and curley parsley. Made lamb broth with a leg

of lamb bone saved for soup. [ We will have to buy lamb or mutton to do

this] Added veggies to simmering lamb broth, cooked them. Added grated

Muenster cheese as I was supposed to be preparing this in Germany. Added

an egg or a yolk. Added some of my powder douce, with home ground spices

from the Pepperar's Guild: nutmeg, mace, ginger, cinnamon, sugar. [We

can make it without the cinnamon for the event]. Spooned the mix back

into the shells and baked in convection oven, 300*, until done. [I

forget]. Baking it in the shells gave it a sort of smoky taste, which we

liked.

APdeT

______________________________________

Rheinfrankisches Kochbuch, 1445

65. Nimm Feigen, Rosinen und Honig, hacke alles zusammen klein und

mische es dabei untereinander, gib auch Gew¸rz und andere gute Zutaten

hinzu. F¸lle es in (ausgehˆhlte) ƒpfel und hefte diese jeweils mit einem

hˆlzernen Spie?chen wieder zusammen. Backe die gef¸llten ƒpfel in einem

Topf mit Weinin der F¸llung (oder: in einem Teigmantel, der mit

Weinhergestellt wurde). Dann wird es sehr wohlschmeckend.

Take figs, raisins and honey, chop them small, all together, give also

spices and other good ingredients [I used walnuts at Celtic Spring II].

Use as stuffing for cored apples, bake in wine/honey sauce. Plump the

figs if using dried figs. Note: if using an apple corer/peeler/slicer,

you have the look of whole apples, but people can take just a little if

preferred.

Allison, allilyn at juno.com

Date: Sat, 13 May 2000 02:20:52 EDT

From: allilyn at juno.com

Subject: SC - eggplant

A forward of a post on eggplant, with a friend in the Near East, married

to an Indian.

Regards,

Allison, allilyn at juno.com

- --------- Begin forwarded message ----------

From: "Sherry C. Atri" <sherrycatri at yahoo.com>

To: allilyn at juno.com

Subject: Re: Cookbook

Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 01:31:21 -0700 (PDT)

I would guess that the period one is the plant sold as

Easter Egg plant. When you see it growing you

understand why they called it eggplant. It really

does look like you are growing eggs. They are white

or golden in color when ripe and fuller of seeds than

the modern variety. I don't know when the purple

variety came into hybridization, but I think it might

be a little out of period.

Anyway, ever since I learned that eggplant has no

nutritional value whatsoever I have held myself

excused from having to eat it, except of course in

Baba Ganouge, which is really delicious here. They

make two kinds, one the salty/smoky variety I am

familiar with from Ali Baba's, etc., and the other

with a sweet/sour tamarind sauce.

Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 08:41:01 -0700

From: "E. Rain" <raghead at liripipe.com>

Subject: RE: SC - Eggplant 'confusion'

Well a glance through all the recipe titles from the medieval manuscripts in

L'Arte della cucina in Italia* shows no eggplant recipes, though it *may* be

an ingredient in some dishes I haven't fully translated yet)

similarly I do not find them in the 1598 english translation of the

Epulario, the small portion of titles I've translated from Scappi so far, or

Scully's 15th c. neapolitan colletion, but they are present in the 14th c.

Cerruti tacuinum sanitatis (I assume they appear in other tacuinums as well,

but didn't bother checking) They are also mentioned by Castelvetro 1614.

leaving Italy for Spain, they are present in both Sent Sovi 14th c. & Libre

del coch 15th c.

That's enough for one morning :->

*Anonimo Toscano 14th c., Anonimo Meridionale early 15th c., anonimo

Veneziano 14th c., Trecentesco Della Corte Angioina 14th c.

Eden Rain

Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 11:12:18 -0500

From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>

Subject: RE: SC - Eggplant 'confusion'

Eggplant (Solanum melongena) is native to SE Asia. The most common variant

is the purple one, var. esculenta, but it also comes in white and striped

varieties. It is commonly believed the Arabs found it in India after the

invasion of 712 and imported it to North Africa, Spain and Sicily.

The plant may have come to India after Nearchus' invasion (approx. 325 BCE)

or been overlooked by the Macedonian general. The plant was unknown to the

Romans.

Bear

Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2000 00:04:34 +0200

From: TG <gloning at Mailer.Uni-Marburg.DE>

Subject: Re: SC - Eggplant 'confusion'

<< similarly I do not find them in [...] Scully's 15th c. neapolitan

colletion >>

It is mentioned in recipe #33. The word "Marignani" seems to be one of

the many regional variants; see Scully's glossary. And in case you have

a good library around: There is also a short passage about ital.

_melanzana_ and variants in an article by Gustav Ineichen in the

"Festschrift Walther von Wartburg zum 80. Geburtstag", T¸bingen 1968,

425-428. Ineichen quotes an article, I did not see yet. But the title

looks promising: C.E. Dubler: Temas geogr·fico-ling¸istÌcos I: Sobre la

berenjena. In: Al-Andalus VII (1942) 367-389. [Sobre la berenjena =

About the eggplant]

Scappi 1570 has a recipe for "minestra di melanzane in diuersi modi con

brodo di carne" (Cap. II 224, p. 83a); he says that eggplant can be

prepared in some ways like the "zucche". Then, on fol. 151b and 363a

there are several recipes with "molignane". If I am not mistaken, this

is yet another word form for eggplants. (The parallel recipe to the

Neapolitan recipe collection #33 in the Riva del Garda Manuscript of

Maestro Martino begins: "103. Per fare cocere li mollegnani ...";

Benporat p. 190).

Thomas

Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2000 10:25:36 -0700

From: "E. Rain" <raghead at liripipe.com>

Subject: SC - RE: sca-cooks V1 #2510

Thomas writes re my notes on eggplants:

> << similarly I do not find them in [...] Scully's 15th c. neapolitan

> colletion >>

> It is mentioned in recipe #33. The word "Marignani" seems to be one of

> the many regional variants; see Scully's glossary.

yes indeed I missed this since it's not a variation of the word I was

familiar with.

Scully says in his notes "This vegetable seems to be unknown in early

European cookery outside of the italian and iberian peninsulas. among

Italian recipe collections only ours recognizes it."

seems a pretty clear sign that they only reason they knew of it in naples is

because of the spanish influence.

> Scappi 1570 has a recipe for "minestra di melanzane in

> diuersi modi con

> brodo di carne" (Cap. II 224, p. 83a); he says that eggplant can be

> prepared in some ways like the "zucche". Then, on fol. 151b and 363a

> there are several recipes with "molignane". If I am not mistaken, this

> is yet another word form for eggplants.

it may also be molegnare - a kind of plum (per Florio)Perhaps the word you

are thinking of is melongeua which florio cites as the latin for eggplant?

Unfortunately my scappi uses a different numbering system as far as i can

tell (Harvard, Kress Library edition) so I can't go look for myself if you

can give me the original scappi numbering ie "Libro Due, capitolo XIV" maybe

I can track them down & see what words my version uses :->

(The parallel recipe to the

> Neapolitan recipe collection #33 in the Riva del Garda Manuscript of

> Maestro Martino begins: "103. Per fare cocere li mollegnani ...";

> Benporat p. 190).

Working with the Library of congress edition (as well as the english

Epulario) I find no paralell to this recipe, although I've already come

across another recipe that is in the Riva del Garda, but neither of mine, so

I'm becomeing very interested in that edition :-> However per the scully

quote above, and the plum possibility, I would question whether this is in

fact an eggplant dish.

Eden Rain

Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2000 22:39:58 +0200

From: TG <gloning at Mailer.Uni-Marburg.DE>

Subject: SC - eggplant (RE: sca-cooks V1 #2510)

Eden said:

<< Scully says in his notes "This vegetable seems to be unknown in early

European cookery outside of the italian and iberian peninsulas. among

Italian recipe collections only ours recognizes it." seems a pretty

clear sign that they only reason they knew of it in naples is because of

the spanish influence. >>

Very true! The catalan influence is all pervasive in this recipe

collection. BTW, Grewe, in his footnote 2 to the first eggplant recipe

of the Libre de Sent SovÌ (#149), already mentioned the eggplant recipe

in the "Manuscrit Napolit‡" as a rare phenomenon.

Re the Scappi recipes:

<< it may also be molegnare - a kind of plum (per Florio)Perhaps the

word you are thinking of is melongeua which florio cites as the latin

for eggplant? Unfortunately my scappi uses a different numbering system

... >>

First, the Scappi recipes are at:

- -- II 224 (Libro secondo, Cap. CCXXIIII.): _melanzane_

- -- III 229-232 (Terzo libro, Cap. CCXXIX. etc.): _Molignane_

- -- V 109 (Quinto libro, Cap. CIX.): torta di molignane

there may be more...

What evidence is there, that _molignane_ refer to eggplants?

- -- The fact, that the term is used to refer to eggplants still today by

some speakers. Thanks Adamantius for this valuable information.

- -- Searching for "molignane" at www.altavista.com will take you to two

webpages about the history of pasta (one of them by an Italian author),

who mention "molignane [eggplants]".

- -- The fact, that there is a parallel recipe to the Cuoco Napoletano

eggplant recipe in the Riva del Garda manuscript, where the main

ingredients are called "mollegnani" instead of "Marignani".

- -- Bertoluzza, in his book about the Riva del Garda manuscript

understands "mollegnani" in the sense of 'melanzane', eggplants, too (p.

245). His reasons, however (page 105), are not very specific: "In alcuni

testi antichi ritroviamo la definizione delle mellanzane riferita ai

_mollegnani_"; I should like to know which are these "alcuni testi

antichi".

> Working with the Library of congress edition (as well as the english

> Epulario) I find no paralell to this recipe, although I've already come

> across another recipe that is in the Riva del Garda, but neither of mine, so

> I'm becomeing very interested in that edition :->

Yes, there are differences between the versions of the -- broadly

speaking -- Martino family. The Riva del Garda manuscript was edited

twice: first, by Aldo Bertoluzza in a somewhat strange edition with not

very legible facsimile reproductions from the single recipes of the

manuscript together with a more or less modern paraphrase of the text

(Scully, Cuoco N. p. 11 note 27: "... accompanied by a very sketchy and

occasionally untrustworthy translation into modern Italian").

The second edition is that of Claudio Benporat in his 'Cucina Italiana

del Quattrocento', page 157-231 (Scully: "with some evidence of haste

and misreadings, it should be observed").

Here is the text of Riva del Garda #103:

"103. Per fare cocere li mollegnani che non siano troppo forti ne troppo

malfatti tagliali in quarti e mondali suttille como uno pero poy metteli

al focho con uno pocho daqua e falli dare uno buglio Et che sia del sale

et quando bugli mettelli drento li mollegnani et lassalli buglire per

spatio de 2 pater noster da poy cavali fora e fali sugare poy infarinali

e frigelli como li pessi et como sono fritte scolla via loleo lassandone

un pocho in la padella con li mollegnani dapoy piglia una spigha daglio

et pistalla con uno quarto de mollegnani poy habi un pocho de regon che

se mette sopra le allisse pistato con aglio con uno pocho di pane

zafrano pipero e sale distemprando queste cosse con agresto e se lo

agresto he troppo forte mette uno diaqua poy gitta ogni cossa insema in

la padella a cocere con li molegnani uno pochetino poy mictelli in uno

pyattello e mandali ala tavolla." (Benporat p. 190f.).

Compare this recipe to Cuoco Napoletano #33. What do you think?

Thomas

Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2000 20:29:26 -0500

From: Diana L Skaggs <upsxdls_osu at ionet.net>

Subject: Re: SC - Eggplant recipe-OOP

>Adamantius, who never liked eggplant anyway, but who will cook it for others

Master Adamantius, from a humble cooking acolyte. I didn't like eggplant

until I learned to lessen the "sharp" flavor by soaking in saltwater prior

to cooking (sprinkling with salt and allowing to stand, then rinsing works,

too). I made a casserole by simmering prepared eggplant until it was fork

tender, drained well and covered with (gasp) commercial spaghetti sauce.

Placed in casserole dish and covered with shredded mozzarella. Baked at

350 degrees until heated through and the cheese was beginning to brown.

Took it to a family gathering. Didn't tell anyone what it was until there

was nothing left but the smell. Everyone was suprised and pleased.

"Diana's Eggplant Casserole" was requested frequently afterward...

Leanna

Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2000 17:21:11 -0700 (PDT)

From: Terri Spencer <taracook at yahoo.com>

Subject: SC - Eggplant Neopolitan

As requested, here's the eggplant recipe, from The Neapolitan Recipe

Collection, Terence Scully, University of Michigan Press, 2000.

Primary Source: Cuoco Napoletano, MS Buhler 19, Pierpont Morgan

Library in NYC, believed to be written at or about the Aragonese court

at Naples in the 2nd half of the 15th century.

33. Marignani

Piglia li marignani he falli bene netare he bene mondare sutilmente;

poi pone a focho uno pocho de aqua he falli dare uno bullore; che sianotagliati in quarti he pone in quella aqua uno pocho de sale, he non lilassare bullire piu che doi Pater Noster; poi cavali fora sopra unotagliero he falli sugare; poi infarinali he frigeli; et como li haraifriti, scola fora quasi tuto lo olio; poi piglia una spica de aglio hepistala bene cum uno quarto de quisti marignani; he poi habi uno pocode rigano de quello se mette sopra le alice, he pistalo cum lo agliocum uno pocho de pane, pipero, saffrano he sale; poi distempera tutequeste cose insieme cum agresto he cum uno pocho de aceto; poi gettaogni cosa insiema in la padella a frigere un pochetto; poi meteli inpiatti he manda a tavola cum specie fine.

33. Eggplants

Get eggplants and wash and peel them well, then set a little water on

the fire and bring them to a boil; cut them into quarters and add a

little salt to the water; do not let them boil more than two Our

Father's; then take them out onto a cutting board and let them drain;

coat them in flour and fry them; when they have fried, drain off almost

all of the oil; get a clove of garlic, grind it up with a quarter-piece

of the eggplants; then get a little oregano, of the sort that is put onanchovies, grind it up with the garlic and a little bread, pepper,

saffron and salt; then distemper all of this together with verjuice and

a little vinegar and throw everything together into the pan to fry a

little; then dish it out and serve it with mild spices.

Tara's Pennsic version:

3 large eggplants

Graham flour (stone-ground whole wheat flour)

Olive oil

3 cloves garlic

3 pinches oregano

3 pinches breadcrumbs

1 pinch pepper

1 pinch saffron salt

1 cup verjuice

3 splashes wine vinegar

1 pinch ground cinnamon

1 pinch ground ginger

Heat water, add salt.

Wash and peel eggplants, cut in half lengthwise. Boil for 4 Lord's Prayers. They float, use something to hold them

under water. Drain. Slice into 8 per eggplant half. Coat each piece in flour and fry in

olive oil. Drain. Reserve a little oil. Grind garlic, oregano,

breadcrumbs, pepper, saffron, salt together, grind in one piece of

eggplant and stir into oil. Add verjuice and vinegar, stir and simmer.

Arrange eggplant on a tray, pour sauce over them, sprinkle cinnamon and

ginger over all and serve. Yield - about 45 pieces.

Notes: I redacted this as I made it in camp, without fancy kitchen

gadgets like measuring spoons, so pinches and splashes are the measures- - and mine tend to be generous. Large eggplant was on sale so that's

what I used. Cooking had to fit between classes and choir practice, so

I boiled the eggplants in the morning and held them in a cooler. I

didn't want to slice them up that early, so I boiled the large pieces

twice as long. Either way takes the bitterness away. Because the

eggplants were huge and I wanted finger food, I sliced them smaller

than directed. To hold the dish until serving time, and for

presentation, I chose to keep the sauce simmering and serve it over the

eggplant instead of frying them together. I used cinnamon and ginger

as "mild spices" because that's what we had in camp.

Tara

Meridian for Temair, y'all

Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2000 12:51:03 -0600

From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>

Subject: RE: SC - Eggplant was Re: SC- Poisonous Tomatoes

> _Which_ European cultures? I don't find references to medeival consumption

> of eggplant in England or Poland, but perhaps I'm missing something?

> Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, mka Jennifer Heise

Mostly southern Europe where there was contact with the Islam. Solanum

melongena is native to SE Asia and has been cultivated in India for several

millenia. The Arabs were apparently introduced to eggplant during the 8th

Century after their invasion of northern India in 712 CE. They then

proceeded to spread the plant around the Mediterannean. Since eggplant is

of tropical origin, northern Europe may not have had much to do with it as a

cultivar.

Bear

Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2000 20:24:45 -0500 (EST)

From: Jenne Heise <jenne at mail.browser.net>

Subject: Re: SC - Eggplant

> Have you tried looking under the term 'aubergine'? That is the name eggplant

> usually goes by in the King's English. It is derived from a similar French

> term so looking under a form of that word in French sources may be fruitful.

Possibly. I'll check Parkinson. However, the OED doesn't hold out much

hope, since the first reference they give is 1794. The derivation is:

"[Fr., dim. of auberge, variant of alberge ëa kind of peachí

(LittrÈ), ad. Sp. alberchigo, alverchiga, ëan apricockeí (Minsheu

1623).] "

- --

Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, mka Jennifer Heise jenne at tulgey.browser.net

Date: Mon, 16 Jul 2001 17:03:46 -0400

From: Elaine Koogler <ekoogler at chesapeake.net>

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re-send of Bright Hills recipes

OK, guys, sorry for the blunder. I will go ahead and include the

recipes in this message:

How to Make Boiled Eggplant. You take 20 eggplants, two and a half

ounces of garlic, five dirhams of caraway, two ounces of good oil, one stick Ceylon cinnamon, two dirhams [sc. of salt], two dirhams pounded pepper, nine ounces of good Egyptian vinegar. You cut off the long stems of eggplants to the calyxes, then you quarter each of them lengthwise half way.

Then you moisten them in water and salt for a while. Then you take them

out and put them in a small pot and pour sweet water to cover on them, and you boil them such that they do not cook to rags but remain whole. Then you take them down and strain the water form them and let them cool. Then you sprinkle salt on them until they take sharpness. Then you pound the garlic with salt and put it on the fire. You put the two and a half ounces of oil on it, and the

garlic fries in that oil until it is fragrant and not burned. Then you put it on the vinegar and leave it until it boils. Then you throw caraway, mint, pepper and Ceylon cinnamon on it while you fry it, until it all smells good. Then you take it down and pour it on those eggplants. Kitab Wasf

al-At=92ima al-Mu=92tada (The Description of Familiar Foods) trans. Charles

Perry.

Redaction:

1 Oriental Eggplant, halved crosswise, then quartered lengthwise

1 scant Tbsp. Garlic, minced finely

1 Tbsp. Olive oil

1/8 tsp salt

4 1/2 Tbsp. White wine vinegar

1/4 tsp. caraway seeds

1/8 tsp. pepper

1/8 tsp. Ceylon cinnamon, ground.

1/8 tsp. mint (use 1/4 tsp if you use fresh)

Soak eggplant in salted water (a pinch salt to enough water to cover) for about 10 minutes. Drain eggplant and boil in clear water to cover until they are tender. Drain and allow to cool. Put garlic and salt in a saucepan or small frying pan with olive oil and fry the garlic until it is fragrant. Add vinegar and bring to a boil. Add the remaining seasonings and cook for a few minutes until the seasonings are well blended. Pour sauce over eggplant and serve.

Recipe of Marwaziyya [marwazi, of the Central Asian city of Merv].

A pound and a half of meat, four ounces of prunes, half a pound of onions, a nisf and a rub [three quarters, sc. of a dirham] of saffron, two and a half ounces of raisins, four ounces of good wine vinegar, an ounce of jujubes, half a bunch of green mint and atraf al-tib. Then fry the meat with the spices, and when the meat smells good, put in the measure of a bowl of water, the measure of a pound and a half. When the water boils, wash the onions after cutting them up. Wash them in salted water and [then in plain] water water. Then put them on that meat and leave them until the onions boil and are halfway fragrant. Let the prunes be soaked in water. Put them in the pot, and the raisins and jujubes after them. Then let it rest until the prunes and raisins are fragrant. If you wish, put three ounces of sugar on it after that. And when it boils, put vinegar on it. And when it boils much, throw in the mint and atraf al-tib and let it settle.

Kitab Wasf al-At=92ima al-Mu=92tada (The Description of Familiar Foods) trans. Charles Perry.

Redaction

1 1/2 lbs. Lamb

3 cups water

4 oz. Prunes

1/2 lb. Onion (2 medium)

2 =BC grams saffron

2 =BD oz. Raisins

4 oz. Red wine vinegar

1 oz. Jujubes

2 tsp. mint

3 tsp. mixture of pepper, mace, cinnamon,

cloves, nutmeg and cardamom

3 oz. sugar

Soak jujubes in water. Fry the meat with 1 1/2 tsp. spice mixture.

When browned, add water to cover and bring to a boil. Chop onions into a large dice. Soak prunes in water. Add onions to meat/water mixture. When onions are halfway tender, add prunes(cut in half), raisins and jujubes(cut in half and seeded) and bring to a slow boil. Add dissolved saffron, vinegar If

desired, add 3 oz. sugar. Bring to a full boil and add mint and spice

mixture. Simmer until tender. I served this over couscous, the documentation for which is:

Kiri

Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 12:54:42 -0400

From: Elaine Koogler <ekoogler at chesapeake.net>

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re-send of Bright Hills recipes

LrdRas at aol.com wrote:

> ekoogler at chesapeake.net writes:

> << 1 Oriental Eggplant, halved crosswise, then quartered lengthwise >>

> Was there a reason for the substitute of oriental eggplant for regular

> eggplant in this recipe or, was it merely a matter of expediency? So far as I

> know the regular black eggplants or the small egg shaped white ones are a

> close equivalent to those available in the middle ages in the Mideast.

> Ras

No, it was mainly that I thought that the smaller eggplants would be more

appropriate than the larger, purple ones that are available to me here in Prince

Frederick. In fact, for the Trial by Fire, I actually found some baby eggplants

at the Fresh Fields store in Annapolis that I used for the dish. I worry that

the very large ones that I can get locally would be too tough, etc. and certainly wouldn't give the smaller chunks I envisioned for the dish if one follows the cutting directions in the recipe.

Kiri

From: lilinah at earthlink.net

Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2001 21:27:23 -0800

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Pt. 1 - Medieval Persian Iron Chef

Here are three out of nine, for the "bawarid", the cold dishes:

Zaitun Mubakhkhar - Smoked Olives

Sals Abyad - White Sauce

Badhinjan Buran - Princess Buran's Eggplant

Anahita

---------------------

Zaitun Mubakhkhar - Perfumed Olives

Sals Abyad - White Sauce (Spiced Walnut-Sesame Butter)

Badhinjan Buran - Princess Buran's Eggplant

Eggplant pureed with yogurt and spices

This is a dish of legend. And I may have created one of my own, as

people came up to me after the feast and confessed that they hated

eggplant and had eaten three servings of it.

As for the history of the dish, Charles Perry has an entire essay

devoted to it in "Medieval Arab Cookery". I'm sure that my

interpretation was also colored by all the multitude of other Buran

and Buraniyya recipes i read.

Original

Take eggplant and boil lightly in water and salt, then take out and

dry for an hour. Fry this in fresh sesame oil until cooked: peel, put

into a dish or large cup, and beat well with a ladle, until it

becomes like khabis [pudding]. Add a little salt and dry coriander.

Take some Persian milk, mix in garlic, pour over the eggplant, and

mix together well. Take red meat, mince fine, make into small kabobs,

add melting fresh tail, throw the meat into it stirring until

browned. Then cover with water, and stew until the water has

evaporated and only the oils remain. Pour on top of this eggplant,

sprinkle with fine-ground cumin and cinnamon, and serve.

(from "A Baghdad Cookery Book", trans. A.J. Arberry, notes by Charles

Perry, p. 59-60, "Medieval Arab Cookery")

(Medieval Arab Cookery)

12 pounds eggplant

-- I used the large ones because they were cheaper, but I suspect

that smaller Asian eggplants would be better

1 pint light sesame oil (or olive oil)

2 quarts whole milk yogurt with NO additives or thickeners

-- I used Pavel's Russian Yogurt - there's nothing in it but milk and

yogurt culture - no gums, no gelatin, no thickeners, etc. - i don't

know if it's available far outside the San Francisco Bay area - use

the best you can find

1/4 cup salt

1 Tablespoon pepper

2 to 3 Tablespoons ground cinnamon

1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons ground coriander seed

1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons ground cumin seed

A few sprigs Fresh mint

1 fresh pomegranate

1 pint whole milk yogurt

1. If using large eggplants, remove stem end and quarter. Small

eggplants, leave whole.

2. Boil briefly, until just barely tender. I did this in multiple

stages as all the eggplant wouldn't fit into one pot.

3. Put eggplant in a sieve or colander over a bowl or in a clean sink

and let drain. Again I did this in stages. Since modern eggplants

have been bred to be less bitter than Medieval eggplants, I didn't

drain the pieces for a whole hour. After batches had drained for 15

minutes or so, I removed them to a large bowl.

4. Put enough sesame oil in a large frying pan to cover the bottom,

then heat on a medium-high fire.

5. When oil is hot, add some of drained eggplants - one layer of

eggplant only. Cook until tender, then remove - I drained them in a

colander as I removed them from the pan.

6. When all have been cooked and allowed to cool, puree them. I used

a food processor but a blender would work. And a potato masher or

ricer should work too.

7. When all the eggplants were pureed and in a big container, I added

two quarts of Pavel's yogurt. I honestly believe the quality of the

yogurt affected the taste of the finished dish. But use the best

plain yogurt you can find.

8. After mixing yogurt and eggplant, add spices. Allow to sit

overnight in a cool place for flavor to develop.

9. Peel pomegranate and remove white pith. Separate seeds into a bowl.

10. Dish eggplant into serving bowls, decorate the edge with fresh

mint leaves or sprigs, place a dollop of yogurt in the center of each

dish and top with pomegranate seeds.

From: "Vincent Cuenca" <bootkiller at hotmail.com>

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2002 20:03:32 +0000

Subject: [Sca-cooks] What's going on here?

As part of the initial planning for this feast, I was monkeying around with

a recipe from Cariadoc's Miscellany this weekend, and I'm not quite sure

what happened. The recipe is as follows:

Recipe of Eggplant Pancakes

al-Andalusi p. C-5

Get sweet eggplant and boil it with water and salt until it becomes well

cooked and is dissolved or falling apart. You should drain the water, crush

and stir it on a dish with crumbs of grated bread, eggs beaten with oil,

dried coriander and cinnamon; beat it until all becomes equal. Afterwards

fry cakes made with this batter in a frying pan with oil until they are

gilded. Make a sauce of vinegar, oil, almori, and mashed garlic; give all

this a shaking and pour it over the top.

Sounds tasty, don't it? Here's the redaction from Cariadoc's site:

1 large eggplant (1 lb 3 oz)

~2 qts water

~2 t salt

1/2 c bread crumbs

2-3 eggs

1 T oil

1 1/4 t coriander

1 1/2 t cinnamon

2 T vinegar

2 T oil

2 t murri

2 large clove garlic

about 6 T oil for frying

Peel and quarter eggplant, boil 30 minutes. Drain, mash and mix with bread

crumbs, eggs, oil, coriander and cinnamon. Crush garlic in a garlic press

and mix up sauce. Fry in oil at medium high, about 1-2 minutes a side. Pour

sauce over pancakes before serving.

Instead of boiling the eggplants, I salted them, let them sit for a while,

then rinsed them and nuked them. I used 2 large eggs, subbed cheap soy

sauce for the murri, but otherwise followed the instructions.

The pancakes wouldn't hold together. Even on a nonstick pan, they acted

more like a souffle. I couldn't turn them or even scrape them up without

their falling apart. I ended up scrambling them. They were light, fluffy

and delicious, but not pancakes.

Should I have used more eggs? Added more breadcrumbs to stiffen the

mixture? Whatcha think? They're really good, and I'd like to be able to

serve them at the feast.

Vicente

Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2002 23:25:18 -0400

From: kattratt <kattratt at charter.net>

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] What's going on here?

> The pancakes wouldn't hold together. Even on a nonstick pan, they acted

> more like a souffle. I couldn't turn them or even scrape them up without

> their falling apart. I ended up scrambling them. They were light,

> fluffy and delicious, but not pancakes.

> Vicente

I haven't done this recipe but I have done very similar with zucchinis.(Sp?)

So My suggestion on it is more oil, so you get sort of a deep frying

type cooking thing going this would cook the sides as well as the bottom,

or As you suspected using more Bread crumbs and eggs,

This will yield a thicker batter. If you use to many bread crumbs though

you will end up with cakes or patties... (ever had Salmon Patties?)

It sounds to me that you might be thinking more battery....like a

pancake... I would think it would be more like a fritter.

I think of a pancake as more of a "Fine flour" batter type thing rather

than a Bread Crumb type thing.

Re-reading this recipe I notice that there is NO Milk or anything to

make it like a batter...

So I would add more bread crumbs and egg, just to thicken this to a

patty like texture.

Then flatten it and either deep fry it (Maybe sort of like flattened

hush puppies?) or pan fry it...(Like salmon patties)

Nichola

Date: Fri, 18 Oct 2002 15:25:50 +1000

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

From: Mark Calderwood <mark-c at acay.com.au>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] What's going on here?

>Recipe of Eggplant Pancakes

>al-Andalusi p. C-5

>Instead of boiling the eggplants, I salted them, let them sit for a while,

>then rinsed them and nuked them. I used 2 large eggs, subbed cheap soy

>sauce for the murri, but otherwise followed the instructions.

I had a crack at this recipe for al-Mansuqah. I boiled the eggplant, then

shredded the flesh with a fork before mixing with the other ingredients.

(I've never needed to salt eggplant to remove the bitterness...maybe we

just have sweeter eggplants here.) I found with the water absorbed by the

eggplant the mixture was reasonably pliable, so that's probably the

important step. I also used a smaller eggplant and an extra egg, so that

probably helped bind it better. I ended up with a thickish glop that I

could mould into patties- more like Asian fish cakes than what we usually

think of as pancakes. I also used very little oil with the eggs, basically

I just showed it the bottle.

I thought the sauce was bloody awful, the redaction makes a very harsh and

acrid sauce that obscured the taste of the cakes, and is nothing at all

like middle eastern sauces. I monkeyed around with it and ended up using

roast garlic for a more mellow flavour, halved the quantities of oil and

vinegar and used a lighter mellow vinegar. I cut the murri by more than

three quarters which was enough to give it a slight tang but not overwhelm

the delicate tastes of the dish. Much better.

Just for kicks I added fresh chopped coriander and shaved parmesan cheese

to the second half of the eggplant mixture- wow!

They do taste great fresh and hot, but less great cold, and freezing/

nuking makes them ok but not brilliant imo. I didn't go with them because

of the potential problems of preparing them fresh in quantity, you might

want to bear that in mind for over 200 (unless you have a willing knave to

fry them all afternoon and keep them in a warming oven...)

Giles

From: Marilyn Traber <marilyn.traber.jsfm at statefarm.com>

To: "'sca-cooks at ansteorra.org'" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2002 07:55:53 -0500

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Eggplant pancakes

Well, for starters, overbeating the eggs will fluff them. You don't need to

go to town on the poor things, just make sure the yolks are broken and

mostly slushed around. Last time I made these, I went with 2 eggs, and

really pressed the heck out of the eggplant to make it as dry as possible. I

mixed everything but the eggs in, and then cracked 2 eggs in and folded

stuff together and made the command decision that I wanted the consistancy

less of a batter and more of a 'louisiana rice cake' or vague latke. More

solid than real liquid.

margali

Date: Sun, 18 May 2003 22:18:18 -0400

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

From: "Phil Troy/ G. Tacitus Adamantius" <adamantius.magister at verizon.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] The Priest Fainted

Also sprach tracey sawyer:

> I'm trying to find documentation for a "traditional" middle eastern

> eggplant (aubergine) recipe. The name translates as "the priest

> fainted" the arabic name starts with Imam- but I can't remember the

> rest.

> It is supposed to be a really tasty aubergine and garlic pate style

> dish, usually served in the shell. The cook book says traditional

> but doesn't say whether it is 12th century tradition or 19th century

> tradition...

> This is for a "Crusader" style feast to be held in August ... that

> is spring in Lochac.

> Thanks in advance for your assistance , Lowry

That would probably be imam bayaldi or bayildi. I've never heard it

described as a pate (more a stuffed eggplant dish; when is it _not_

served in the shell?). The legend says that either a) the imam in

question fainted because the dish was so exquisite, or b) the imam

fainted because of the cost of the oil required to prepare it. Either

way, it's a good dish (for all that it is made with eggplant).

I have to assume that the antiquity of the tradition is more like

19th century than 12th century; at the very least, the modern form of

the recipe would have to be from no earlier than the 16th or 17th

century, since a major ingredient is tomato in every recipe for this

dish that I've seen. The basic formula as I recall it involves the

guts of the eggplant, scooped out raw from the split shell, sauteed

with garlic, onion, tomato, parsley and seasonings in copious

quantities of olive oil. Can't get much more Mediterranean than that!

Now, on the other hand, I seem to recall some other eggplant-garlic

dishes in the medieval Islamic corpus. Badinjan

something-or-other-that-sounds-like-myhash comes to mind... you might

check Cariadoc's Miscelleny online for a worked-out version.

Okay, I checked and find that Badinjan Muhassa doesn't contain

garlic, and several of the other eggplant dishes in that section of

the Miscelleny also contain meat, which, since you might have chosen

imam bayaldi for its vegetarian qualities, might not fit the bill.

However, there are still a couple of eggplant dishes without meat,

some containing garlic. See Badinjan Muhassa, the Eggplant Pancake

Dish, and one or two others at:

http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cariadoc/islamic_w_veggies.html#3

Adamantius

Date: Mon, 19 May 2003 00:54:24 -0700

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

From: lilinah at earthlink.net

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] The Priest Fainted

Lowry wrote:

> I'm trying to find documentation for a "traditional" middle eastern eggplant

> (aubergine) recipe. The name translates as "the priest fainted" the arabic

> name starts with Imam- but I can't remember the rest.

> It is supposed to be a really tasty aubergine and garlic pate style dish,

> usually served in the shell. The cook book says traditional but doesn't say

> whether it is 12th century tradition or 19th century tradition...

> This is for a "Crusader" style feast to be held in August ... that is

> spring in Lochac.

I suspect you are thinking of baba ganouj, which is an puree of

eggplant and tahini (sesame butter).

I've certainly never seen such a recipe in the historic corpus,

although there are still some 9th c. recipes that haven't been

translated.

I made an eggplant puree from an early recipe:

Badhinjan Buran - Princess Buran's Eggplant

Eggplant pureed with yogurt and spices

As for the history of the dish, Charles Perry has an entire essay

devoted to it in "Medieval Arab Cookery". I'm sure that my

interpretation was also colored by all the multitude of other Buran

and Buraniyya recipes I read.

Original Recipe: