copyright 1995 Alia Atlas

The 14th Century German Feast
at Tourney D'Sol on June 17, AS 30

by: Lady Caterina Sichling von Nuremberg

General Information

This feast is composed almost entirely of recipes from Das buch von guter spise, which is a handwritten manuscript from the 1340s from Würzberg. I also used information from Von Speisen, natürlichen und kreuter Wein, aller verstand, which was originally printed in 1531 in Frankfurt am Main. Finally, to verify ingredients, where recipes were unclear, and to provide some inspiration, I used Das Kochbuch Meister Eberhards, a manuscript from the end of the fifteenth century.

The feast includes Ruzzige Cake, Chicken Carrots, a yellow garlic sauce, a meat tart, marinated cucumbers, asparagus, rice, strawberries and grapes. For a drink, I chose to serve white grape juice, as a substitute for wine.

Presentation and Serving

The Ruzzige Cake, water, and grape juice are put on the table as a preset first course. Rice is spread on a platter. Then the yellow garlic sauce is heaped in the center in a circular blob. Then the chicken carrots are laid out as spokes in a wheel, with the green, wide end out. In between the carrots are placed asparagus, with the leafy portion pointing out; four or five are placed between each carrot, as looks appropriate. On the rice not reach by the asparagus or the chicken carrots, real carrots, cut into star shaped disks, are scattered. The remaining rice and asparagus go out in seperate large bowls.

The tarts are carried out on a second platter, surrounded by cabbage. The cucumbers go out in a large bowl, as do the grapes and strawberries.

Ruzzige Cake

Ruzzige Cake is a recipe from Guter Spise. I chose not to include the flowers, due to the modern challenge of finding an adequate quantity of flowers, unsprayed by pesticides. The types of cheese were selected to go harmoniously with the other ingredients; the only specific documention I have for cheese is for fake cheese, made of almonds.

52. Ein gut fülle (A good filling)

Der ein gut köcherye machen wil. der hacke petersylien und salbey. glich vil. und brate sie in butern und tüftele eyer weich. und menge daz zu sammene. und ribe kese und brot dor in. und mache ein blat von eyern. und giuz butern dor under. und schüte diz dor uf. gib im flur oben uf. und laz backen. diz sint ruzzige küechin.

He who wants to make a good dish chops parsley and sage, exactly as much. And fry them in butter and beats eggs soft. And mix that together. And grate cheese and bread therein. And make a leaf from eggs. And pour butter thereunder. And pour this thereon. Give it flowers on top. And let bake. This is ruzzige cake.

My redaction for one table of eight is below:

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups grated mozarrella cheese
1 1/4 cups grated provolone cheese
3 eggs
1/2 cup chopped fresh sage
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp butter
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 loaf bread dough
1/4 cup flour
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F. Sautee sage and parsley in butter for @ 5 min. Mix cheeses, herbs, eggs, and breadcrumbs together. Roll bread dough into flat rectangle, the size of a roasting pan. Line roasting pan with foil, and butter the foil. Lay the flat dough in the pan. Spread the mixture evenly on the dough. Put the pan into the oven and bake for 30 minutes at 350° F. It is done when the top cheese becomes reddish.

Chicken Carrots

Chicken carrots are a subtlety of chicken made to look like carrots, or, to a modern eye, parsnips. For the puree, I chose to use spinach. In Das Kochbuch Meister Eberhards, it says:
"Spinach is good and useful for the throat, the lungs, the stomach and also the liver, and causes especially bowel movements and is a very good and healthy food."
I did the most interpretation with this recipe. For instance, I chose not to preboil the chicken mixture, because I found that the mixture does not shape well afterwards. I recently learned that the plural form of carrot and the plural form of morhel mushroom are the same, in Middle High German; I believe that carrot is meant here, but there is some question. Ask me, if you want the details.

23. Ein gut spise (A good food)

Nim von der brust des hunes. und hacke ez cleine. und stoz ez in eime mörser. und tu dar zu ein wenic melwes und grobes brotes. pfeffer oder ingeber. saltz zu mazze. ein ey oder zwey noch der menge. roeste daz wol zu sammene. snit zwei klüppelin eines vingers lanc als ein elnschaft fornen sleht sinewel. und nim des gesoten als groz als ein morche. walkez sinewel in der hant und füege ez umme den spiz als ein marach. und zwengez uzzene. daz ez krusp si. legez in ein phannen. latz ez sieden mit dem stecken. die wile daz siede so bewirke den andern stecken. als du den einen uznemest. so lege den andern in. und mache si als vil als du wilt. wanne sie gar sin gesoten so nim sie uz. rüere ein gehacketz mus mit butern. daz fülle in die morchen und stecke sie entwerhes an den spiz. mache sie heiz und betraufe sie mit butern. und give sie hin. Also mahtu auch machen morchen von hecheden und von lehsen und wo von du wilt.

Take of the breast of the hen. And cut it small. And pound it in a mortar. And add thereto a little meal and large bread. (Add) pepper or ginger. Salt to mass. (Add) also an egg or two to the mix. Cook that together well. Cut two little clubs of a finger's length (and) as an ulna (An ulna is a bone in the forearm.), flat (and) round in front. And take the boiled (mixture) as large as a carrot and squeeze it out, so that it is creased like the form, in which it was pressed. Lay it in a pan. Let it boil with the stick. (During) the time that the first boils, work the other stick. As you take it out, let the other in. And make it as full as you want. When it is well boiled, so take it out. Stir a chopped puree with butter. Fill that in the ``carrot'' and stick it upon the spit. Make it hot and sprinkle it with butter and give it out. Also you may make ``carrots'' too of pike and of salmon and where of you want.

My redaction for a table of eight is below:

Ingredients:
8 round wooden sticks
1.3 lbs ground chicken
2 eggs
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
10 oz. fresh spinach
2 Tbsp. butter
Directions:
Put a pot of water on to boil. The pot should be deep, so that when the sticks are placed in the pot, the majority of the stick is covered. Make note of how much of the handle is covered.

Mix the chicken, the eggs, the breadcrumbs, the pepper and the salt in a bowl. It should be about the consistency of meatloaf. Take a handful of mixture and form it into a thick carrot shape. Make it wavy and as much like a carrot as your artistic skill enables you. Take a wooden stick, and push it into the center of the formed chicken, about two-thirds of the way through. (Think of a round popsicle stick.) Do this to half your sticks. (You will form the other half, while this batch boils.)

Take the ``carrots'' on the sticks, and put them into a pot of boiling water. The chicken forms should be completely covered by water. Boil them for about 15 minutes; when they start to float, it is a sign that they are done. Take them out and put the next batch in. Pull out the sticks; they should come out without great difficulty.

You will fill them with a spinach puree and put them in the oven. You should preheat the oven to 350° F.

To make the spinach puree, remove stems and clean the spinach. Chop the spinach up, and squeeze out as much water as you can. Melt butter in a frying pan. Add the spinach and saute for about 5 minutes. Remove the spinach, squeezing out the liquid. Use this mixture to stuff the ``carrots''. I found that the easiest way to stuff them is by hand; a pinkie has approximately the right diameter. Do not fill them too full, or they will break open.

When you have a panfull, put them in the oven at 350° F for 15 to 20 minutes. Take them out, brush melted butter over them, and serve them.

Yellow Garlic Sauce

This is a strong garlic sauce from Guter Spise. I serve it with the Chicken Carrots, because the last line in the recipe suggested this combination.

32. Ein geriht (A dish)

Rib knobelauch mit saltze. die haubt schele schone. und menge sehs eyer dar zu. an daz wisse und nim ezzig und ein wenig wazzers dar zu, niht zu sur. und laz daz erwallen, daz ez dicke blibe. damit mac man machen gebratene hüenner morchen oder swemme oder was du wilt.

Rub garlic with salt. Shell the head well and mix six eggs thereto, without the white. And take vinegar and a little water there to, not too sour, and let that boil, so that it stays thick. Therewith may one make roasted chicken ``carrots'' or swan or what you want.

This was popular enough at the test feast, that I chose to have a double batch for each table, so that the sauce could be used on other foods. Below is my redaction for this table of eight.

Ingredients:
12 egg yolks
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp garlic (@ 6 cloves, minced finely with 2 tsp salt)
Directions:
Mix all ingredients together and cook over a low heat, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes. If it becomes too lumpy, you may add a little water to make it more liquid.

Meat Tart

This tart is a meat and cheese tart, which is topped with a chicken pasty in the shape of a shield. In the interest of simplicity, I decided to reduce the three pasties specified in the recipe to one, of the final shield shape. For the dough, I used a recipe from Von Speisen. For the chicken pasty and the tart itself, I used a recipe from Guter Spise.

Dough

I decided to make the dough using both barley and wheat flour. This makes it strong, more sculptable, and less inclined to collapse. Since the dough serves as the container for its contents, and is not supported by any pan, this is useful. Das Kochbuch Meister Eberhards says the following about barley.

"Barley swells and chills and is not eaten well and damages all the people, who have the affliction, and come of a cold nature or have the pain (possibly colic) in the body. But for hot people and those who would happily be smaller, then it is good. And if one eats or drinks it together with fennel, so it is good for many faults in the breast, and Avicenna says, that barley water harms the stomach, which then is cold. It is also very good for feverish people.
In addition, the barley adds a sweet, nutty taste to the dough. I use the dough to form the tart shell, or coffin, and for the pasty.

A krapfen dough

Boil honey in wine, as much as you want, and take a wide bowl and twist the wine with white meal as a little puree. Beat egg yolks in another bowl, and a little saffron. Beat it very well with the made honey wine. Put it in the twisted dough. Heat it and throw alway a dusty (staubliu) meal thereto in the bowl, until it becomes a reasonable dough. Thereafter zeuch(roll) it with a rolling pin on a towel. Cut it large or small, after the way you want to have the krapffen. What dough one makes with yeast, beer or hops, one must let rise. Thereafter knead with hot (loem water or a boiled honey wine.

My redaction makes the dough for one tart, with extra for decorations.

Ingredients:
1/8 cup honey
7/8 cup white wine
2 egg yolks
1/8 tsp saffron
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup barley flour
1/2 cup wheat flour
1 cup barley flour
1 cup wheat flour
Directions:
Put the 1/8 cup honey and the 7/8 cup white wine into a pan, and heat briefly, stirring.

Mix the egg yolks and the saffron.

Mix the 1/2 cups of white wine, barley flour and wheat flour together. It should form a thick mixture, like a puree or standing pottage.

Add all three mixtures together in a pot. Mix together very well. Cook over a medium heat, stirring frequently. After a few minutes, lumps will start to appear. Over five or ten minutes, the mixture goes from being very liquid to moderately thick. You should be able to stir it and leave marks and some parts standing. When it reaches this point, remove from the heat. The timing does not need to be exact; if you take the mixture off too early, you can add more flour, or less flour, if you take it off too late, as seems necessary.

Let the mixture cool a little, and start mixing the remaining flour in. When it is closer to a dough and cool enough to handle, start kneading the remaining flour in; you may not need all the flour. The dough shouldn't be sticky when you are done.

Roll out some dough fairly thin (@ 1/8 inch) and cut two shield shapes, approximately 8 inches long and wide, so that they will cover most of the tart. Leave a little dough for decorations. Take the remaining dough and shape a coffin with it. I find that making a ball of it, and pinching it out, like a pinch-bowl out of clay, works well. It is important that the base of the side walls is thicker than the top; this helps support the walls and stops them from flopping out. Also, be sure that the bottom is at least a 1/4 inch thick; this gives enough dough to support the filling, so that the bottom doesn't fall out. Experiment with this, and see what method works best for you.

Chicken Pasty

The tart recipe does not give very much information about the pasties. The recipe calls for basteln, which can be interpreted as pasties; the word doesn't translate very well. The pasties are to be filled with chicken. I reduced the number of pasties from three to one, in the interest of simplicity. Rather than fill the pasty with plain chicken, I decided to use another recipe in Guter Spise which is for chicken pasties. I added salt to the recipe, because it is needed; throughout Guter Spise, many recipes, which don't call for salt, warn against oversalting them.

19. Diz ist ein gut spise von eime lahs (This is is a good food of a salmon)

Nim einen lahs. schabe im abe die schupen. spalde in und snit in an stücke. hacke peterlin selbey. Nim gestozzen yngeber pfeffer enys saltz zu mazzen. mache eynen derben teyk noch der groezze der stucke. und wirf daz krut uf die stücke. und bewirke sie mit dem teyge. kanst du sie gestemphen in ein forme daz tu. so mahtu machen hechde. förheln brasmen und backe eigliches besunder in eime teyge. ist ez aber eins fleischtages. so mahtu machen hüenre, rephüenre, tuben und vasande mahtu machen. ab du hast die formen. und backe sie in smaltze oder siut sie in den formen. nim von den brüsten der hüenre oder ander gut fleisch. so wirt die kunst dests bezzer und fersaltzez.

Take a salmon. Scrape off the scales. Split it and cut it into pieces. Cut parsley (and) sage. Take ground ginger, pepper, anise. Salt to mass. Make a dough (possibly freshly made as opposed to sourdough) also the size of the piece (of salmon). And throw the herb on the piece. And surround it with the dough. Stamp it in a form if you can. Thus you may make pike (and) trout. And bake individually in a dough. However, if it is a meat day, then you may make hens, partridge, pigeon and pheasant. If you have the forms, and bake them in fat or boil in the forms. Take from the breasts of the hens or other good meat. So will the art be the better and do not oversalt.

My redaction makes enough chicken filling for three pasties. If you decide to make it for only one tart, I would recommend reducing the proportion of pepper.

Ingredients:
22 oz. chopped chicken (2 1/4 cups), boneless, skinless
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp ground anise
1/4 tsp salt, optional
egg white, optional
Directions:
Mix the chopped chicken and the spices together. Take two shield-shaped pieces of dough, and fill them, making a pasty. You may wish to help secure the dough together with a little water or egg white. Repeat, until you have made three pasties and, hopefully, used up all the filling.

Tart

For the spices in the filling, I wanted ones which would be similiar to those in other recipes in Guter Spise, but I also did not want to repeat the spicing that was in the chicken pasty. I wanted the contrast of flavoring and of meat. I decided to use pepper, ginger, and cinnamon; the former two are very common in Guter Spise. I based my spicing off of another pasty recipe, which called for parsley, sage, pepper, ginger, cinnamon and saffron. I chose to leave out the parsley and sage, because I didn't want too many of the same flavors; I also left out the saffron.

92. Einen fladen (A fladen)

Der einen fladen wölle machen von fleische von lumbeln gemacht. des siedez wol und hackez cleine. und ribe keses genue drin. und slahe eyer auch genue drin. und würtz ez wol. und machen ein blat von teyge gesetzt. dri ecken von basteln als ein schilt. in den fladen. und mit hüenren gefült. und versaltz niht. und gibz hin.

How one wants to make a fladen of meat of the loin. Boil that well and chop it small. And grate cheese enough therein. And beat eggs also enough therein. And spice it well. And put on a leaf made of dough. Three squares (or chevrons) of basteln as a shield in the cake. And with chicken filled. And do not oversalt. And give out.

This redaction makes one tart, assuming that a chicken pasty has already been made, and that a coffin or pie-shell has been made.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese (4 oz.)
1.2 lb raw beef, such as bottom round roast or steak
1 egg
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp ginger
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 coffin/pie-shell, made as above
1 chicken pasty
egg white, optional
egg yolk, optional
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F. Boil the beef. Chop the beef. Mix with cheese, egg, and spices. This is the tart filling.

Fill the coffin with the tart filling. Place and center the chicken pasty on top. Its corners should reach the edges of the coffin. Decorate the pasty shield as desired. (For this feast, I used bright yellow dough to form suns, to go with the event theme.) You may wish to glaze portions with egg whites or yolks.

Put the tart on a pan, and bake in the oven at 400° F for 40 minutes.

Marinated Cucumbers

The recipe for this marinade is from Guter Spise. The recipe specifies that one can make marinated parsley (which may refer to parsley root), vegetables, and the like. I chose to use cucumbers, although they are not explicity mentioned in any of the German cookbooks. However, Von Speisen claims to have recipes from Platina, who does mention cucumbers.

48. Ein condimentlin (A condiment)

Mal kümel und enis mit pfeffer und mit ezzige und mit honige. und mach ez gel mit saffran. und tu dar zu senf. in disem condimente maht du sulze persilien, bern und clein cumpost oder rüeben, waz du wilt.

Flavor caraway seeds and anise with pepper and with vinegar and with honey. And make it gold with saffron. And add thereto mustard. In this condiment you may make sulze(pickled or marinated) parsley, and small preserved fruit and vegetables, or beets, which(ever) you want.

My redaction for a table of eight is below:

Ingredients:
2 cup red wine vinegar
2/3 cup honey
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp ground anise
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp saffron (opt)
1/2 tsp mustard
4 cucumbers
Directions:
Mix vinegar, honey, and spices. Peel cucumbers and chop into disks. Soak cucumbers in marinade for at least 1 hour.

Asparagus

I chose to serve asparagus, since it was in season. I have not yet found clear German documentation for it, however, Von Speisen claims to have recipes from Apicius and Platina. Both Apicius and Platina mention recipes for asparagus. I decided that it was reasonable to serve asparagus, quickly boiled in water.

Rice

Rice is mentioned many times in Guter Spise. I chose to boil it completely in water, as the following recipe suggests was done.

5. Diz heizzet ris von kriechen (This is called rice from Greece)

Diz heizzet ris von kriechen. du solt ris nemen und siude ez in eime brunnen zu halben wege so giuzze daz wazzer abe. und siude ez denne in eime reinen smaltze und giuz daz smaltz denne herabe und ein zucker dor uf und gibs hin und versaltz niht.

This is called rice from Greece. You should take rice and boil it in water until half done. Then pour out the water and boil the rice then in a clean fat and then pour the fat off and do not oversalt.

Strawberries and grapes

Again, because of the season, I include fresh strawberries and grapes. Grapes are mentioned several times in Guter Spise; primarily they are squeezed for their juices into sauce. Strawberries are mentioned in a rhyming "joke" recipe in Guter Spise:
"And take blackberries and garden strawberries, which is the very best thing, until you don't brood over sexual desires."
I do not have evidence that these fruits were eaten fresh, but I believe that it is possible, and that it is very unlikely that clear written evidence will be found in the cookbooks I have been working with.