A Renaissance Cooking Book
1
Index
Introduction.............................................................................................................................................3
Plates and cutlery.....................................................................................................................................3
Starter......................................................................................................................................................4
Peasant Bread..........................................................................................................................................5
Main course..............................................................................................................................................6
Soup.........................................................................................................................................................7
Dessert.....................................................................................................................................................8
2
Introduction
In this cooking book I’ll show you the recipes for the food of the
Renaissance, including the Renaissance way and ingredients, I’ll also
add pictures/paintings of the food during the Renaissance. If there
aren’t any pictures or paintings of the Renaissance, I’ll put a picture of
the modern version of the dish. But first, I’ll show you the plates of the
Renaissance.
Plates and cutlery
In the Renaissance people that to say that eating
with one’s fingers was not good. So new thing were
being used like plates and individual cutlery.
The plates in the Renaissance were made out of
porcelain and decorated with patterns around the
edge. These might be simple like lines or little circles; but there are also
ones where they are decorated with mosaïque-like designs.
Tableware consisted of large spoons and knives. Forks for
individual use were something new. They were first used
in Italy and then later all over Europe.
Starter
I couldn’t find any renaissance pictures of this dish
Torta from Red Chickpeas
3
1 can of 425g chickpeas, w/ liquid
3/8 c water
0.45 kg of almonds
56g of raisins
4 figs
28g of pine nuts
1/2 c sugar
1/8 c rosewater
1 ts. cinnamon
1/2 ts. Ginger (starch or pike eggs)
2 ts. more sugar
Grind up red chickpeas that have been well cooked with their own juice
and with a little rosewater.
When they have been ground, pass them through a strainer into a bowl.
Add a pound of almonds so ground up that it is not a chore to pass
them through the strainer, 56g of raisins, three or four figs ground up at
the same time.
And besides this, add 28g of pine nuts coarsely ground, and as much
sugar and rosewater as you need, and just so much cinnamon and
ginger; and blend.
Put the mixture into a well-greased pan with the pastry crust on the
bottom. There are those who add starch or pike eggs, so that this torta
is more firm; when it is cooked, put it almost above the fire to make it
more colored. It should be thin and sprinkled with sugar and rosewater.
Peasant Bread
The poor would eat a piece of bread.
4
1 package dry yeast
2 cups warm water
1 ts. sugar (honey was used during the Renaissance, but it doesn’t rise
as much as using sugar)
2 ts. salt
4 cups flour
Cornmeal
Melted butter
Place yeast, water, and sugar in a bowl and stir until dissolved. The
sugar will help feed the yeast and help the process along.
Blend the flour and salt together. Add the liquid yeast to the dry
ingredients and stir until well blended. Do not knead. Cover with a
warm damp cloth and let it rise until double its original size
(approximately 1 hour).
Remove the dough from the bowl, divide it, and place in 2 rounds on a
greased cookie sheet sprinkled with cornmeal; the cornmeal will help
stop the bread from sticking to the pan.
Let the dough rise an additional hour. Brush top on dough with melted
butter and bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce oven
temperature to 375 degrees and cook for an additional 15 minutes.
Serve warm.
Main course
Galine ho Caponi (1465 Naples) Roast chicken with honey/lemon
glaze
5
Serves 5-6 preheat oven: 190°C
Whole chicken, cleaned
For each chicken: 5 peeled almonds, finely ground
3 Tbl. honey
lemon juice to desired consistency
Roast chickens, whole with skins on, at 190°C until done and juices run
clear, about 45 to 50 minutes.
Combine the sauce ingredients and either pour over the bird (remove
skin first, or carve first.) When you have roasted them well, take five
peeled almonds and grind them up with fine sugar—if you do not have
sugar, use honey—and temper with lemon juice to make it slightly thick;
put this over the chickens, or else put the sauce in small bowls and the
chicken on plates; serve warm.
Glaze the meat or serve on the side in bowls as a dipping/glazing sauce.
The skin will be crisp if roasted well, and will shield sauce off the
chicken. Carve the bird and serve sauce on sliced/carved chicken.
Soup
The peasants would eat a standard
soup, the flavors used differed from
castle to castle.
6
0,45 kg Italian sausages cut into 2 cm slices.
2 medium onions, chopped
6 garlic cloves, chopped
0,45 kg boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cans (425g each) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans (400g each) chicken broth
2 cans (400g each) diced tomatoes
1 ts. dried basil
1 ts. dried oregano
6 cups fresh spinach leaves, chopped
Shredded Parmesan cheese, optional.
In an oven, cook sausage and onions over medium heat until no
longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain. Add
chicken; cook and stir until no longer pink. Stir in the beans,
broth, tomatoes, basil and oregano. Bring to a boil. Reduce
heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Add the spinach and
heat just until wilted. Serve with cheese if desired.
Dessert
Renaissance pancakes
250 grams spelt flour or more likely
wholemeal flour - which would be more
period appropriate
7
300 milliliters beer sweet preferably
2 eggs
25 grams butter
1 tablespoon honey or cane sugar
1 teaspoon salt
75 grams raisins
Butter for frying
Liquid honey
Chopped hazelnuts
Melt the butter. Mix flour and beer in a bowl. Mix in the eggs, sugar, salt
and raisins. Add the melted butter. Adjust the consistency of the batter
if needed. Fry the pancakes on a small pan. Roast the chopped nuts in a
hot dry pan. Serve with liquid honey and the fried nuts.
The poor would usually not have a dessert because they couldn’t afford
more food then what they had.
