Fearless Kitchen

Recipe: Onions with Almodrote

Recipe Source: Gitlitz, David M. and Linda Kay Davidson. A Drizzle of Honey. St. Martin's Griffin, New York, 1999 pp. 58-9

I intended to make this last year for a medieval enthusiast event we attended over Memorial Day weekend, but never got around to making the finished product. When I went to plan my menu for an event we attended this past July, up in Maine, I found that this recipe was still flagged. Well, I thought to myself, why not? It had vegetables, which was my primary concern at that point. I did make it and it worked well. About the only change I made was to use regular pearl onions instead of frozen. I did peel them. When it came to the chopped fresh mixed greens, I used a plain old salad mix from the grocery store to save on time. The salad was tasty, people really seemed to enjoy it and there wasn't much left over.

Onions with Almodrote (serves about 30 as a side dish; approx. cost per serving not available)

2 recipes Almodrote

4 tablespoons olive oil

24 ounces mixed salad greens

20 ounces pearl onions, peeled

Equipment:

• Large saucepan

1. Heat the oil over medium heat.
2. Add the onions and cook 4 – 5 minutes, until there is only a very little bit of oil left in the pan and the onions are browned and tasty.
3. Allow the onions to cool. I actually made them a couple of days in advance and assembled the final salad on site.
4. When you're ready to serve, put the greens in a serving bowl. Top with the onions and the almodrote. Serve.

Recipe: Almodrote

Recipe Source: Gitlitz, David M. and Linda Kay Davidson.  A Drizzle of Honey.  St. Martin's Griffin, New York, 1999 pp. 58 - 60

This recipe is unusual for this book in that the recipe itself is not re-created from Inquisition records.  It is synthesized from a number of period sources, to include Nola and Sent Sovi.  This makes it a little easier to read, although the fact that it comes from a secondary source makes me a little nervous about calling it an historical recipe.  Whatever.  It tastes good.  According to the authors, it can be used on a cold salad (as what is essentially a salad dressing), a hot salad (ditto,) or as a hot vegetable (specifically with onions.)   

I made this with the intention of topping a salad with it while I was camping over Memorial Day weekend.  Unfortunately, we never made the salad.  I did taste the sauce before packing it up, though, and I was pleasantly surprised by it.  It was good.  I'd thought with all the egg yolks and cheese that it might be too rich for me, but that didn't turn out to be the case at all.  I did use peccorino for the cheese and extra garlic, but those were the only changes that I really made.  According to the authors, this will keep for a week in the fridge; if you need to thin it out, use cold water. 

Almodrote (makes 2 cups of sauce; approx. $3.31/cup)

4 ounces peccorino cheese, grated

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

6 cloves garlic, crushed

6 hard-boiled egg yolks

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup warm water

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Equipment:

• Food processor

1. Mix the cheese and breadcrumbs in the food processor.
2. Add the garlic, making sure that the garlic is thoroughly combined.
3. Add the egg yolks and combine thoroughly.
4. Add the olive oil in a drizzle, with the machine still running.
5. With the machine still running, slowly add the water to the mixture.  Blend to a creamy consistency.
6. Season and serve.

Recipe: Eggplant and Onion Stew

Recipe Source: Gitlitz, David M. and Linda Kay Davidson.  A Drizzle of Honey.  St. Martin's Griffin, New York, 1999 p. 53.

I will warn you up front.  The book from which this recipe comes makes for some pretty sad reading.  The book attempts to re-create the foods eaten by "crypto-Jews" in Spain after the Reconquista.  The authors draw upon extant cookbooks from the period for some aspects of the recipes, and upon Inquisition records for the rest.  You see, one of the biggest "clues" as to whether a convert had truly rejected Judaism was diet, and the dietary habits of a number of accused featured prominently in their trials.  The book does provide some of the histories and trial notes of some of the people mentioned in the book.  Some are acquitted.  Some get off "lightly" with public penances, et cetera.  Many do not. 

I chose a recipe from this book for a specific reason.  I was cooking for a large group up in Maine, and facilities were going to be primitive.  I needed to have foods that could be served at room temperature, as I was unlikely to be able to re-heat much of anything.  Many of the dishes entered into evidence against these people were Sabbath dishes - prepared before the sun went down on Friday to be served before the sun went down on Saturday, when no work whatsoever could be done.  They were therefore designed to be served (and tasty!) at room temperature. 

Ultimately I was pretty happy with how this dish turned out.  I used the Herbal Broth from the Braised Greens with Barley recipe because I was cooking both dishes at the same time and had just enough to use for this dish as well.  I used powdered cardamom because I didn't want to surprise anyone with a sudden whole cardamom pod in their food - cinnamon sticks are easy to spot, cardamom pods not so much, and this was going to be served in the dark.  That's really it.  Oh, I tripled the recipe.  You can serve this dish hot if you need to. 

Eggplant and Onion Stew (serves 20; approx. $0.65/serving)

3 eggplant

6 tablespoons Kosher salt

6 cups Herbal Broth

6 onions, quartered

3 cinnamon sticks

3 teaspoons ground cardamom

1 1/2 teaspoons dried coriander

3 teaspoons dried cilantro leaves

3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Equipment:

• Large pot with a lid
• Large bowl

1. Peel the eggplant and cut it into 1/2 inch thick slices.
2. Soak the eggplant in the large bowl in plenty of salted water for 30 minutes.  Use a plate or bowl to weight down the eggplant if it won't stay submerged. 
3. Rinse the eggplant in cold water and cut into 3/4 inch cubes.
4. Place the eggplant in the pot with the Herbal Broth.  Add the onion quarters and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to low, cover the pot and simmer 25 minutes.  Stir the mix occasionally. 
6. Remove the lid.  Add in the seasonings and continue to simmer, uncovered, 40 minutes. 
7. Serve, or transfer to a container and let cool until ready to serve. 

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