First from the war
Jul. 15th, 2018 02:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madbakerThis week's Resolution Recipe: Chicken or birds in sumac sauce.
1.25 lbs boneless chicken thighs, chopped
1 Tbsp lard or olive oil
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup almond flour
1 Tbsp wheat starch (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
3/8 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp ground sumac berries
Melt lard in a saucepan over medium heat and add chicken. Simmer, stirring, until the meat is cooked - about five minutes. Add the water and return to a low simmer. Stir in the spices, almond flour, and starch if using. Cook over very low heat, stirring, for 20 minutes or until thickened.
Translator's note: this phrase, amido non mond(at)o, (literally, starch that is "unpeeled" or "unclean"), appears in a couple of recipes in this collection. Several interpretations and explanations have been suggested; the one I find most appealing is that the starch is still in lump form (a late step in its processing) and needs to be cleaned of impurities and then ground into a finer powder.
I used boneless chicken thighs for ease of use (and better flavor than breasts). I used almond flour in place of grinding my own almonds; it is not specified that they should be ground but whole almonds would not thicken the sauce. I also added salt and pepper, which are often left out because of their ubiquity.
Powdered wheat starch is available commercially in Middle Eastern markets. It is also sold in Asian groceries as "non-glutinous wheat flour".
I originally cooked this in a pipkin over coals at West/An Tir War. To better simulate this process I cooked with a simmer mat, which is a sheet of iron raised in places to diffuse stovetop heat.
Sources: Anonimo Toscano, Libro della Cocina. Ariane Helou, trans, 2013.
What worked: This was good. Not terrifically exciting, but good. The sumac was noticeable and gave a tang to the meat.
What didn't: It was still brown glop.
Will I make it again? This was the second time this year; I made it once at the war, and then yesterday's SCA cooking competition was "medicinal foods". Deciding that "helpful for the flow of the stomach" was medicinal, I entered it. I scored pretty well and won. This was my second win in that competition. The last time I entered and won was... um... over twenty-one years ago.
I also made this a couple times a few years ago, with inconclusive results (sumac was too old, put in the wrong ingredients, etc). This time it's right. I will add this version to the tourney cookbook.
Take a chicken cut into pieces and fry it in lard; and take almonds and sumac with water and cook them with the chicken, and let it thicken, and serve it. You can do the same with pieces of fish: likewise with chicken, capons, partridges, or little birds, and capon giblets, You can put starch in such a dish; and it is very helpful for the flow of the stomach. Likewise you can make it with chopped pieces of fish, using oil instead of lard. (Anonimo Toscano, late 14th - early 15th c.)
1.25 lbs boneless chicken thighs, chopped
1 Tbsp lard or olive oil
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup almond flour
1 Tbsp wheat starch (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
3/8 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp ground sumac berries
Melt lard in a saucepan over medium heat and add chicken. Simmer, stirring, until the meat is cooked - about five minutes. Add the water and return to a low simmer. Stir in the spices, almond flour, and starch if using. Cook over very low heat, stirring, for 20 minutes or until thickened.
Translator's note: this phrase, amido non mond(at)o, (literally, starch that is "unpeeled" or "unclean"), appears in a couple of recipes in this collection. Several interpretations and explanations have been suggested; the one I find most appealing is that the starch is still in lump form (a late step in its processing) and needs to be cleaned of impurities and then ground into a finer powder.
I used boneless chicken thighs for ease of use (and better flavor than breasts). I used almond flour in place of grinding my own almonds; it is not specified that they should be ground but whole almonds would not thicken the sauce. I also added salt and pepper, which are often left out because of their ubiquity.
Powdered wheat starch is available commercially in Middle Eastern markets. It is also sold in Asian groceries as "non-glutinous wheat flour".
I originally cooked this in a pipkin over coals at West/An Tir War. To better simulate this process I cooked with a simmer mat, which is a sheet of iron raised in places to diffuse stovetop heat.
Sources: Anonimo Toscano, Libro della Cocina. Ariane Helou, trans, 2013.
What worked: This was good. Not terrifically exciting, but good. The sumac was noticeable and gave a tang to the meat.
What didn't: It was still brown glop.
Will I make it again? This was the second time this year; I made it once at the war, and then yesterday's SCA cooking competition was "medicinal foods". Deciding that "helpful for the flow of the stomach" was medicinal, I entered it. I scored pretty well and won. This was my second win in that competition. The last time I entered and won was... um... over twenty-one years ago.
I also made this a couple times a few years ago, with inconclusive results (sumac was too old, put in the wrong ingredients, etc). This time it's right. I will add this version to the tourney cookbook.
