Spenat

Fried Spinach with Bacon

Source: Ein New Kochbuch by Marx Rumpolt, a 16th century collection of German recipes

Spenat

Original Recipe:

Wasch den Spenat fein Sauber Ausz/ vnnd druck das Wasser wol davon/ wirffs in heisse butter in ein Pfannen/ vnnd röeszt es wol darinnen/ geusz ein wenig Erbeszbrüeh/ vn̄ ein wenig Speck darvnter/ thu auch ein wenig Zucker vnd kleine Rosein darein/ ein wenig Pfeffer vn̄ Jngwer/ lasz miteinander wider auffsieden/ dasz ein kurtze Brüeh gewinnet/ so wirt es gut wnd

Translation: (Translated by M. Grasse)

Wash the spinach nice (and) clean/ and press the water well out/ throw in hot butter in a pan/ and fry it well therein/ pour a little pea broth/ and a little bacon thereunder/ put also a little sugar and small raisins therein/ a little pepper and ginger/ let it come to a boil/ so a little broth develops/ so it becomes good and welltasting. If you have no sugar, so pour sweet wine, that has boiled/ therein/ and let it simmer with that/ so it is good also.

My Interpretation:

1 pound fresh spinach
 ¼ cup Zante currants
¼ cup butter ½ tsp. Ground pepper
¼ cup bacon bits½ tsp. Powdered ginger
1 Tbsp. Sugar 

Wash spinach and remove excess water, chop spinach coarsely. Over medium heat melt butter, add spinach and fry until tender. Add remaining ingredients, let cook for 5 more minutes.

Notes:

  • I'm not entirely certain if "small raisins" are referring to Zante currants here, however the Zante grape is small and would produce a "small raisin" when dried.

References:

Rumpolt, Marx. "Ein new Kochbuch", Transliteration by Thomas Gloning, http://www.uni-giessen.de/gloning/kobu.htm

Rumpolt Marx Ein New Kochbuch [Online] // Ein New Kochbuch / ed. Grasse M.. - 2002. - February 5, 2009. - http://clem.mscd.edu/~grasse/GK_Rumpolt1.htm. - This is a translation of the book first published in 1581 by Marx Rumpolt. It has nearly 1000 recipes.

"Manuscriptorium." Manuscriptorium. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2012. <http://www.manuscriptorium.com/index.php>.The Manuscriptorium's mission is to Build a Virtual Research Environment for the Sphere of Historical Resources. A facsimile of Ein New Kochbuch is available in the Digital Library (Document # 95.107)