Casola de Carn

Original Recipe:^[2]

Casola de Carn

Pren la carn e talla-la menut a troços axf com una nou. E çoffregiràs-la ab bona grassa de carnsalada. E quant sia ben çoffredida, met hi de bon brou e vaja a coure en una casola. Emet-hi de totes salses fines e çaffra e un poch de such de toronge o agresta, de manera que coga molt bé, fins a tant que la carn se commence a desfer e que y romanga solament hun poch de brou, pendràs tres o quatre ous debatuts ab such de toronges o agresta. E met-ho dins en la cassola. E quant ton senyor se volrà aseure en taula, dona-li quatre o sinch voltes girades, e tantost se espessirà. E quant sia bé espès, leva-u del foch e fes escudelles e damunt cada una met-hi canyella.

Emperò alters són qui no.y volen metre ous ni salsa sinó sola canyella e girofle. E coguen en la carn, com dit he damunt.

E met-hi vinagre, perquè tinga sabor. E per lo semblant molts fan açò que us dire, que tota la carn posen en una peça farcida de canyella e girofle sencer y en lo brou ben picades les salses, emperò far a girar adés adés, perquèno coga més d’una part que d’altra e axf no.y cal metre sinó girofle e canyella, emperò com dit he de bona manera.

Translation: (from The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy)^[3]

Casserole of Meat

Take the meat and cut it into pieces the size of a walnut. And fry it in good salted pork fat. And when it is properly fried add some good stock and set it to cook in a casserole. And add all the spices and saffron and a little orange juice or verjuice, so that it is very well cooked and the meat is beginning to fall apart and only a small amount of stock remains, take three of four eggs beaten with orange juice of verjuice. And add to the casserole. And when your master is ready to sit at table, turn it four of five times and it will thicken immediately. And when it is thick, take it off the fire and serve it in bowls and sprinkle a little cinnamon on each.

Yet there are some who do not add eggs nor spices save cinnamon and cloves. The meat is cooked, as above.

And they add vinegar, for the flavour. And it seems that many people do it in this way, that the meat is left in one piece stuff with cinnamon and cloves, with other spices in the stock, but it has to be turned continually so that it doesn’t cook more on one side than the other, and thus it is not necessary to add cloves and cinnamon, but as explained and in the proper way.

My Interpretation:

Cut meat up in large bite size pieces. Brown meat in olive oil in stockpot. Add remaining ingredients to pot, cover with lid and let cook for 1-2 hours until meat is tender.

Notes:

• Although this recipe is meant to be cooked in a casserole in an over, similar results can be obtained by cooking it in a stockpot on an open stove.

• This recipe does not specify a specific meat, I chose lamb as I had wanted to feature a recipe with lamb when I first cooked this recipe.

Works Referenced:

The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy; Odile Redon, Françoise Sabban, & Silvano Serventi, translated to the English by Edward Schneider; The University of Chicago Press, 1998

Nola, Maseter Ruperto de An English translation of Ruperto de Nola's "Libre del Coch" by Lady Brighid ni Chiarain. [Online] // Stefan's Florilegium / ed. Carroll-Mann Robin. - 2001. - May 29, 2009. - http://www.florilegium.org/?http%3A//www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-MANUSCRIPTS/Guisados1-art.html. - http://www.florilegium.org/?http%3A//www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-MANUSCRIPTS/Guisados2-art.html.

Nola, Master Ruperto de Libro de Cozina [Book] / ed. Cuenca Vincent F. / trans. Cuenca Vincent F.. - 1529 (translation 2001). - A full English Translatin with Commentary of Master Ruperto de Nola's Libro de Cozina.

Nola, Rupert de Lybre de doctrina Pera ben Servir: de Tallar: y del Art de Coch [Online] // Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes. - Fundació Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes. - August 18, 2014. - http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra-visor/libre-de-doctrina-per-a-ben-servir-de-tallar-y-del-art-de-coch-transcripcio--0/html/ff1e2444-82b1-11df-acc7-002185ce6064_2.html#I_124_.

Nola, Rupert de Libre De Doctrina per a Ben Servir, De Tallar Y Del Art De Coch F. XXIXv. Digital image. Biblioteca Virtual Miguel De Cervantes. Fundación Biblioteca Virtual Miguel De Cervantes, 2000. Web. 18 Aug. 2014. http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra-visor/libre-de-doctrina-per-a-ben-servir-de-tallar-y-del-art-de-coch--1/html/ff1de6be-82b1-11df-acc7-002185ce6064_60.html. Digitized image of folio XXIXv of Rupert de Nola's 1520 book reprinted in 1988 by Ediciones Histórico Artísticas.

Nola, Rupert de Libre De Doctrina per a Ben Servir, De Tallar Y Del Art De Coch F. XXXr. Digital image. Biblioteca Virtual Miguel De Cervantes. Fundación Biblioteca Virtual Miguel De Cervantes, 2000. Web. 18 Aug. 2014. http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra-visor/libre-de-doctrina-per-a-ben-servir-de-tallar-y-del-art-de-coch--1/html/ff1de6be-82b1-11df-acc7-002185ce6064_61.html. Digitized image of folio XXXr of Rupert de Nola's 1520 book reprinted in 1988 by Ediciones Histórico Artísticas.

End Notes:

[1] (Nola, 1520 & 1988)

[2] The shorthand notations as shown in the image from the manuscript have been expanded out in the transcription.

[3] (Redon, Sabban & Silvano; 1998)