Peselli Fresche con Petrosillo et Menta

Fresh Peas with Parsley and Mint

Source: Libro de arte coquinaria by Maestro Martino de Como, 15^th century

Original Recipe:

Fave Fresche con Brodo di Carne

Piglia le fave et mondale con l’acqua calda come se fanno le amandole, et poi le mitti a bollire in bon brood. Et quando ti pareno cotte mette con esse un pocho di petrosillo et menta battuta facendogli bollire etiamdio de bona carne salata. Et questa menestra vole essere un pocho verde che pare più bella. Et simelmente poi fare I peselli, et ogni altro leghume frescho, ma nota che non voleno essere mondati coll’acqua calda como le fave, ma lasciali pur così con quella sua scorza sottile..

Translation: (from The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy)

Fresh Peas with Parsley and Mint

Take broad beans and peel them with hot water as you do for almonds, then set them to boil in good stock. And when you think they are cooked put with them a little parley and mint finely chopped and boil them with some good salted pork. And this dish should tend to green to be more attractive. And peaas, or any other fresh legume, can be prepared in the same way, but note that other legumes do not need to be treated with hot water to remove the skin, but leave them as they are with their tender skins.

My Interpretation:

Cook peas in broth, add remaining ingredients.

Notes:

The varieties listed in this recipe also include "peas" and this is the variation I chose to do for this recipe.

The translation provided by The Medieval Kitchen can be a bit misleading. The translation should read "Fresh Beans with Meat Broth".

Olive oil and vegetarian chicken stock or vegetable broth can be used to make the dish vegetarian.

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

Libro de arte coquinaria, Maestro Martino de Como, Digital version: Valeria Romanelli, 7/2004. http://www.uni-giessen.de/gloning/tx/martino2.htm

The Art of Cooking: The First Modern Cookery Book, Translated by Luigi Ballerini, Jeremy Parzen, Stefania Barzini, University of California Press, 2005

- A translation of the work of Maestro Martino of Como, 15^th century