In 2024, again the Madrone Culinary Guild provided lunch for the attendees at the Society for Creative Anachronism event called Athenaeum. We wanted to rely on what had worked well in the past while providing an opportunity for all guild members to enjoy the event away from kitchen duties. All things considered, boxed lunches were an excellent choice again.
The Madrone Culinary Guild has an amazing stash of recipes in our pamphlet series. These are available to purchase through our website and at SCA events throughout the year. If you’re just getting started on your food historian journey, they’re a great place to start. This recipe is in our Silk Road Pamphlet and is an example of a historic recipe with its translation. Green Vegetable Tortes were one of the items we served at Athenaeum.
Torta de herbe.
Se tu voy fare torta de herbe per xii persone, toi vi cassi grani e toy granda quantita’ de herbe zoè blede, petrosemolo, spinaze, menta, e do libre de lardo salato e octo ova; toy queste herbe ben Se tu voy fare torta de herbe per xii persone, toi vi cassi grandi e toy granda quantità de herbe necte e ben batute e ben spremute del sugo, toy il caxo e trialo con herbe bene grosso taglato e toy lo lardo che tu ay ben batuto al piú che tu poy e toy l’ ova che tu ay e mescola queste cosse insema e miti dentro do croste in el testo e fay zalla la crosta de sovra questa torta molto vole essere grasso e assay caxo e molte herbe e voy essere voa e se voy per men persone, toy le cosse a questa mesura.
English Translation
If you want to make a tart of greens for 12 people, take 6 large cheeses, and take a large quantity of greens, that is chard, parsley, spinach, mint, and 2 pounds of salted lard, and eight eggs; take these greens well cleaned and well beaten, and well pressed of their liquid, take the cheese and chop it with the greens, good fat sliced and take the lard which you have beaten as well as you can and take the eggs you have and mix these things together and put then between two crusts in the oven, and make the top crust of the tart very yellow it wants to be fatty and enough cheese and lots of greens and it should be “voa” and if you want for fewer people, take these things in these proportions. -Translation by Guild Member Eden of Lionsguard/Eden Rain
The original recipe comes from the 15th century manuscript “Aninomo Veneziano” (the Anonymous Venetian.) See “The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy (La Gastronomie au Moyen Age: 160 Recettes de France et d’Italie),” Odile Redon and others, translated by Edward Schneider, in our Italian bibliography.
While doing our recipe testing, we decided to choose all of our dishes from “Aninomo Veneziano.” Picking this manuscript for inspiration was an excellent choice for a meal inspired by Italy. Furthermore, with its rich history and connection to art, Venice was the perfect city to honor for this Arts and Sciences event.
Once we decided on the source, our next step was to narrow down the recipes and decide which ones we wanted to serve. On one of our monthly cooking days, we made several dishes from the manuscript, sharing what we liked or didn’t like about the food. We discussed how it would taste on the day of service, since none of the food would be served hot. After much friendly deliberation, we decided on our Menu; Venetian Sausages, Green Vegetable Torte, Salad Greens, Olives, Fresh Fruit, and a light desert of Honey Spiced Almonds over Mascarpone cheese.
Our next challenge was determining the different food sensitivities of our guests and what we could do to accommodate their special requests. After learning more about our guests’ needs, we produced some alternatives for them. The Venetian sausage contained cheese, so as a replacement we provided beef summer sausage. For vegetarians, we provided a mushroom torte from the same manuscript. For an egg-free dish, we chose a chickpea spread from a contemporary Tuscan source, and we made some gluten-free tarts for our gluten-free friends.
At our first precooking day, we mixed the meat for the Venetian sausage and used a sausage stuffer to fill the casings. The sausages were then cooked in a smoker. Next, we worked on the honeyed almonds which called for slowly turning the almonds in a pan of honey over low heat for a prolonged period of time so they wouldn’t burn.
One day before the event, we geared up for “tart day” and together made over 100 tarts! We first made the filling and then filled small pastry shells and cooked them all. We also made the chickpea spread. Additionally, we felt it wise to scoop the mascarpone into serving cups and top it off with the honeyed almonds. This was one of the best decisions we made, as the honey was very sticky and it was a multiple person job that took a bit longer than expected. We worked quickly so that we could get everything into refrigeration and get a good night’s sleep before heading to the site in the morning.
The day of the event moved like clockwork. After unloading cars, a quick chat, and attending morning court, we set out the items and began an “assembly line” for filling the lunch boxes. We carefully weighed out the fruit and olives to make sure each person was getting a fair amount of everything, and sent boxes down the line, filling each receptacle with the appropriate items.
Passing out the lunch went smoothly as well, and we received many compliments, including the gift of some silver coins. It was a pleasure watching friends and attendees enjoy the lunch. After we cleaned up, the kitchen helpers were each gifted a wooden spoon with the words “Madrone Culinary Guild’ etched on to them with a wood burner. A slew of accolades from happy attendees continued for several days.
After discussing successes and reviewing some of the challenges that arose, we set our sights on future projects.
Photos and text: Lady Hrefna Melrakki