Recipe for Small Birds Made of Sheep's Meat

Cut up a piece of meat in small bits in the shape of small birds, and place them on a skewer, roast them or fry them with plenty of oil until they are done, and leave them aside. Then take a pot and put in three spoonfuls of vinegar and one spoonful of murri naqî ', two spoonfuls of fresh oil, pepper, cumin and some saffron. Put the pot on the fire and when it boils, put in it those mentioned fried small birds, and leave a while until it boils, take it out and present it. These imitation birds may also made with pounded meat after adding spices to it, and you shape them like small birds, starlings and other kinds of birds, and fry as has been said.

Roast Lamb Breast [literally, " flank" ][7]

Pound a ratl of meat in a stone mortar and add the same amount of cut-up fat, a little onion and both cilantro and coriander and cheese...[word illegible because of a worm hole, Huici Miranda writes; probably an adjective describing the cheese such as " fresh" ]... and almonds, a large handful of shelled and pounded walnuts, and some murri naqî ' to moderate its taste; add to it Chinese cinnamon, pepper, ginger and pound all this with the meat until it is mixed, and knead it until uniform. Then take a breast of plump ram and cleave it between the ribs and the meat, and fill it with the stuffing; then sew it up with gut or palm leaves and smear the breast with oil and dust it with ground starch. Hang it in a tannur and shut it, and when it is ready, take it out and present it: it is a good roast.

Another Kind of Lamb Breast

Get the breast of a plump lamb, pierce it between the meat and the ribs, so that the hand and fingers can fit in; then get a large handful each of peeled almonds and hazelnuts, and a dirham each of Chinese cinnamon, lavender, cloves, saffron and pepper, and a little salt; pound all this and mix it with breadcrumbs and knead it with oil, and knead until it thickens and can be used as a stuffing. When it is stuffed, sew up the breast with clean gut and hang it in a tannur, and set under it an earthen pot into which what melts from the breast can drip, and when it is done take it out.

Another Extraordinarily Good Lamb Breast

Take the breast of a plump lamb and cook it in vinegar until it is done, then take it out and leave it to dry. Then take a wide frying pan and pour in fresh oil, juice of cilantro, mint, thyme and a whole, cleaned onion; when its flavor is discernible, take it out of the oil and put in the lamb, which should be fried until the sides are browned. Then sprinkle with murri naqî ', sprinkle with cinnamon and cut it up. You might do it in the oven [instead].

Recipe for an Extraordinary Sausage

Take a fat large intestine and turn it inside out, then get eggs known to fill it, and break them into a large dish and add to them a bit of crushed onion, cloves, pepper, oil, peeled almonds, both pounded and not pounded, and sugar according to how much the diner likes sweetness. Mix all this and pour it into the intestine with a funnel [reading qum' for fakha']. Tie up the two ends with a thread and lower it into a slow tannur and leave it until it is done and browned, and take it out. And you might fry it in a frying pan with fresh oil.

On the Making of Marrow

What is wanted in this recipe is to make that of which the taste and flavor resemble the taste of marrow, because many kings and rulers like to eat it and consider it of very good nutrition. If a man limits himself to gathering what marrow he has in his kitchen, he will not lose what he has gained by it, since he attains what he desires and satisfies the appetite. Marrow is a much desired food, and the correct way to eat them is that he who comes first and takes them out to the table should not try them until the lord of the table begins to taste them, and should not try any until he gives it to the taste of his friend and him who eats at his side. I have heard that a king gave one of his retinue an important duty and that this man came in to take leave of the king and go away. The table was dressed and prepared and when the first course was done, another course was presented in which there was a portion of marrow; that man seized it and took it. The king was amazed at his conduct and did not doubt that it would be offered to him, but when he took it, he put it on a bite of bread, sprinkled it with salt and ate it himself. The king kept the matter to himself and when the table was taken away and the king washed his hands, the man rose to take his leave of the king and go away, but the king said to him: " There is between us something I need to tell you afterward." The man went home and did not go out to his job. The king was informed of this and said: " Isn't it enough for him, on a job at five thousand dirhams a year, to eat marrows? "

⇐ Предыдущая12345678910Следующая ⇒

Поделиться: