The AVITAE Recipebook Ancient cooking with an innovative twist
AVITAE MAGIRA - The AVITAE Recipebook PREFACE In 2014 seven European schools were brought together on the occasion of participating in an Erasmus + project. So for the following three years students and teachers from a) Istituto di Istruzione Superiore N. Machiavelli, in Lucca, Italy (the coordinating school), b) Laniteio Lykeio, in Lemessos, Cyprus, c) the 2nd General Lykeio of Arta, Greece, d) the IES Canarias Cabrera Pinto, in Tenerife, Spain, d) Hotelová Akadémia, in Bratislava, Slovakia, e) Ørestad Gymnasium, in Copenhagen, Denmark and f) Pyhäjoen Lukio, in Pyhäjoki, Finland teamed up to work on AVITAE, “ A Virtual Intertextual Tour Across Ancient
of the same country or between the countries of the time, we realized that the trading related to food was predominant and covered the greatest part of commercial interactions. What is more, in the oldest times recorded food products may have been the only kind of trading commodity. Given also the fact that the Slovakian school is one training chefs, sommeliers and waiters, we felt that we had to dedicate some of our activities to food culture, diet and nutrition. Thus, every country searched for some of our oldest recipes (all the better if those could be found in the original language) and decided that we all present : 1) a starter, 2) a soup, 3) a main dish without meat, 4) one with meat and 5) a dessert.
Entrepreneurship”. During this time we tried to get to know each other, to explore things about each country’s culture, civilization, educational system and of course study the subject of entrepreneurship. Researching on the subject, we tried to collect all possible information concerning our ancestors’ businesses, view some other dominant peoples’ entrepreneurial activities and venture some comparisons. Looking at the findings of some famous shipwrecks (the Antikythera or the Kyrenia shipwrecks), or reading about ancient markets and trading relations between areas
Preparing for our third meeting (hosted in Bratislava), students had to create international menus consisting of the various dishes coming from their countries. They also had to decide about the kind of people (“clients”) they would have to cater for and alter, if necessary, those dishes to suit the needs, tastes or demands of their target groups. Finally, students had to choose some of their menus’ dishes, cook them and find an enticing way to serve them. Everybody that participated in the activity, either as cooks or tasters, loved the experience. We hope that people who will be interested in our cooking book will also enjoy reading it, merit from its information and try some of the recipes or menus suggested. i
AVITAE Cookbook Legal Notice While every attempt has been made to verify the information provided in this recipe-book, neither the authors, the AVITAE-communitor nor the distributor assume any responsibility for errors.
We do not give any kind of guarantee about the accuracy of information provided. In no event will the authors and/or marketer be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential or other loss or damage arising out of the use of this book by any person, regardless of whether or not informed of the possibility of damages in advance. All pictures and videos and other materials are made by the AVITEA-community.
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Danish food
Welcome to the Danish menus!
Danish food culture Before the Medieval period, 1050 - 1536 in Denmark, our knowledge about Danish food culture is only based on various archeological material, e.g. the contents of stomachs from bogmen, recent methods of DNA-analysis of hair and C14 methods. We do not have any written sources and therefore we do not have any recipes. What we know is that our ancestors had a diet consisting mainly of grain, meat, herbs, fish, shell-fish and birds. In Medieval times, however, we start to get various written sources. Lists of what kind of food was bought from outside the households of the bigger castles, the daily ration for monks in the cloisters, menus for bigger feasts at the courts. Around 1300 AD the first Danish recipe book “Libellus De Arte Coquinaria” was written by Knud Jul, a monk from Soroe Cloister. The book has been handed down to us in a collection of three books written in Latin by the doctor, Henrik Harpestreng, who died in 1244 AD. One of these books is about herbs, and you can read the advice of eating raw garlic in the morning to get rid of bad breath.
Only once a year fresh meat was available. In November/December the cattle was slaughtered and thereafter the meat was put into salt. Chicken and other birds were fresh all year around and many of the recipes we have are with chicken. From 1050 AD most Danes were Christians and therefore held many days of fast, about 180 days a year. During lent the Danes ate salted fish, bread and porridge. Because of the strict rules that meat was forbidden to eat during lent, duck was defined as a fish since it very often was swimming in the water, and therefore it was allowed to eat duck as a variation to salted fish. In this recipe book we have innovated on some of the oldest Danish recipes, mainly from “Libellus De Arte Coquinaria”. We have focused a lot on fresh vegetables and greens, which is available all year around in Denmark now. We have also lowered the amount of animal fat since most modern Danes do not need a very energy-rich diet, on the contrary.
The everyday food was heavy and very energy-rich since the peasants worked hard all day long in the fields. Porridge, bread, stews, salted meat and fish were the normal content of meals. Instead of water both children and adults drank thin beer. It was a method to have “fresh water”. Some say that an adult man drank between 4 - 6 litres of thin beer a day. At the courts and among wealthy people the diet was different in that expensive spices such cinnamon, pepper, carnation, cardamom and ginger were used a lot. These spices are still used in the Danish kitchen around Christmas and at other occasions when the food has to be extra delicious. In the circles of the courts, it was prestigious to serve long cooked food and food which was difficult to prepare, e.g. meat formed as a fish covered with golden leaves or tarte with small birds inside. The menus had a lot of meat, plenty spices and it had to satisfy the eye as much as the stomach. Normally ten different courses were served and the King or the count had all courses while the guests had less according to their status in the community. Often the food was served on a plate of bread. This so called bread plate was given to the poorest people afterwards, so they could taste the food from the juices that the bread had soaked from the various courses. So everybody had his share.
The bog-man, Grauballe-manden, Moesgaard pre-historic museum, Denmartk 2015
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RECIPES IN ORIGINAL DANISH LANGUAGE A medieval Danish recipie: Soup with chickens
De cibo dicitur kloten en honrer Man skal siuthre et gamrelt h0ns alt helt oc takre et annret raat hens. oc splittre thret wrel smat oc latre threr til sprek skorren wrel sma swa swn rertrer oc malret kumiren, oc gerre threr sma loot af. oc la tre thret i th ren sothren h0nsre soth. oc latre threr til cumin]. safran. oc win. swinre smolt oc salt til matre. oc blomre af reg. swa at thret cer icefn thiukce bathce. Thre ltre hetrer klotren en honcer.
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RECIPES FROM DENMARK Winesoup with chickenballs
1 chicken or hen (2,5 kg) 1 bouquet garni 1 tsp cumin (powdered) 2 egg yolks 11/2 dl white wine ½ g of Saffron (grounded and soaked in some of the soup) Meatballs
1 chicken (1,5 kg) (the meat must be minced – about 600-700 pure meat) 200g minced fat pork 1 big tsp cumin (powdered)
Cut the chicken into pieces and cover it with water. Bring it to boil (let it take an hour). Let it simmer for three hours. Throw out the chicken. Filter the soup and boil it down with cumin, saffron and white wine until it tastes strong and well. You need at least 6 dl. Debone the raw chicken. Mince meat and hide, and mix it with pork meat. Add the two eggs, cumin and salt. Let the stuffing rest for a while in a cold place. Make small meatballs and put them into the soup a few at the time until they float. Mix a cup of the soup with two egg yolks and pour it into the soup which has been taken off the heat. From now on it must not boil. Add more salt if necessary and serve with bread. This is one of the oldest recipes from Denmark and it can be dated back to the 12th century AD. http://madhistorie.dk/opskrifter/middelalderopskrifter03.html
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RECIPES FROM DENMARK Main dish: Chicken dumpling with yolks
800g of pure chicken meat (debone a chicken or buy filet of chicken breast) 200g of thin sliced bacon a big bunch of sage (with big leaves) egg (for brushing)
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RECIPES FROM DENMARK Debone the chicken and cut the meat into cubes of 3-4cm, salt lightly. Cover it and put it in the fridge. Warm the water, butter and salt in a pot. When the water boils and the butter is melted take it off the heat. Mix most of the flour and the warm butter mixture. Soon you can knead it with your hands. Finish kneading it on the table. If necessary, use the rest of the flour to make an elastic and manageable dough.
A medieval Danish recipie: Soup with chickens
Beat an egg with some water in a bowl and use it for brushing later. Make balls of the dough (the size of a walnut), Roll out the balls to thin circles of 12-13 cm. Place a slice of bacon on the table, put one or two leaves of sage and a cube of chicken on it and wrap the bacon around it. Place the meat on a circle of dough, brush the edges with egg and wrap the meat into the dough (see picture), brush again. Continue until you have used all the dough and meat. Bake it at 180 degrees until they get light brown. Don’t let them get too long else they’ll turn dry. This dish is also from the oldest cookbook in Denmark from 13th century AD by Henrik Harpestreng. At that time they didn’t write a recipe for dough, only that you needed one. So the recipe of the dough is from a Danish Cookbook by Anna Wecker from 1648 AD. http://madhistorie.dk/opskrifter/middelalderopskrifter21.html
Frontpage from Henrik Harpestreng “Book of Herbs” 1244 http://www.roskildehistorie.dk/1200/billeder/domkapitel/laerd e/Harpestreng.htm
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ORIGINAL DANISH RECIPES White mash ● 100g wheat bread without crust ● 1 liter of whole milk ● 5 egg yolks ● 25 g sugar ● ½ tsp saffron (powdered) ● cinnamon ● butter
Cover the bread crumbles with milk and out it into the fridge for 1-2 hours. Whip yolks and sugar well. Take the bread and milk mixture out of the fridge and blend it. Put it into a thick-bottomed pot, add saffron and boil it for 3-4 minutes. Keep stirring. Take the pot off the heat and add the egg mixture – keep stirring. Warm it carefully and keep stirring – be careful that it doesn’t burn. Serve with butter and cinnamon. This recipe is from the oldest cookbook in Denmark from the 13th century AD, written by the doctor Henrik Harpestreng and it was dish often eaten in the medieval time in Denmark. http://middelaldertekster.dk/harpestreng-nks70r/14
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ORIGINAL DANISH RECIPES Paintings from Nr. Alslev church in southern Zeeland, painted by the famous ‘elmelund-master’, about the sam time as Henrik Harpestreng.
Main dish Chicken with herbs
● 1 chicken ● 50 g butter ● small bunch of parsley ● ½ tsp dried mint ● salt ● pepper Divide the chicken into two halves and put it into a thick-bottomed pot on low heat. Make sure it doesn’t burn. It is a good idea to make the pot warm before you put the chicken into it. It has to be here 40 – 60 minutes. Turn it a few times. Chop parsley, and mix with chopped mint. The chicken is done when the meats starts to fall of the bones. Pick up the meat and bones. Turn up the heat. Add the vinegar to the boiling juice from the chicken. Whip butter into it. At last add the chopped herbs, salt and pepper. This recipe is also found in the oldest Danish cookbook from the 13th century AD by Henrik Harpestreng. http://madhistorie.dk/opskrifter/middelalderopskrifter10.html
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● 1tsp vinegar
ORIGINAL DANISH RECIPES Strawberry pie
dough 300g wheat flour 150 soft butter 100g powdered sugar 1 egg 500g strawberries 50g butter 200g sugar 1 tsp cinnamon Mix all the ingredients for the dough. Place the dough in a cold spot (minimum half an hour) before rolling it out. Place the thin dough into a tart mould. Mix the fresh strawberries with cinnamon and sugar and spread it out on the dough. Add extra sugar on top. Bake it for 20 minutes. Let it cool down before eating it. If the strawberries are not fresh (but frozen), add some breadcrumps to them. Strawberries have been eaten in Denmark for thousand of years, and we have sources saying they were grown from before the 14th century AD. We know about this dessert from King Frederik 2nd’s mother queen Sohie from the end of 15th century AD. Though the recipe is in German. http://madhistorie.dk/opskrifter/renaissanceopskrifter15.html
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RECIPE FROM DENMARK Apples baked with butter ● Apples ● Sugar ● butter ● egg white ● wheat flour
Peel the apples and cut them into two to four pieces. whip some salt into egg white. Toss the apples in the egg whites. Thereafter toss the apples in the flour, so they are completely dry. Thereafter put them into warm butter and bake them until they are tender. Cover with sugar. This recipe it from 1610 AD, so it’s a bit late. But apples and cinnamon were well-known ingredients in the medieval kitchen in Denmark. We don’t have recipes of dessert in the oldest cookbook. http://www.historieonline.dk/special/opskrifter/historisk_julem ad_eble.htm
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MODERN VERSIONS OF DANISH RECIPES Modern Kallis bread muffin 4 persons Introduction Ingredients 2 dl milk 4 egg yolks 4 thick slices of wheat bread Butter, for lubricate the muffin forms
Cooking process Preheat the oven to 175 celsius. Beat egg yolk, milk, salt and pepper together. Cut the crust off the bread. Roll the bread flat. Spread butter onto the muffin forms. Fit the rolled bread into the muffin forms. Wash the spinach. chop the cherry tomatoes and the onion. Put the vegetables in the muffin forms on top of the bread. Pour the egg mixture on top of the vegetables. Optional add shredded cheddar cheese on top.
Fresh mint 5-6 cherry tomatoes ½ onion A pinch salt and pepper A handful spinach Optional: shredded cheddar cheese
Bake it in the oven for about 10 minutes until the eggs are firm and the cheese melted. Serve with some chopped fresh mint on top or put them in the fridge for later
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MODERN VERSIONS OF DANISH RECIPES Meatballs
Wine Soup with chicken balls 4 Persons Ingredients Soup
● chicken bouillons
Mix all the ingredients in a food processor or with a handmixer.
● 1 1/2 dl white wine ● ½ g of Saffron (grounded and soaked in some of the soup)
● 500 g minced chicken meat
Handmixer: Chop the onion finely. Mix the minced chicken meat with cumin, pepper and salt in a bowl. Whisk the two eggs together in a cup. Add the two eggs and water or milk to the minced chicken. Add the chopped onion to the meat and mix it well.
● 1 onion
Let the stuffing rest for a while in a cold place. Make small meatballs and place them on a plate. Bring the soup water to boil in a pot and add 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook the meatballs 4-5 minutes in the water. Take them out with a skimmer and place them in a strainer to strain them from water.
● 2 eggs
● 1 L water ● 1 tsp cumin (powdered)
Chicken balls
● 1,5 kg potatoes ● 2 kg carrots ● salt ● pepper
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● 1 big tsp cumin (powdered) ● 4 teaspoons salt ●4 pinches of pepper
● 1,5 dl water or milk ● 1 teaspoon salt
MODERN VERSIONS OF DANISH RECIPES
The soup Peel the carrots and potatoes and chop them into big chunks. Bring the water to a boil and add the chicken bouillons. When the bouillons are completely dissolved, take a bit of it and soak the saron in it. boil the bouillon down with salt, pepper, cumin, saron and white wine until it tastes strong and well. Add the carrots and potatoes and boil the soup at a low temperature until the vegetables are al dente. Make sure to check the vegetables every other minute. Add the meatballs to the soup, when the vegetables are almost done. Add more salt and pepper if necessary and serve with bread.
This is one of the oldest recipes from Denmark and it can be dated back to the 12th century AD. http://madhistorie.dk/opskrifter/middelalderopskrifter03.html
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MODERN VERSIONS OF DANISH RECIPES Chicken dumpling with yolks Ingredients ●Stuffing: ●800g of minced chicken ●200g of thin sliced bacon ●a big bunch of sage (with big leaves) ●4-5 carrots ●onions ●egg (for brushing)
Cooking process Chop onions and carrots finely and mix it all together with the chicken. Mix until everything is nicely mixed together. Leave it in a bowl in the fridge while you make the dough. Mix flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in medium size bowl. Crumble the butter into the flour mix and add milk to make a soft dough. When the dough is done, make balls of the dough (the size of a walnut). Now roll the balls into small circles of about 12-13 cm diameter.
Dough
●1 cup all purpose flour ●2 teaspoons baking powder ●1 teaspoon white sugar ●½ teaspoon salt
Place a slice of bacon on the table, put one or two leaves of sage and a ball of chicken on it. Then wrap the bacon around it and place the meat on a circle of dough. Brush the edges of the dough with egg all the way around as a glue. Then fold over the dough. Make sure the dough is completely sealed so the meat will not fall out during the process. Continue until you have used all the dough and meat. When all the dumplings are sealed and done, place them in boiling water with a tablespoon. Let them zimmer for 15 minutes under lid. Take the dumplings out of the water and they are ready to serve.
●1 tablespoon margarine ●½ cup milk
This dish is also from the oldest cookbook in Denmark from 13th century AD by Henrik Harpestreng. At that time they didn’t write a recipe for dough, only that you needed one. So the recipe of the dough is from a Danish Cookbook by Anna Wecker from 1648 AD.
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MODERN VERSIONS OF DANISH RECIPES Roasted chicken with butter and herbs 3-4 people Introduction: This chicken is best served in true Danish style with some boiled potatoes. And if you want to be bit extra healthy - serve a nice green salad on the side.
Ingredients ●1 whole chicken
Cooking process
●50 g butter
Preheat your oven to 200°C/400ºF/gas 6. Grease an ovenproof dish with oil or butter. Divide the whole chicken into two halves and put it into an ovenproof dish, skin side up. Mix butter with chopped parsley, dried mint, salt and pepper to make a herb butter. Rub the chicken skin with the herb butter. Put the chicken in the oven, and let it roast for 60 minutes, or until the meat starts to fall of the bones.
●small bunch of parsley ●½ tsp dried mint ●salt ●pepper
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MODERN VERSIONS OF DANISH RECIPES Strawberry tart (8-10 slices) Ingredients ●Shortcrust pastry ●Shortcrust pastry ●150 g wheat flour
The old original recipe for the strawberry pie is the starting point of the very popular strawberry tart we know today's Denmark. In the old recipe the strawberries are baked, but in the newer version1 the tart itself is baked first and then served with vanilla cream and fresh strawberries. How to Short crust pastry Crumble butter into flour, and until there is no clumps. Add icing sugar and egg. Make the dough into a ball with your hands - DON’T KNEAD THE DOUGH. Put in fridge for 30 minutes.
●100 g butter at room temperatur
Mazarin Paste
●50 g icing sugar
Cut marcipan in small pieces and mix with sugar (easily done with hands). Add butter, egg and flour and mix it well into a uniform paste.
●1 Egg Mazarin Paste
●100 g raw marcipan ●100 g sugar ●50 g butter at room temperature
Vanilla cream Scrape the vanilla seeds from the pod and mix with sugar. But save the pod itself for later. Whisk eggs and maizena (corn starch) together in a pot at a low heat. Add milk, the mixed vanilla sugar and the vanilla pod. Bring it to a boil at low heat - constantly stirring. Take the pot of the heat as soon as the cream is boiling, because if it stays too long the cream will split. Now take out the vanilla pod and let the cream cool. Give the cream a stir frequently.
●1 egg Now for the tart itself
●approx. 25 g flour ●75 g cane sugar ●1 bar of dark chocolate ●1 big punnet of strawberries
Spread the shortbread crust dough nicely in a tart tin. Pour the mazarin paste over the shortbread dough and bake at 200 degrees celsius for 15-20 minutes - keep an eye on the tart, and take it out when it is a solid mass, but still a bit soft when you press a spoon down onto it. Let the tart cool of. Melt the chocolate and spread it out on the pie. Put it in the fridge for 30 minutes to cool. Now spread out the vanilla cream onto the tart and decorate with fresh strawberries.
Vanilla cream ●2 eggs ●30 g maizena (corn starch) ●1 vanilla pod
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