Writings: Katira al-Maghrebiyya (aka Kay the Innocent of Bel Anjou)

Mists Investiture - May , A.S. 36
Silver Spoon Competition – Cook-off – Torta Blanca
Kay the Innocent of BelAnjou (now known as Katira al-Maghrebiyya)

Original Recipe: Piglia una libra et meza di bono cascio frescho, et taglialo menuto, et pistalo molto bene, et piglia dodici o quindici albume o bianchi d’ova, et machinali molto bene con questo cascio, agiogendovi meza libra di zuccharo, et meza oncia di zenzevero del piu biancho che possi havere, similemente meza libra di strutto di porcho bello et biancho, o in loco di strutto altre anto botiro bono et frescho, item de lo lacte competentemente, quanto basti, che sera asai un terzo di bocchale. Poi farrai la pasta overo crosta in la padella, sottile come vole essere, et mectiraila a cocere dandoli il focho a bell’agio di sotto et di sopra; et farai che sia di sopra un pocho colorita per el caldo del focho; et quando ti pare cotta, cacciala fore de la padella, et di sopra vi metterai del zuccharo fino et di bono acqua rosata.

My translation: Take one pound and half of good fresh cheese, and cut tiny, and (mash) very well, and take 12 or 15 white of eggs, and mix very well with this cheese, ease there half pound of sugar, and half ounce of ginger of more whitest than possible to have, likewise, half pound of lard of pork fine and whitest, or in place of lard as much (butter?) fine and fresh, (add?) of the milk competently, as much as enough, what will be very much one third of a (boccale (note 1)). After forming the dough where pie/tart in the pan, thin as desire to be, and (put?) to cook (over?) the fire (?) easy of under and of above; and make then either of top a very little colored by heat of fire; and whenever you (?) bake, eject (?) of the pan, and of the top there put of the sugar fine and of good water rose.

This was done with a large English/Italian dictionary and lots of luck. I filled in the missing words from a translation in The Medieval Kitchen, Recipes from France and Italy, and produced the following modern recipe for one third of the amounts in the original.

1/2 pound of cream cheese (note 2)
1/3 cup sugar (equaled ¼ pound)
4 large egg whites (less than half of original amount of 6-7.5 (note 3))
1 tsp. ground ginger (this amount was good in test batch)
5 T butter (1/4 lb was too much for good texture)
¼ cup milk (approx.) enough to create smooth texture (amount depends on dryness of cheese used)
sugar and rose water

Mix the cheese and slightly beaten egg whites. Stir in sugar, ginger, softened butter and milk. Pour into the piecrust and bake at 325 for 45 minutes. If top starts to brown, cover with foil. When cool, sprinkle with sugar and rose water.

All ingredients are modern purchases, including the piecrust.

The ‘presentation’ version has sugar paste colored with mint for green and modern food paste for blue, and cut to represent the Principality Arms on the white tart. I used the food paste, as I was unable to grow/procure enough fresh borage blossoms or other period items used for the color blue (see copy of Complete Anachronist #109 The Colorful Cook). The blossoms do produce a nice blue mixture when well mashed in a mortar and pestle.

Note 1: As noted in The Medieval Kitchen, a ‘boccale’ could be anywhere from 16 ounces to 64 ounces depending on region, so I couldn’t be sure if they meant the amount of milk or the amount of the recipe mixture.
Note 2: Cottage cheese didn’t produce a desirable texture/flavor.
Note 3: As noted in Fabulous Feasts, “medieval eggs doubtlessly were smaller than the modern”.

Last updated 01/03/2007