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

Copper Spoon
Cynagua Spring Coronet
A.S. XXXVII
Category: Any Middle Eastern dish
Kay the Innocent of BelAnjou (now known as Katira al-Maghrebiyya)

Zabarbada of Fresh Cheese

Primary Source: (Andalusian) An Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook of the Thirteenth Century, a translation by Charles Perry of the Arabic edition of Ambrosio Huici Miranda with the assistance of an English translation by Elise Fleming, Stephen Bloch, Habib ibn al-Andalusi and Janet Hinson of the Spanish translation by Ambrosio Huici Miranda. 1992

I realize that this source is considered Western Islamic, but I feel that it falls within the meaning of "Middle Eastern" in the SCA context. I don't have the original Arabic, but here is the Charles Perry's English translation as provided in A Miscelleny by Cariadoc and Elizabeth.

Zabarbada of Fresh Cheese

Take fresh cheese, clean it, cut it up and crumble it; take fresh coriander and onion, chop and throw over the cheese, stir and add spices and pepper, shake the pot with two tablespoons of oil and another of water and salt, then throw this mixture in the pot and put on the fire and cook; when it is cooked, take the pot from the fire and thicken with egg and some flour and serve.

Translation Notes: Cariadoc noted that farmer's cheese, cheddar, feta, mozzarella and ricotta all worked in this recipe. I chose to make my own fresh cheese using whole milk and vinegar that was then pressed until it no longer dripped, approximately 3 hours.

In A Miscelleny, another recipe from Andalusian, A Roast of Meat, called for "spices", and then says to "cover the contents of the pot with cilantro and sprinkle with pepper and cinnamon". For another recipe from Andalusian that calls for "spices", Cariadoc notes that it then states which ones: "all the spices, pepper, cinnamon, dried coriander and cumin." Therefore I took the hint and used these spices. He also has taken the position that dried coriander refers to the seeds. It could refer to the dried root. So, one could go for either an added nutty flavor from the root or less of the strong sage flavor which is missing from the seeds. For this recipe, I chose to use the ground seeds as more appropriate (and it was what I had).

Process Notes:

I prepared my first batch using 1/2 pound of my own fresh cheese. I used the recipe measurements for oil, water and salt and put a largish amount of the spices. It was too salty. For the second batch I reduced the salt and spices and sautéed the onions before adding the cheese mixture. It was declared a success by several tasters.

Recipe - first batch
 
1/2 pound fresh cheese (whole milk, vinegar)
1/2 cup loosely filled, chopped fresh coriander, otherwise known as cilantro
1 large yellow onion, chopped (around 8-10 ounces)

spices for first batch:
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground coriander seed
1 1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon water
1/2 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon flour

Mix the cheese, cilantro, onion and all the spices except the salt. Put oil, water and salt in a pan and heat. Add the cheese/onion mixture and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes or until the onions are done to your liking. Cool and serve. Note: a non-stick pan really helps here.

Recipe - second batch

I changed the following:

spices for second batch:
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground coriander seed
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt

As I usually sauté the onions before adding to most modern rercipes, I did so here in the oil and salt and then added the cheese mixture and cooked about 5 minutes.

Last updated 01/03/2007