Introduction:
Another recipe which didn’t appear on any of Scappi’s April menus, this dish was chosen for the Festival of Elvegast mostly on the basis of “everyone likes cheese pasta and I need some carbs in this course”. Perhaps, seasonally, it may have been out of favor, like eating a full Thanksgiving dinner in June. Or perhaps, it might have been served but not mentioned – none of the April menus mention many vegetable nor carb dishes. At any rate, it was served in the second course of the Taming of the Shrew event.
Book 2, recipe 178:
To prepare a thick soup of tagliatelle: Work two pounds of flour, three eggs and warm water into a dough, kneading it on a table for a quarter of an hour. Roll it out thin with a pin and let the sheet of dough dry a little. With a cutting wheel trim away the irregular parts, the fringes. When it has dried, though not too much because it would break up, sprinkle it with flour through the sifter so it will not stick. Then take the rolling pin and, beginning at one end, wrap the whole sheet loosely onto the pin, draw the pin out and cut the rolled-up dough crosswise with a broad, thin knife. When they are cut, broaden them. Let them dry out a little and, when they are dry, filter off the excess flour through a sieve. Make up a soup of them with a fat meat broth, or milk and butter. When they are cooked, serve them hot with cheese, sugar and cinnamon. If you want to make lasagne of them, cut the dough lengthwise on the pin, and and likewise divide it lengthwise in two, and cut that into little squares. Cook them in the broth of a hare, a crane or some other meat, or in milk. Serve them hot with cheese, sugar and cinnamon.
Discussion
- I originally intended to make fresh pasta (given the size of feast this was plausible for me to do at home and bring to site), but due to a busier-than-expected week, this wasn’t possible. However, a good-quality commercial substitute had similar ingredients and the methodology for pasta really hasn’t changed.
- Amusingly, the “boil in milk” methodology was one I had been practicing in non-medieval cooking – it’s very similar to a current tiktok trend for “3-ingredient mac and cheese” that my son is fond of.
Thick Soup of Tagliatelle
4
servingsIngredients
1 lb high-quality dried pasta. Fresh pasta can also be used, and may be easier to cook in milk without scorching.
4 cups milk
1 stick butter
1.5 cups shredded mozzarella
Salt
Cinnamon
Sugar
Directions
- Heat milk and butter in large pot – bring up to simmer to melt butter. Taste for salt, – especially if butter is unsalted. It shouldn’t be as salty as pasta water, since it won’t be drained, but it should taste about as salty as the final dish should be.
- Add pasta, then add up to 1 gallon of water if necessary to cover pasta; cook over medium heat while stirring – do not allow to stick! Remove from heat when just barely al dente – will finish cooking via residual heat.
- Taste for salt, add cinnamon – start with a scant teaspoon and add more if needed.
- Stir in cheese while pasta is hot. If it doesn’t melt fully, carefully stir over low heat until combined.
- Plate, garnish with additional cinnamon and a bit of sugar.
One Comment