cloetkens van vleys
Feb. 5th, 2012 12:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
foliumnondefluetThis is a recipe for meatballs in white wine sauce, from an unnamed manuscript in the university library of Gent (Ms. 15), estimated to have been written between 1490 and 1525. It's a recipe I have tried to reconstruct a few times, primarily because the name is so hilarious: "cloetkens van vleys" translates as balls of meat, but today "cloetkens" refers only to balls in the anatomical sense :)
Transcription of the original:
Omme te maicken cloetkens van vleys
Men sal nemen verckensvleijs, die hammen van verckensvleijs, ende siedense in scoen water al morwe ende dan dat vleijs mitten vette al cleijn gewreven in een mortier, daer in gedaen vier of vijf doeyeren van rauwen eyeren, caneel, ghenebaer ende luttel naghelpoer, dat meest galigaen ende soffraen, dit samen gemenget ende aen cloetkens gemaict als doeijeren van eyeren ende suker daer in gedaen ende dan genomen witte wijn ende wittebroot, die korsten af gedaen ende in die wijn geleijt, op dat vier geseth dat broot vucken mach, daer in gedaen genebaer, caneel, soffraen, galigaen ende suijcker, dit tsamen doergeslegen dattet the pas dick is ende opgesoden ende die cloetkens daer in gedaen ende mede op gesoden ende soe werm gedient, vijf of zes in een pateel.
Translation (as appeared in Tournaments Illuminated)
To make balls of meat
Take pork, hams of pig and boil them in clean water until they are done, and the meat with the fat ground in a mortar, and add four or five egg yolks, cinnamon, ginger and clove powder, the most galingale and saffron, mixed together and made into balls like egg yolks and sugar put into it, and then take white wine and white bread, the crusts taken off and put in the wine, on the fire so that the bread can soak, put in ginger, cinnamon, saffron, galingale and sugar, put it through a sieve so that it is thick enough, let it come to boil, put the meatballs in and let them boil, and serve it warm, five or six on a plate.
My notes:
The big difference with "ordinary" meatballs is that these are made from ground boiled ham rather than ground raw meat, and mixed with "fat" and egg yolks. The number of egg yolks given is rather meaningless since no meat quantity is specified. I have used regular ground raw meat instead of fat, and added finely chopped cooked ham or fried bacon, which gives an interesting texture to the balls. I never added more than one whole egg. I've also usually added an amount of breadcrumbs to the meat mixture to improve consistency. For spices I add ginger, cinnamon, clove and sugar. I haven't found a source yet for galingale, and I'm not terribly fond of saffron.
The recipe requires the balls to be cooked in the wine sauce, but I feel that requires a larger quantity of sauce than you are likely to eat, and will probably make for a rather greasy sauce, particularly if the balls are ground raw pork. I've fried them, but that does strange things to the sugar, so in my last trials I just arrange the balls on a plate and nuke them until done (that way they release a lot of their fat, which I pour off and keep for other uses - the juices can go into pork-flavoured ramen, the fat I throw away or mix with seeds to turn into birdfood)
For the sauce, I use about 1/2 bottle of cheap white wine, add about 2 slices of bread (without crusts), 2 tablespoons of sugar, and more ginger and cinnamon, let it all soak, mix it, then heat gently and throw in the balls. The bread is an interesting thickening agent, but it burns easily, so keep stirring. I have also used brown bread instead of white, which has no negative effect beyond making the sauce look like something the dog puked up. If you have guests or care about presentation, go for white bread, and perhaps consider adding the saffron...
The balls should not be too large to be eaten with a spoon. You will want to use a spoon for the yummy sauce :) I think the whole is best served with bread.
Transcription of the original:
Omme te maicken cloetkens van vleys
Men sal nemen verckensvleijs, die hammen van verckensvleijs, ende siedense in scoen water al morwe ende dan dat vleijs mitten vette al cleijn gewreven in een mortier, daer in gedaen vier of vijf doeyeren van rauwen eyeren, caneel, ghenebaer ende luttel naghelpoer, dat meest galigaen ende soffraen, dit samen gemenget ende aen cloetkens gemaict als doeijeren van eyeren ende suker daer in gedaen ende dan genomen witte wijn ende wittebroot, die korsten af gedaen ende in die wijn geleijt, op dat vier geseth dat broot vucken mach, daer in gedaen genebaer, caneel, soffraen, galigaen ende suijcker, dit tsamen doergeslegen dattet the pas dick is ende opgesoden ende die cloetkens daer in gedaen ende mede op gesoden ende soe werm gedient, vijf of zes in een pateel.
Translation (as appeared in Tournaments Illuminated)
To make balls of meat
Take pork, hams of pig and boil them in clean water until they are done, and the meat with the fat ground in a mortar, and add four or five egg yolks, cinnamon, ginger and clove powder, the most galingale and saffron, mixed together and made into balls like egg yolks and sugar put into it, and then take white wine and white bread, the crusts taken off and put in the wine, on the fire so that the bread can soak, put in ginger, cinnamon, saffron, galingale and sugar, put it through a sieve so that it is thick enough, let it come to boil, put the meatballs in and let them boil, and serve it warm, five or six on a plate.
My notes:
The big difference with "ordinary" meatballs is that these are made from ground boiled ham rather than ground raw meat, and mixed with "fat" and egg yolks. The number of egg yolks given is rather meaningless since no meat quantity is specified. I have used regular ground raw meat instead of fat, and added finely chopped cooked ham or fried bacon, which gives an interesting texture to the balls. I never added more than one whole egg. I've also usually added an amount of breadcrumbs to the meat mixture to improve consistency. For spices I add ginger, cinnamon, clove and sugar. I haven't found a source yet for galingale, and I'm not terribly fond of saffron.
The recipe requires the balls to be cooked in the wine sauce, but I feel that requires a larger quantity of sauce than you are likely to eat, and will probably make for a rather greasy sauce, particularly if the balls are ground raw pork. I've fried them, but that does strange things to the sugar, so in my last trials I just arrange the balls on a plate and nuke them until done (that way they release a lot of their fat, which I pour off and keep for other uses - the juices can go into pork-flavoured ramen, the fat I throw away or mix with seeds to turn into birdfood)
For the sauce, I use about 1/2 bottle of cheap white wine, add about 2 slices of bread (without crusts), 2 tablespoons of sugar, and more ginger and cinnamon, let it all soak, mix it, then heat gently and throw in the balls. The bread is an interesting thickening agent, but it burns easily, so keep stirring. I have also used brown bread instead of white, which has no negative effect beyond making the sauce look like something the dog puked up. If you have guests or care about presentation, go for white bread, and perhaps consider adding the saffron...
The balls should not be too large to be eaten with a spoon. You will want to use a spoon for the yummy sauce :) I think the whole is best served with bread.
