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Title: Fried Fig Pastries
Categories: Medieval Pastry Dessert
Yield: 6 Servings
| MEDIEVAL COOKBOOK; BLACK, MA | ||
| 1 | lb | Dried figs, soaked, drained |
| And minced (reserve the | ||
| Soaking liquid) | ||
| 1/8 | ts | Ground ginger |
| 1/8 | ts | Ground cloves |
| 1 | pn | Black pepper |
| 1/4 | ts | Dried saffron strands; |
| Moistened with fig soaking | ||
| Liquid | ||
| 1/4 | ts | Salt |
| 1 | Egg, separated, | |
| 1 | Egg white | |
| 6 | Sheets filo or strudel | |
| Pastry | ||
| Oil for frying | ||
| 1 | c | Warmed clear honey |
| (optional) | ||
Tourteletes in Frytour. Take figus & grynde hem smal; do therin saffron & powdur fort. Close hem in foyles of dowe, & frye hem in oyle. Clarifye hony & flamme hem therwyt; ete hem hote or colde.
Apothecaries made up and sold a number of spice mixtures ready for use. There were no set recipes for these mixtures, so each practitioner could suit his own taste; but the general style and strength of the 'mix' was reflected by its name. Powder fort almost always contained black pepper, ginger, cloves or cumin and other strong spices. Powder douce contained milder, sweeter spices such as cinnamon and sugar.
Figs were eaten all through Lent but particularly in the week before Easter to commemorate Christ's last ride into Jerusalem. They were a special treat for monks and nuns.
In a food processor combine the minced figs, spices and saffron, salt and egg yolk.
Beat the egg whites until liquid. Lightly brush the top sheet of pastry with egg white. Mark the short side of the pastry sheet at 7.5 cm/3-inch intervals. Then cut the sheet into strips 7.5 cm/3-inches wide. Put a dab of fig mixture on the end of one sheet and roll the strip up like a mini-Swiss roll. Pinche the ends to seal in the fig mixture.
Repeat this process until you have used all the fig mixture; remember to brush every pastry sheet with egg white before cutting it into strips.
Fry the rolls, a few at a time, in deep or shallow oil as you prefer. Serve them with warmed honey spooned over if you like a very sweet sauce. (The old recipe tells you to baste the rolls with the honey, so you may be meant to finish processing the rolls like Crepes Suzette.)
Nutritional information per serving: xx calories, xx gm protein, xx mg cholesterol, xx gm carbohydrate, xx mg sodium, x.x gm fiber, xx gm fat ( x gm sat, x gm mono, x gm poly), x.x mg iron, xx mg calcium, x% of calories from fat.
Brought to you by MMCONV and Sylvia Steiger, GEnie THE.STEIGERS, CI$ 71511,2253, Internet sylvia.steiger@lunatic.com, moderator of GT Cookbook and PlanoNet Lowfat & Luscious echoes
From: Tiffany Hall-Graham Date: 05-24-94 The Lunatic Fringe Bbs * Home Of Plan (901) F-Cooking
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