Recipe for a Dish of Olives
Olives and chard cooked with herbs & spices & topped with cheese - contributed by L. J. Spencer, Jr.
  • 1 tsp Salt 
  • 1/4 cp. Cilantro, chopped 
  • 1/4 tsp. Black pepper, ground 
  • 1 can Chickpeas 
  • 1 stalk Fennel, sliced
  • 1/4 tsp. Cassia, ground
  • 1 sprig Thyme 
  • 1/4 tsp. True cinnamon, ground
  • 1/2 tsp. Cumin seed, ground 
  • 1/2 tsp. Coriander seed, ground 
  • 1 LB Chard, quartered 
  • 2 Citron leaves 
  • 10 Black olives 
  • 1 cp. Water 
  • 1 T crumbled strong cheese
  • 1 T chopped black olives
Mix salt, cilantro, pepper, chickpeas, fennel, cassia, thyme, cinnamon, coriander, cumin and citron leaves in a pot with water. Bring to a boil. Stir down. Repeat twice. Add chard and olives to pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Simmer until chard is tender. Garnish with cheese and chopped olives.

Notes on the recipe:

The recipe for this dish is found on pg. A-13 in A Collection of Medieval and Renaissance Cookbooks, Vol. II by David Freidman. The original recipe is an extremely elaborate partridge/meatball and vegetable dish with a sort of dumpling-like meat topping. Given the non-availibility of period medieval middle eastern/Andalusian vegetable recipes, I used this recipe as a base for this creation. While it cannot be said to be "period," the techniques and ingredients are period for Andalusia.

Metric, Celsius, & Gas Mark Equivalencies

L. J. Spencer, Jr. lives in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, where is an active and long-time member of The Society for Creative Anachronism. His SCA feasts are well-known for being both delicious and authentic, and he is a major contributor to the SCA-Cooks Discussion Group.

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Recipe for a Dish of Olives © 1999 L. J. Spencer, Jr. | This page © 2000 James L. Matterer

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