Leche Lombard, a medieval date roll, with a Chinese-style bonus!

Leche Lombard is a medieval English recipe on page 133 in A Taste of History by Maggie Black.  I made this dish once before, years ago, and recalled how much I enjoyed it.  When I came across the recipe again, I took the opportunity to make it.

ISBN 0-7141-1788-9

The word "leche" implies that something is thickened.  In this case, a spiced date puree is thickened with egg yolks and bread crumbs, turning it into finger food, and served as an appetizer or a dessert.  It is not hard to make, especially if you have modern kitchen tools like a stick blender or a food processor.  If you want to go more "medieval", you can use a mortar and pestle.

In this case, I was taking it to a social gathering where I knew the people would be willing to try something new.  

Leche Lumbard -- Date Slices with Spiced Wine

1 3/4 pound dates, pits removed

3/4 pint medium-dry white wine

3 ounces light soft brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

6 hard-boiled egg yolks

about 6 ounces soft brown bread crumbs **have more on hand just in case**

3 - 4 tablespoons Madeira heated with a pinch of mixed spices

My bread crumbs were not brown, but they were soft.

Break up the dates and simmer with the wine and sugar until pulpy.  Pound or put through a food processor until almost smooth.  Mix in the spices and sieve or work in the egg yolks.  In a bowl, knead in enough breadcrumbs to make the mixture as stiff as marzipan.  Form it into a 2 inch (5 cm) diameter roll, and chill until firm.  Cut into 1/4 inch slices.  Arrange in overlapping lines on a plate, and trickle a drop or two of cooled, spiced wine over each slice.

My Notes

This recipe and a different redaction of it, is also found on page 138 of Fabulous Feasts by Madeleine Pelner Cosman.  That is how I knew the original name, which is not part of A Taste of History.

Here are the pictures of cooking the dates "until pulpy."

Ready to cook.

Pulpy.

I used a stick blender to puree the dates in the pan:

Smooth enough!

Just for fun, I pounded the bread in the mortar and sieved it until it was little bits.  I also pushed the egg yolks through a sieve until it was tiny pieces.

Then I mixed everything together well.  It wasn't as stiff as I wanted or as I recalled when I made it previously, but I was out of breadcrumbs.  I had to take it as it was and hope for the best.

So I rolled into a log shape and wrapped it in waxed paper for chilling.

About 2 inches in diameter and 15 inches long.

This fit on a tray in my refrigerator.

It didn't firm up as much as I had hoped, even after 4 hours of chilling.  But I sliced it anyways and arranged it on a serving platter with the spiced wine on top.

The Verdict

They were sticky but not terribly so.  I could pick up a slice and eat it without losing much or any along the way.  I liked them -- the texture was interesting, the flavor was spices and dates and richness.  It was not too sweet, and the wine seemed to add a more "adult-like" feel to this dessert.

The people at the gathering I attended enjoyed it.  One thought it was good enough that maybe it was "healthy", which made me laugh.  No, not really, but it was fun to think so.  Most pieces were gone by the end of the evening and the host wanted me to leave some behind, which I did.

Success!  Although I would add more bread crumbs to make it thicker and not so sticky.

I also think that you could make the texture more interesting by kneading in some toasted nuts (I would use chopped almonds) before making the roll.  

And Now for the Bonus

What I took to the gathering was not all the date mixture.  I had a lot left over at home.  I decided it would be a good filling for a Chinese moon cake.  Completely non-traditional, I guessed, but I had been given a moon cake mold by YT and wanted to play with it.

Exterior view of the mold.

Interior view.

I used a recipe from Nyonya Cooking's website to make the golden syrup and the dough.  Click here to see it.  I already owned a bottle of lye water.  Golden syrup is just a simple syrup of water and sugar with a strong lemon flavor, and it was easy to make.

Just add water.

Simmered for 35 minutes to turn golden.

It tasted lovely!  I think I would make this just to have on hand for an ice cream topping or brushing on a cake or to put in my tea.  

To make the dough, which the site calls "foolproof", requires cake flour, for which I substituted 200 g all-purpose flour mixed well with 40 g cornstarch.  Also, the dough recipe author has never met this fool, as I managed to mis-measure the lye water, putting in too much.  I completed the recipe anyway.

Include the golden syrup!

I found that the mold could hold 25 g of filling with 25 g of dough comfortably.  It took a little practice to get it to work well in the mold, but it wasn't hard.  Weighing everything on a scale was a good idea.

This was too big for the mold.  Reduce by half.

Out of the mold, ready to bake.

First you bake them for 10 minutes, let them cool for 10 minutes, brush them with the egg wash, then bake them again for 10 minutes or until golden brown all over.  

Done!

Honestly, the filling was better distributed than this in many of them.

The Verdict

Nyonya's site says to let the cakes sit in a closed container for about 3 days for the oil in the filling to soften the crust.  Another website agrees but encourages tasting it while the crust is still crispy.  I did both.  

First, it was really obvious that I had put in too much lye water.  I could taste it and it was not a pleasant addition.  Even after the cakes had matured for a few days, the lye flavor was there.  However, I could get past that in order to judge the final result.  

I thought the leche Lombard filling was a very good idea.  It achieved similar results to the professionally-made moon cakes I have previously tried.  Tasty, not too sweet, and balanced with the crust.  My observation is that Asian desserts are very understated, and this was that.  But it was still flavorful enough to be interesting.  

Success again!  Just be careful in measuring the lye water...

Dulcia Domestica -- Roman Empire "Dates Alexandrine"

I have returned to my The Roman Cookery of Apicius book.  This time I have a dessert made with dates and almonds and cinnamon.

ISBN 0-88179-008-7

"Dulcia Domestica" means "homemade sweets".  The author who translated and redacted the recipes, John Edwards, said in the footnotes,

The word Alexandrine when used as an adjective by Apicius implied "expensive" or "best quality."  Alexandria itself was the great port of arrival for spices from India and China.

Dulcia Domestica:  The Original Recipe (Translated)

Take palms or dates, with the stones removed, and stuff them with nuts or nut kernels and ground pepper.  Salt the dates on top and bottom and fry in cooked honey, and serve.

Mr. Edwards also comments

In the preparation of sweets, Apicius used the word "pepper" loosely.  In the first century A.D., cinnamon and nutmeg were thought by the Romans to have common points of origin with pepper.  They were, in those days, prohibitively expensive.

So in his redaction, Mr. Edwards has us using cinnamon.

Dates Alexandria (page 173)

20 whole dates
20 blanched almonds
1 t. cinnamon
butter
salt
liquid honey

And olive oil for the pan

Remove pits from dates.  Roll almonds in cinnamon and stuff one in each date.  Place dates on a greased pan.  Sprinkle salt over the dates, then coat each one with honey.  Glaze in a 450 degree F oven for 10 minutes, then serve.

My Notes

I bought pitted dates, which was really convenient.  To slice them open to allow the almonds, I inserted the knife into the side hole and cut outwards.  This kept the date from being crushed by the knife.

It was easy to blanch the almonds.  The benefit was that the almonds were still damp so the cinnamon stuck to them well.  You really want a light dusting of cinnamon all over the almond.  Some will rub off on your fingers while stuffing and some will rub off to the inside of the date.

I kept rolling the almonds in the extra cinnamon as I was taking some out.

Some dates were big enough that I put in two almonds to make it look filled.

I think they would be better pushed closed, if possible.

I used kosher salt and sprinkled just a little over the tops.  None on the bottoms.

A little more is acceptable.

The pan was greased with olive oil (I think this is more realistic than using butter).

Then I drizzled each date with a bit of honey.  I did not try to coat each one thoroughly.

Just a zigzag drizzle across each.

I cooked them in a toaster oven.  Because of the close quarters and high heat, I cooked them for 5 minutes instead of ten.

I pulled it out when the honey smoked a little.

After they came out of the oven, I let them cool to the touch.  But get them out of the puddle of honey before it gets too cool, or they will stick to the pan despite the olive oil.

The Verdict

Confession time:  I made these once before but didn't document it.  They were good!  This time around didn't disappoint, either.

The nice part about cooking them in the honey is that the honey gets less sticky, making it a pleasure to eat the dates instead of a mess.

I loved the crunchy texture and cinnamon, sweet date flavors.  At first I thought the honey glaze was going to be too much sweet, but it really was just a back up flavor.  It made the overall taste deeper.  But what really startled me was the addition of the salt.

I know salt and sweet together can be good.  In fact, a little salt can make the sweet taste sweeter.  But this was a stronger salt sensation and, once I expected it, was a lovely complement to the sweet.  It reminded me a little of kettle corn, a sweet and salty crunchy version of candied popcorn.

Dates Alexandrine were a solid success.

Now here is the good part:  The second day they tasted even better!  What I noticed is that the salt dissolved into the honey and spread out over more of the date.  It was a lighter salt experience but still good.

I shared the dates with my colleagues.  I had wanted more cinnamon flavor (as did my guest tasters at dinner) but several of my colleagues admitted to disliking cinnamon.  However they did like the dates as given to them and thought the amount of cinnamon was just right.

So it is your choice!  If you think your diners love cinnamon, consider putting on more on the almonds or sprinkling some into the dates.  If you are not sure, go with the recipe.

I liked the author's idea to bake the dates.  However if I were to do this as a public demonstration, I would fry them as the original recipe indicates.

Finally, I would like to try this with pepper only, or a mixture of cinnamon and pepper, some time.  I think the bitter from the pepper would be intriguing and the whole flavor surprising.

Stuffed Dates -- The "No Kitchen" Challenge

The kitchen remodel is moving along well:  the new cabinetry is in along with the improved LED lighting.  All that is needed now is the counter top, touch up paint, some tiling, and the electrical outlets and light switches.

So my challenge for this post was to make something that didn't require an oven or stove, although using the microwave was acceptable.  The problem was lack of preparation space and keeping the number of dirty dishes to a minimum.  (I'm still washing dishes in the bathroom sink.)

After due consideration (honest, it wasn't a total panic!) I realized that I could make something I have made in my historical cooking demonstrations in the past.  Stuffed dates have always been a hit -- sweet, creamy, and with cinnamon.

Normally I make this with the green cheese I posted earlier on this blog.  You should try it, too!  I think it makes a better product.  For my challenge, though, I used cream cheese.

I know this recipe is medieval or Renaissance English.  If I can find it in a book some time, I'll post the reference.  Right now I'm working from memory.

Stuffed Dates

Pitted dates (I used about 1 pound)
Cream cheese (8 ounces was more than enough)
A plain sweet bread or cake (I used a purchased, frozen pound cake)
Cinnamon, ground (I used about 1 1/2 teaspoons)
Pepper, ground (I used about 1/8 teaspoon)

Soften the cream cheese (10 seconds in the microwave was just right).  Mix in the cinnamon and pepper.

Crumble 6 to 8 ounces of the pound cake and mix the crumbs into the cream cheese mixture.  The idea is to make the mixture stiffer and drier than plain cream cheese.  *I had better results with the green cheese.  That turned into a dough-like consistency and the spices stayed as distinct specks. Very attractive.*  The cream cheese remained a bit sticky and the spices turned it light brown.  Still, I'm not complaining!

Taste the cheese mixture:  It should have the slight tang of cream cheese but the cinnamon should be dominant.  If not, add more cinnamon.  The pepper should not be obvious.  It just adds a depth of flavor to the cinnamon.

The cheese filling, complete

Put the cheese into the refrigerator for a little while.  In the mean time, slice the pitted dates lengthwise on one side into the pit opening.  Don't cut them in half!

Using a spoon, put some of the cheese mixture into the date.  Put in enough to have some of it poke out through the slit.  I tried to make mine decorative but was only partially successful.

Once the dates were all filled, I dusted them with an extra bit of cinnamon to give them a visual as well as a flavor boost.

TA DA!

The Verdict

Very tasty, as usual! The dates are certainly sweet enough and the cheese mixture adds a creamy, cinnamon-spicy counterflavor to make them special.  The size is just right for two bites or so.  That keeps it from being overwhelmingly sweet.  It is a good finger food, too, although somewhat sticky.  They could be served at a buffet as a curiosity.  People who like dates tend to enjoy them!

I had some cheese mixture left over, so I spread some on the left over pound cake.  Tasty but too soft for me.  I wanted some chopped nuts with it.  My guest taste tester and assistant preparer, who doesn't like chopped nuts, thought it was good as it was.

In the past when I have had left over cheese mixture, I added chopped raisins and rolled them into little balls.  That is another handy way to serve them.  They might be even more attractive with a dusting of cinnamon, too.

If I were to do this over again, I would probably use ricotta cheese and drain it first.  I like the tang of the cream cheese but mixture was stickier than I really like.

By the way, you can probably cut the dates in half and stuff each half.  There is nothing wrong with that!