Tart de ffruyte - A Tart of Fruit (with salmon)

I was looking for interesting recipes that used figs, and this time I found one that wasn't a dessert or other sugary preparation.   It is from the book Take a Thousand Eggs or More, a Collection of 15th Century Recipes by Cindy Renfrow.  In particular, this is Volume Two.

ISBN 0-9628598-2-6

Ms. Renfrow gives us the original recipes from a variety of medieval English manuscripts and also her translations.  Some recipes she adapted for the modern kitchen.  The recipe I chose is on page 58, under the section labeled "FISH -- salmon".  

Tart of fruit

Take figs, and seethe them in wine, and grind them small, And take them up into a vessel; And take powdered pepper, Cinnamon, Cloves, Maces, powdered ginger, pine nuts, great raisins of Corinth, saffron, and salt, and cast thereto; and then make fair low coffins, and put this stuff therein, And plant pine nuts above; and cut dates and fresh salmon in fair pieces, or else fresh eels, and parboil them in a little wine, and put them thereon; And cover the coffins fair with the same paste, and glaze the coffin without with saffron & almond milk; and set them in the oven and let bake.

My Redaction

1 lb. fresh figs, stems removed, about 20.  (Or less if dried, see notes below.)

1/2 cup red wine

A small handful of almonds, about 1/2 ounce by weight; chopped, ground, or pounded into small pieces

4 or 5 threads of saffron

About 1/2 cup boiling water

enough pie crust dough to make a double crust

1/4 tsp. ground pepper

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/16 tsp. ground cloves

1/8 tsp. ground mace

1/8 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 cup pine nuts, divided in half

 1/2 cup currants

another 6 or so threads of saffron, crushed between your fingers

1/8 tsp. salt

8 ounces fresh salmon, cut into bite-sized pieces

6 ounces dates, pitted and sliced

Everything except the dough, almond milk, and fig-wine filling.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Chop the figs.  Put them in a small saucepan with the wine.  Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and then cover and simmer until they are tender, about 5 to 7 minutes.  Allow to cool while you are making the rest of the recipe.

Then make the almond milk by mixing the ground almonds and threads of saffron with boiling water and allowing it to steep until cool.  Strain the resulting almond milk from the mix by pouring it all through several layers of cheesecloth, a fine sieve, or a cloth bag.  Set the almond milk aside for the end of the recipe.

Line a pie pan with the lower crust, leaving some extra dough at the edges to help seal the second crust.

Mix the spices, 1/4 cup pine nuts, currants, broken saffron, and salt in a bowl, then add the cooled figs and wine.  Mix well and put into the pie crust.

Sprinkle the surface with the rest of the pine nuts, add a layer of the chopped dates, and then the salmon pieces.

Cover with the second crust.  Cut some vent holes.  Brush the top of the crust with the almond milk.

Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees F and bake another 30 to 40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.

Let cool a little before cutting and serving.

My Notes

I suspect the recipe was designed to use dried figs.  Most recipes seemed to call for them dried, and I can understand why -- the fresh fig season is short and drying figs makes them last through the year.

But I don't care.  I'm using fresh because I have them!  Dried figs simmered in wine will rehydrate and be easier to eat.  I think I would use 15 to 20 dried figs, chopped, and simmer them longer.

Figs and wine.  Could be the whole meal right there!

Before cooking

After cooking

Next, make the almond milk.  You need so little that it is easier to make it than to buy it, and you know you are getting something without additives.  I keep the leftover ground almonds and mix in a little cinnamon and honey for a small snack.

Almonds before pounding.  You just need a few!

Pounded.  Making the pieces smaller is fine.

With boiling water and saffron.  Ready to steep.

Strained milk.  The yellow is from the saffron.

While this is steeping, mix up the spices, pine nuts, and currants.  Add them to the cooling fig and wine mixture.

Spices, pine nuts, currants

The entire bottom layer of filling

The fig, wine, and spices filling needs to be cool enough not to melt the fat in the lower crust.  I put mine in the freezer to chill it faster.

Here is how I sliced the dates and chunked the salmon:

The quantity of the fig and spice filling seemed just right for the cast iron skillet I was using as a pie pan.  The other layers were spread evenly across the top.

Bottom layer

Pine nut layer

Date layer

Salmon layer

Top crust with glaze

After my tart had baked for 20 minutes at the 350 degree F temperature, I thought the edge of the crust was at risk of burning, so I put a foil cover on it.  Then it baked for another 20 minutes.

The Verdict

This is the tart right out of the oven.

The bit of salmon I could see through the vent slits looked cooked.  I wasn't worried that it didn't cook enough, but that it was overcooked and dry.  I let the tart cool until it was still warm but not putting my mouth at risk of being burnt.

My guest taster wanted me to write that the crust was excellent.  I mostly agreed - I thought it was a little too crumbly - but it was flaky and tender and flavorful.

You can see that the layers were distinct enough:  fig layer, then the nut-date-salmon layer above that.  

The salmon was cooked thoroughly but not dry (whew!).  The rest of the filling was moist and cooked.

The flavors were interesting in a very good way.  First, recognize it is a fruit tart with salmon, not a salmon tart with fruit.  My guest taster wished there was much more salmon in it.  I can understand that sentiment.  

What we got was the lovely mixture of fruits that was lightly spiced.  The fig seeds added crunch and the pine nuts added chewy.  Fruit was the dominant flavoring.  The salmon was a fascinating diversion from what could have been a dessert dish -- you would bite into the crust and fruit and suddenly taste the meaty flavor of the salmon.  It reminded you it was a main dish, and that surprise was pleasant.  It also helped that the fruit was not too sweet.  

I declare it a success.  I loved the fruit-and-meat combination, and the subtle spicing.  I loved that it was only lightly sweet and that I got that savory salmon as part of most bites.

If I were to grant my guest taster's wish to make it a salmon tart with fruit, I think I would put half of the fig mixture in the crust, then top it with a layer of salmon, using 12 to 16 ounces to pack the layer densely.  Then I would spread the rest of the fig layer on top and use fewer dates on top of that.  I believe the fig mixture would keep the salmon moist.  Maybe some day!

Pear and Fig Jam - a Pinedo recipe

My fig tree is producing this year -- not the huge amounts I read about for people with mature fig trees, because mine has been on my property for only about 6 years.  But it is making enough to make me happy.  I love fresh figs!  The variety I have is Violet de Bordeaux, which is a semi-dwarf, and its figs are purple.  They are also so sweet and flavorful, they are like eating candy.

This morning I picked all the ripe fruits I could reach.  That gave me about 3 pounds of fruit, with more on the way.  Breakfast was greatly enhanced by consuming fresh figs!

I decided to check out my translation of Encarnacion Pinedo's book, The Spanish Cook, to see if there were any fig recipes I wanted to use.  I chose her Pear and Fig Jam on page 162.

My Redaction

1 pound granulated sugar

2 cups water

2 pounds Bartlett pears; peeled, cored, and chopped into small pieces

1 pound fresh figs; stemmed and chopped

I forgot to peel the pear for the picture.  That was done afterwards.

Mmmmmm!

Mix the sugar and water well, and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down and simmer for one minute.

Add the pears, bring to a boil, the reduce the heat and allow them to simmer for two hours.

Add the chopped figs.  Cook until the jam thickens or the temperature reaches 210 degrees F.

Put into canning jars, cool, then refrigerate.  Makes 3 to 4 cups.

My Notes

Preparing the fruit was easy and straightforward.

Chopped pears

Pears and syrup

Brought to a boil, then simmered

After two hours of simmering

I was surprised that the pears hadn't disintegrated with all that cooking.  They appeared candied, and they tasted that way, too, but they were very soft.

The recipe did not specify to peel the figs, so I chopped them and hoped for the best.

Chopped figs

Jams are usually cooked until they reach 220 degrees F.  I tried to get this mixture to that temperature, but it seemed to be thickening too much without achieving it.  I was worried I was making the jam too hard.  At best, I got it to 215 degrees.

What I did was keep it cooking over a low heat (about 3 out of a scale of 10), stirring and checking the temperature every five to ten minutes.  Sometimes I took out a spoonful and let it cool to check for thickness.  Stirring seemed a good idea; only a little of the jam stuck to the bottom of the pan, and that was at the very end of the cooking.

The Verdict

After the jam chilled overnight, my guest taster and I tried it.

It was very firm, as you can see on the spoon.  It was a little spreadable but not as soft as I normally think of with jam.  I don't think it was too firm, but could have been cooked less.

The color was a rich burgundy; very pretty.

The flavor was amazing:  both the pear and fig came through.  The seeds added a nice crunch.  It was sweet but not too sweet.  I think I got the sugar content just right.

The pear pieces were still mostly as pieces -- I was right, they were candied and stood out as slightly more chewy than the rest of the jam.  I liked it, even though I wasn't sure at first.  My guest taster agreed that the chewy pear was surprising but not bad.

Success!

I had a new guest taster, SD, try it without being told what it was or what was in it.  She felt it was too sweet -- so if you think it might be for you, I would reduce the sugar by up to half, but use the same amount of water.  SD also thought the texture was interesting -- the firm bits caught her attention.  I think she was surprised to find out that it was from pears and that they were candied.

What my usual guest taster and I both really enjoyed was the bright flavor of the fruit, and that it wasn't overwhelmed with the sugar.  When I read the recipe, I thought spices would be a good addition, but now I believe they would not let the fruit flavor shine through.  If I was making a big batch of this for canning, I might add some candied ginger or a splash of lemon or lime juice to some of the jars.

SD agreed with this -- she felt the mixture would be improved with some acidity, like a little apple cider vinegar, and with some spices like pepper to make it more savory.  I liked her suggestion, and wondered if adding nuts, too, to make it more like a chutney.

She had imagined how she would use this spread and thought it would pair nicely with pork or chicken, or with cream cheese or brie on crackers.

I have only a little experience cooking jams the "usual" way, that is by cooking the fruit and adding sugar to it.  I have even less experience starting with a syrup and cooking the fruit in it.  I believe that when starting with syrup, achieving a lower temperature is better than the standard 220 degrees.  

I looked up more advice in the internet.  Several websites suggest cooking until the mixture thickens slightly.  Others say to watch for when the mixture changes from a foamy, roiling boil to a more sedate bubbling without changing the heat under it.  There were times when I was watching the cooking that I thought it was done -- and that was around 210 degrees.  

Bring Us a Figgy Pudding

It started with this website discussing various English pudding techniques:  http://www.historicfood.com/English%20Puddings.htm

Then it got pushed along when I broke all the "rules" and started listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving.

It occurred to me that I really wanted to make a boiled pudding for this blog and do it early enough that it could be posted before Christmas.

I have many recipes for puddings but what I really wanted was the classic "figgy pudding" referenced by my beloved Christmas songs.  Or at least what I imagined was classic!

There was really only one source I felt was worthy of this:  Hearthside Cooking by Nancy Carter Crump.  Ms. Crump, a culinary historian, does historical cooking demonstrations (and thus is near and dear to my heart); this book is a compilation of her research which includes recipes from colonial Virginia families.  The treat is that all her recipes first have instructions for cooking at the hearth and side notes for using more modern equipment.

ISBN  0-914440-94-2

In particular, on pages 244 and 245, she gives detailed instructions on how to make a pudding cloth, prepare it for use, and how to actually boil a pudding.  This was what I had been looking for when I acquired her book.

Ms. Crump did not disappoint.  On page 257 is:

Mrs. Alexander Cameron's Fig Pudding

Original recipe:
1/2 lb stale bread crumbs.  1/2 lb figs put through meat chopper.  2 eggs.  6 oz. brown sugar, 2 oz. flour  1/4 lb suet, a little milk, about half a cup.  flavor with nutmeg.  Boil 2 hours & serve with or without sauce.   (From the Shirley Plantation Collection, link: Shirley Plantation)

What excited me was the tiny footnote:  "Best cooked a week or two before use.  Wrap and store in air-tight container.  Warm through before serving."  Hey, I can make this in advance!

Instructions

1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup milk (I used half and half, rather than non-fat milk)
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup finely chopped suet (I used solid shortening, just a little less than a cup)
4 cups stale bread crumbs
2 teaspoons nutmeg  (one "nut" made about this much)
1/2 cup flour
2 cups chopped fresh figs or 3/4 cup dried (I used dried)

(My note:  I bought a loaf of French bread the night before I made this, sliced it thinly, and laid the slices out on a tray to stale overnight.  Then I processed them to crumbs.)

1.  Combine egg, milk, and brown sugar, blending well.

2.  Combine suet, bread crumbs, and nutmeg in a bowl.  Add liquid and mix thoroughly.

My Notes:  Since I used solid shortening instead of suet, I felt it was important to make sure it was well-distributed throughout the bread crumbs.  So I put it in a spoonful at a time, "mashing" it through the nutmeg and crumbs mixture, sort of like the way I would mix a pie crust.  At the end of the mixing, it looked pretty uniform.

I mixed in one little spoonful at a time

Crumbly like a pie crust

3.  Combine flour with figs, mixing well.  Fold into batter.

4.  Wet and butter a pudding cloth and gather around the batter.  Tie secure with string, leaving room for pudding to expand.

Dip the heavy linen cloth in boiling water, drain, spread with butter, dust with flour

Pudding mixture

Make sure ALL edges are tied up so nothing comes out during boiling

5.  Set an iron pot of water on crane and bring to a boil over flames.  Drop in pudding and boil 2 hours, turning occasionally and keeping water at a boil.  Replenish with additional boiling water as needed.

I have no crane, but this will do.  It barely fit in my biggest pot.

6.  Pull crane away from fire and carefully remove pudding.  Drain thoroughly in colander, then cut away string and put pudding in serving dish.

Steaming while draining

Unwrapped and cooling

7.  Serve hot, with or without sauce.

I want to serve it at Thanksgiving, so I am wrapping it and storing it away as per the footnote.

Other notes:
I made my first boiled pudding last spring in my own Tudor kitchen (see June 1, 2012 posting) and the recipe I used said to put a ball of butter in the middle of the pudding.  When that butter was seen in the boiling water, you knew the pudding was done.  That worked well.  This time I just went with the recommended two hour time.

Since my pot was so full during the boiling, I had to decide how hot it should really be.  I couldn't do a full, rolling boil without splashing all over, so I made it as hot as I could without making a mess.  I kept the pot very full of water, adding hot water from a kettle as needed, and turning the pudding every 15 minutes or so.  It swelled up visibly.

*******
Post-Thanksgiving Feedback 

Here is the pudding after about 10 days of being tightly wrapped and stored in the refrigerator:

It was firm and smelled nice.

I heated it up (first in the oven, then in the microwave oven to get it thoroughly hot) and served it at Thanksgiving dinner without any sauce.  I considered it a side dish.

The Verdict:  I liked it!  The flavor with definitely "figgy" with a mild spice complement.  The texture was firm and slightly creamy.  The bread crumb "matrix" that held the fig bits was a little bland, which was a good thing.  It was only mildly sweet so the figs could add their sweetness and keep it from being more of a dessert.

In summary, I would recommend it.  It was easy to make and fun to serve, as a bit of true England.  Success!

If I were to make it over again, I think I would chop the figs finer, so you don't get such a big bite of all fig when you do hit a chunk.  However, that would spread the fig bits more thoroughly through the whole pudding -- I'm not sure if that would be good or not!

One thing I like about figs is how their seeds crunch, and I got that in this pudding.


A quote from Ms. Crump's book:  "Blessed be he that invented pudding, for it is a manna that hits the palates of all sorts of people."  Happy Holidays!