This is the digital translation of a book in Hungarian that I have tried recipes from before. Here is the book reference:
The Prince of Transylvania’s court cookbook
From the 16th century
THE SCIENCE OF COOKING
You can find a copy of it here: http://www.medievalcookery.com/etexts/transylvania-v2.pdf
The recipes I have tried are here: Prince of Transylvania's court cookbook
Today I picked recipe number 81, found on page 20.
Veal in grape leaves.
Cut the roast veal like they cut dumplings (chopped into a fine mince); slice some bacon, add some black pepper and eggs, if you have no eggs, ‘tis no problem, for the grape leaves hold it (Hold them together in their shape) , but the grape leaves are good only if they are weak (Weak: young and/or tender), put meat balls onto the leaves, fold them, put it in the pot, pour beef broth on top then cook it, add some black pepper and serve it with the grape leaves.
My Redaction
The first decision I made was to use chicken instead of veal. It is more available and less expensive. Because of this, I chose to use chicken broth instead of beef broth.
The directions say to "cut the roast veal", so I chose to use cooked chicken. What I had on hand was chicken thighs that had been marinated and grilled, so I removed the skin and cut the meat off the bones. It was this that I weighed for the ingredients list below.
1 lb cooked chicken meat
1/4 lb bacon
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 egg, beaten
grape leaves (preserved) for wrapping
chicken broth to cover
And chicken broth |
I chopped in batches and made tiny bits. |
I sprinkled the pepper over the two meats and mixed it all well.
Pre-egg. A fluffy mass. |
Barely moist and perfect for holding the mixture together. |
One grape leaf was positioned on my cutting board with the stem away from me.
I put all of them with the veins up, towards me. |
With practice, I knew where to put the mixture for easy wrapping. |
Later I found putting the filling lower than this worked better for wrapping without losing filling. |
The leaf wrapped around the filling to about the same size as the filling. |
The first layer |
A layer and a bit more of another |
Wetter than the first mix because 1 egg was used for a smaller quantity. |
I poured about 20 ounces of chicken broth over the layers in the kettle. This didn't quite cover them all, but the highest ones still had broth up to about their half-way point.
Not covered but close. |
Once the cooking was through, I removed the lid and let them cool a little.
Cooked and cooled. |
As per the original directions, I sprinkled a very little bit of pepper over the tops of the stack. I just used a pinch of pepper across the tops.
Once stacked, a lot of the broth settled at the bottom, which I drained off before serving.
The Verdict
I served them with chardonnay wine. Yes, that was all!
We tried the original recipe first, and it was still warm from the kettle. Oh. My. It was wonderful! I was astonished at how good it tasted: juicy, and rich in meaty and peppery flavors. The bacon had made it just right with the salt balance. The pepper came through but was not overwhelming. The texture was a little chewy (nice!), the leaves were tender, and one bundle was two or three bites -- perfect.
The modified recipe was also very good: all the same flavors as the original but with a little more resistance to the tooth from the pine nuts and a charming, little burst of sour from the barberries. My guest taster declared that to be the best part and so the modified was his favorite. He thought the original was definitely sweeter than the modified but not in a bad way.
I loved them both equally. I liked the burst of sour and the pine nut but I also liked eating the original as a counterpoint to not having the burst. The original really had the bacon-and-chicken blend as its emphasis, which appealed to me.
I think I could do without the light sprinkling of pepper on the bundles. A few times I felt the pepper was too dominant, and it had to have been because of the sprinkling. I think if I were to do that again, I would either skip it or put on even less.
So success! A marvelous success! It was easy to make (the rolling of the bundles was actually a contemplative time for me) and the results were excellent.
Extras: They were good warmed up the next day, served with toast and melon. They were good cold, right out of the refrigerator, too. The pepper flavor really came through then, as a bite on the tongue. If you don't like that, use 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons in the filling.
Side note: The broth itself, what was left over in the kettle, was also very tasty. Worth sipping!
Oh, those sound delicious...I could see having a few of them for breakfast this morning!
ReplyDeleteThey were and I did! They were perfect light snacks, too, when I needed a few calories but not a full meal. I think they would make excellent appetizers, and could be made in advance.
ReplyDelete