The original manuscript in Latin calls for almond milk and cinnamon. Being the pomegranate is very sweet to begin with, I decided to not channel the sweeter, creamier side of things and went a savory route. In the original recipe, it even states "However, it can be broth green with herbs. [loosely translated by Google from Latin]" which I interpreted as an option to make an herb focused broth for the chicken.
The original recipe (in Latin) is as follows:
"De romania: de romania, suffrigantur pulli cum lardo et cepis et tarantur amigdale non mondate et distemperentur cum succo granatorum acronum et dulcium.
Postea, colletur et ponatur ad bulliendum cum pullis et cum cocleari egitetur. Et ponatur species.
Potest tamen fieri brodium uiride cum herbis."
The translation that Google provided wasn't exactly the best (other than the last line of text offering a more herbaceous alternative).
I decided to do more digging on a possible alternate translation.
" On Romania, from Romania, suffrigantur chick with bacon and onions and terantur almond pomegranate juice with no mondate and distempered Acroria and sweets. Then, collet and set for boiling with chickens and spoonfuls of disturbance. And a kind.
However, it can be broath green with herbs."
I decided to do more digging on a possible alternate translation.
I came across a translation from Euriol of Lothian that went over their redaction of the recipe. It too included the almond milk, and cinnamon option with no mention of the alternate. Their translation did offer a clearer glimpse into how the prepare and cook the chicken, though. Euriol's recipe translation can be found here.
I hadn't found an alternate broth recipe for the chicken yet, so I decided to make my own using what I thought would be an educated guess at ingredients. Mixing a little Andalusian in with it (as per my persona) I came up with the recipe you see below. It is shown next to Euriol's for comparison.
Euriol of Lothien’s Pomegranate Chicken
1 whole chicken 1 small onion, diced 1 tbsp of olive oil ¼ tsp grains of paradise ¼ tsp ground ginger ¼ tsp cinnamon 1 c almond milk 1 c pomegranate juice Cut the chicken into 8 pieces ( 2 drumsticks, 2 wings, 2 thighs, 2 breasts) and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or 6 quart stock pot. Brown chicken in oil, turning at least once to brown each side. Remove chicken and set aside. Add onion and sauté until translucent. Add remaining ingredients, and reduce heat to simmer. Let stew until chicken is tender and garnish with pomegranate seeds if preferred. |
Lady Elvira’s Pomegranate Chicken
12 lbs of Frozen Chicken Wings
750
ml of Pomegranate Syrup
4
Sprigs of Rosemary
4
Tablespoons of Minced Garlic
2
cups of Parsley
1/2
c of Soy Sauce
Bake
the chicken in the oven as directed on the package.
While
the chicken is cooking, combine the sauce ingredients and set aside.
Once
the chicken is cooked, let it cool for 10-15 minutes.
Place
your chicken in a container of your choice (I used an aluminum pan) and add
the sauce.
Let
it refrigerate overnight.
Cook
on low heat for a few hours, moving chicken regularly to get even flavor
distribution.
Once
the chicken looks caramelized, it's ready to plate.
|
In the original recipe, only a cup of pomegranate juice was used, but it was for a single chicken. Being that I was using 12 pounds of chicken versus a single bird, I increased the pomegranate juice. I had also seen rosemary used in Liber de Coquina in a fish dish.
Murri (which I substituted with soy sauce) was a little bit of a stretch. I've seen it used in Andalusian cooking of course, but I haven't found definitive use in Italian cooking. Also, considering this book is either French or Italian further lessens the likelihood of murri being used. This was merely a liberty I took in relation to my persona.
Murri (which I substituted with soy sauce) was a little bit of a stretch. I've seen it used in Andalusian cooking of course, but I haven't found definitive use in Italian cooking. Also, considering this book is either French or Italian further lessens the likelihood of murri being used. This was merely a liberty I took in relation to my persona.
The original recipe called for onions, which I tend to avoid for allergy reasons. I used garlic instead, and added parsley to lend more herb flavor.
The chicken also doesn't sit nearly as long in the juice in the original recipe. In period, overnight marinating wouldn't have really been an option. I wanted the flavors to get into the chicken though, so I took liberties with this step. Extended cooking was a method to promote tender meats so I still utilized that to give the chicken the tender texture mentioned in the original recipe.
My interpretation is clearly more on the anachronistic side of things, but there were indeed bases built off of period recipes and methods.
Euroil of Lothien's Translation: http://www.medievalcuisine.com/Euriol/recipe-index/romania
