Originally, Jassi and Uli had focused their portrayal on handicraft activities and came to the historical kitchen more by chance. Since then, their interest and passion for food and its preparation has been awakened. They focus on the late 13th century and are members of the group Communitas Monacensis. They also run the Instagram account coniuges medii aevi.
Mistembec based on ‘Liber de Coquina’ (Anfang 14. jh.)
Maier, Robert (Hrsg.): Liber de Coquina. Das Buch der guten Küche, Freising 2017.
The Liber de Coquina was written down or copied by an Italian author shortly after 1300 and has been preserved in two codices together with some medical and agricultural writings. Today they are kept in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.
Original:
4.2 Mistembec hoc modo fit: accipe de pasta tritici vata, quantum volueris, et aliquantulum de amido in auqa tepida dissoluto; de quo distepemera predictam pastam ut fiat ad modum sorbitii; et facias descendere per scutellam in fundo et in latere foramen habende, et fac descendere in oleo fervido vel sagimine porci, diversas formulas ad placitum pertrahendo. Quibus per decoctionem induratis et ad hoc calidis existentibus, proice in syrupo de zuccaro aut de melle facto, et protinus remove.
Translation:
Mistembec is prepared in the following way: take risen wheat dough, as much as you like, and a little starch flour dissolved in lukewarm water; stir the above-mentioned dough with it so that it becomes like a thicker egg soup, and let it run through a bowl with a hole at the bottom and on the side, and let it flow into hot oil or lard, pulling it into different shapes as you like. After they have solidified by frying, and while they are still hot, throw them into a syrup made with sugar or honey and take them out immediately.
Interpretation:
In the course of the digital Küchenmeisterey we decided to cook the recipe in a “modern” kitchen with “modern” equipment. The dough was prepared with a food processor and we used a modern coated pot/pan/wok for frying.
For 8 people:
For the yeast dough:
- 1000 g wheat flour (type 405 or 550)
- 1 cube fresh yeast
- 5 g salt
- Approx. 750 ml water
- 6-8 tbsp. starch flour (wheat starch)
- Oil or lard for frying
For the glace
- Icing Sugar
Put the flour and the salt in a bowl, press a depression into it. Dissolve the yeast with 100ml of water. Then knead the ingredients with another 400ml of water until the dough is easily kneadable and no longer sticky. Leave it to rise for 2-3 hours in a warm place, covered.
Dissolve the starch flour in about 250ml of water and stir the yeast dough in the starch water piece by piece until the mixture is like a pancake or crêpe dough. If the dough is still too thick, add water in small portions.
Heat the oil or lard in a saucepan. As soon as it is hot enough, pour the dough in portions with a ladle. When the moulds are golden yellow, take them out and sprinkle them with icing sugar.