Pasta was very popular in the Middle Ages, among all social classes. We find plenty of examples in the cookbooks and literary texts, such as the 14th-century works by Giovanni Boccaccio (who mentions pappardelle in the Corbaccio and then, in the Decameron, maccheroni and ravioli cooked in capon broth, all served with Parmigiano), followed at the end of the same century by Franco Sacchetti, who mentions maccheroni in his Trecentonovelle, specifying in a passage that they are eaten with forks.
Pasta, however, as we have seen in the past, is not originally medieval, since we find some recipes in ancient Roman and Greek sources.
There were several kinds of pasta in the Middle Ages: prepared in simple ways such as lasagna or vermicelli, stuffed as ravioli, or kneaded with other ingredients, for example cheese or eggs, as gnocchi or the one we are presenting today, which does not have a precise name: the author calls it vivanda bona, good dish, made in the same way as graffi, a term whose meaning is unclear in this context. We find this recipe in Anonimo Veneziano‘s manuscript, a beautiful cookbook written about the end of the 14th century which shows the complexity of the medieval courtly cooking in its magnificence.
The author writes nothing about the kinds of cheese and spices we have to use for this recipe. We used pecorino, one of the most popular kinds of cheese, but you can choose Parmigiano that, as we have seen above, is mentioned by Giovanni Boccaccio as a quite common kind of cheese used to finish the plates, in the same way as we still do today.
Among the spices used by Anonimo Veneziano, we chose grains of paradise (meleghette in this source), black pepper, and cinnamon, but you can also use others, for example ginger, white or long pepper, cloves, or nutmeg, all very common in the Middle Ages.
The first part of the translation of Anonimo Veneziano is available on our Patreon page, where you find more articles and translations of historical cookbooks and dietetic sources.
Our new book Ancient Roman Cooking. Ingredients, Recipes, Sources (Italian edition here) is available on Amazon as e-book and printed edition.
To support our work, you can buy us a beer or purchase our merchandise.
Ingredients (for two servings)
130 gr flour
120 gr aged pecorino
2 eggs
spices (black pepper, cinnamon, grains of paradise)
broth
Method
Grind the spices. Grate about 120 grams of aged pecorino and knead it with the flour, eggs, and spices. Do not exaggerate with the quantity of spices in the dough, since you will add them again before serving the dish.
Shape with your hands one-finger-long threads of dough and cook them in broth or salted water for about 15-20 minutes.
Drain the pasta and plate sprinkling with grated cheese and ground spices.
Original text
Vivanda bona. Toi farina, ove, formaço e gratalo: toi spesie e pista in mortaro: poi fa con le mano a modo de graffi longi un dito: poi li chusi lesi: e sopra le scutelle polvereça de spetie e de caso: e dale chalde.
Translation
Good dish. Take flour, eggs, cheese and grate it. Take spices and pound them in the mortar, then form [the pasta] with your hands in the shape of one-finger-long graffi. Simmer them and serve in plates with spices and cheese. Serve them hot.
Buy me a coffee
Patreon
Ancient Roman Recipes Playlist
Ancient Greek Recipes Playlist
Medieval Recipes Playlist
YouTube Channel
Merchandise
Books
Ancient Roman Cooking. Ingredients, Sources, Recipes
Translations of Historical Sources
Appendicula de Condituris Variis by Johannes Damascenus (8-9th century)
De Flore Dietarum – first part (11th century)
Opusculum de Saporibus by Mainus de Maineris (14th century)
Anonimo Veneziano – first part (14th century)
Registrum Coquine by Johannes von Bockenheim (15th century)
Recipes
Gratonata – Chicken Stew
Chickpea Soup with Poached Eggs
Apple Fritters
Hippocras and Claretum – Mulled Wine
Pastero – Pork Pie
10th-century Goat Roast – A Langobard at the Court of the Byzantine Emperor
Romania – A Recipe Between Arabic and Italian Tradition – Medieval Chicken with Pomegranates
Emperor’s Fritters
Medieval Pizza – The Origin of Pizza
Roast Chicken with Salsa Camellina
Sweet Rice
Afrutum or Spumeum – 6th-century Byzantine recipe
A Medieval Breakfast – Wine, Carbonata, and Millet Bread
Salviata – Eggs and Sage
Tria di Vermicelli
Cabbage Soup
Frittelle Ubaldine – Pancakes with Flowers and Herbs
Saffron Cheesecake
Drunken Pork – Early Medieval Pork Stew
Medieval Monk’s Stuffed-Egg Soup
Apple Pie
Onion Soup
Gnocchi
Lentils and Mustard Greens
Chicken soup – Brodo Granato
Turnip Soup
Beans and Bacon – Black-Eyed Peas
Prawn Pie – Pastello de Gambari
Foxtail Millet Polenta and Spit-Roasted Goose
Beef Stew
Blancmange
Leek Soup
Quail Stew with Coconut
Chicken Pie
Ravioli
Almond Cream
Red Mullet Soup
Spit Roast Beef with Arugula Seeds
Walnut Bread
Lasagna
Tripe
Fried Fish
Roast Lamb with Green Sauce
Clams
Sweet and Sour Sardines
Trouts with Green Sauce
Lamb Stew
Quails with Sumac
Chicken with Fennel Flowers
Sea Bream
Historical Italian Cooking 