In Anonimo Toscano’s Libro de la Cocina, there are six recipes specifically for leeks, plus another for a lean blancmange made with shredded leeks instead of fish or chicken. The recipes are for all the times of the year: recipes for the fat days with meat, recipes for the Saturdays (that is, all the days before a festivity) with eggs and cheese, or Lenten recipes without eggs and dairy products, like the one we are preparing today. All the recipes, except this one, use spices, usually saffron and pepper, which are the most common in medieval Italian cuisine.
This recipe is very simple: the leeks are cut into four parts, precooked in water, and then deep-fried in a batter made only with water and flour. In order to reduce the cooking time, we decided to cut the leeks into rings and omit the precooking, which is unnecessary with small pieces of leeks, making in this way a dish more suitable for summer.
There are other recipes for batters in the medieval sources. Anonimo Veneziano, for example, recommends a batter made with flour and saffron for apple fritters during Lent; Maestro Martino’s apple fritters are, instead, dipped in a batter made with eggs, sugar, cinnamon, and saffron, the same mixture recommended for sage and bay-laurel leaves. The cooking fat depends on the time of the year: Maestro Martino recommends using either lard or olive oil, depending on whether it is a fat or a lean day, and the eggs are optional.
We suggest that you try the recipe you prefer, either using only flour, as recommended by Anonimo Toscano, or adding saffron, cinnamon, or eggs like in other medieval recipes. The batter of Anonimo Toscano seems to be unleavened, but if you want, add a little sourdough to make it more digestible and light.
There are no instructions on a possible sauce for the fried leeks. A good choice is a green sauce, such as the one that we find in the Registrum Coquine, with sage, salt, wine, saffron, rue, and parsley, or another suggested in the Tractatus de Modo Preparandi et Condiendi Omnia Cibaria et Potus, with ginger, cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, cloves, parsley, sage, and vinegar or verjuice. This sauce can also be prepared with garlic, but since it is used to dress leeks, we suggest omitting this ingredient.
The Libro de la Cocina, also known as Anonimo Toscano, is a complete and fascinating cookbook written in the Tuscan vernacular in the 14th century. It collects 175 recipes for all kinds of medieval dishes, including meat, fish, and vegetables, pies, and pasta. The author provides different variations for lean or fat plates, making this source an exhaustive and satisfying guide to recreate historical dishes and experiment with medieval preparations according to our taste, using ingredients that are mostly common and easy to find. Our translation of Anonimo Toscano’s Libro de la Cocina comes with an introduction about medieval cooking, basic methods, and ingredients, as well as notes to the text and a glossary.
For those who want to explore more about medieval food, we recommend checking out Registrum Coquine. A medieval cookbook and De Observatione Ciborum. Early-medieval recipes at the court of the Frank. You find further articles and translations of historical sources on our Patreon page.
If you are interested in the uses of flowers and aromatic herbs in historical cooking, we suggest taking a look at Early Italian Recipes. Vegetables, fruit, herbs, and flowers, which collects many recipes from the Antiquity to the early Modern Era. For those fascinated by ancient food, we recommend reading Ancient Roman Cooking. Ingredients, Recipes, Sources.
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Ingredients
2 large leeks
6 tablespoons of white wheat flour
olive oil
salt
Method
Clean the leeks and remove the green part, then cut them into one finger thick slices. Prepare a thick batter with the flour, adding warm water a little at a time and two pinches of salt. Dip the leek rings one by one in the batter and deep-fry them in olive oil for about 5 minutes.
Original text
Togli porri interi, bene lavati, e fessi in quattro parti, e lessali un poco: poi cavali, e poni in taola a scolare; poi togli farina, e distempera con acqua calda un poco, e mena nel catino cola mescola fortemente, e con sale dentro. Poi togli quelli porri a peça a peça, e involgi in quella pasta; e poi frigilli con olio ad habundança.
Translation
Take whole leeks, well washed and cut into four parts. Simmer them a little, then remove them from the water and put them on the table to dry. Mix flour with a little hot water and stir vigorously in a bowl, adding salt. Then, take the leeks, one by one, dip them in this batter, and fry them in plenty of oil.
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Books
Libro de la Cocina by Anonimo Toscano. Medieval Tuscan Recipes
Early Italian Recipes. Vegetables, fruit, herbs, and flowers
De Observatione Ciborum by Anthimus. Early-medieval recipes at the court of the Franks.
Registrum Coquine by Johannes Bockenheim. A medieval cookbook
Ancient Roman Cooking. Ingredients, Sources, Recipes
Translations of Historical Sources
De Agri Cultura by Cato – first part (2nd century BCE)
De Re Coquinaria by Apicius (Ancient Rome)
Apicii Excerpta by Vinidarius (5th or 6th century)
De Observatione Ciborum by Anthimus (6th century)
Appendicula de Condituris Variis by Johannes Damascenus (8th or 9th century)
De Flore Dietarum (11th century)
Tractatus de Modo Preparandi et Condiendi Omnia Cibaria (13th or 14th century)
Liber de Coquina – first part (14th century)
Enseignemenz (14th century)
Opusculum de Saporibus by Mainus de Maineris (14th century)
Libro de la Cocina by Anonimo Toscano (14th century)
Anonimo Veneziano (14th century)
Registrum Coquine by Johannes von Bockenheim (15th century)
Libro de Arte Coquinaria by Maestro Martino – parts 1-4 (15th century)
Historical Italian Cooking 