Rutabaga was widely cultivated in the Antiquity and Middle Ages, though now, in Italy, is difficult to find, so we decided to grow a few plants in our garden to try some historical recipes. Columella writes that rutabaga and turnip are foods for peasants and reports a couple of recipes to preserve them: with vinegar and brine and with mustard.
A more complex recipe for a preserve appears in a booklet written between the 8th and 9th centuries, the Appendicula de Condituris Variis attributed to Johannes Damascenus. In this text, the rutabaga is cut into two or four parts, depending on the size. After keeping the rutabaga in salted water for four days and in warm water for three, the author recommends simmering it in aqua mulsa, which is mead, washing it, and preserving the rutabaga with saffron, musk, cinnamon, and cardamom.
In De Re Coquinaria we find two recipes for either rutabaga or turnips. The simpler recipe is similar to one reported in De Observatione Ciborum, written by the Byzantine physician Anthimus: in the Roman source, the simmered rutabaga is dressed with olive oil and vinegar, in the latter text, instead, with salt and olive oil. Anthimus recommends a second preparation for rutabaga, similar to the one we are preparing today: it may be cooked with cured pork fatback or meat. In De Flore Dietarum, written in the 11th century, we find the same preparation for turnip: the tubers are simmered two times, discarding the first cooking water and cooking them the second time with fatty meat.
The recipe in Anonimo Toscano’s Libro de la Cocina is just a list of ingredients that we may add to the cooked rutabaga: meat, eggs, saffron, and goat milk. The ingredients are optional, and saffron is recommended if we want to color the rutabaga yellow. We have many possibilities: to make a stew with just rutabaga and eggs or use different kinds of meat, such as mutton, beef, or another cut of pork. Milk gives a rich and sweet flavor to rutabaga, but it is not necessary to make an excellent dish.
The author suggests lardo dei polli, which probably just means chicken fat, but you can use the cooking fat you prefer, for instance lard or olive oil.
The Libro de la Cocina, also known as Anonimo Toscano, a complete and fascinating cookbook written in the Tuscan vernacular in the 14th century, collects 175 recipes for all kinds of medieval dishes, from meat, fish, and vegetables to pies and pasta. The author recommends several variations for lean or fat plates, making this source a satisfying and exhaustive handbook to recreate historical plates 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 is accompanied by an introduction about medieval cooking, the basic methods and ingredients, as well as notes to the text and a glossary.
To know more about medieval food, we recommend 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, among which De Re Coquinaria, Appendicula de Condituris Variis, and De Flore Dietarum, on our Patreon page.
For more historical recipes with vegetables, check out Early Italian Recipes. Vegetables, fruit, herbs, and flowers, which collects many recipes from the Antiquity to the early Modern Era. If you are interested in ancient food, we recommend reading Ancient Roman Cooking. Ingredients, Recipes, Sources.
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Ingredients
250 gr pork belly
250 gr rutabaga
saffron
1 egg
goat milk
lard
salt
Method
Cut the pork belly into small pieces and cook it in a pan for 15 minutes with a bit of lard. Peel and cut the rutabaga into pieces, then add it to the meat with two pinches of salt, cooking for another 40 minutes, until the rutabaga is completely tender. Soak the saffron in a bit of broth, then beat the egg and dilute it with the a little milk and the broth colored with saffron. Add this mixture to the stew, stir well, and cook for 2 or 3 minutes. Serve the stew still hot.
Original text
Tolli i capi di navoni, falli bullire un poco; da po’ sciugali un poco; poi li poni a cuocere nel lardo dei polli. E se vuoli farli coloriti, ponvi cruoco, overo ova debattute, distemperate col dicto brodo. E puoi ponervi ovi, carne apeçata o tritata, e lacte di capra, quanto tu vuoli.
Translation
Take the rutabagas and boil them for a while, then dry them and cook them with chicken fat. If you want to color them, add saffron or beaten eggs, diluted with the cooking broth. You may add eggs, chopped or minced meat, and goat milk, the quantity you want.
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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 Re Coquinaria by Apicius (Ancient Rome)
De Observatione Ciborum by Anthimus (6th century)
Appendicula de Condituris Variis by Johannes Damascenus (8th-9th century)
De Flore Dietarum (11th century)
Tractatus de Modo Preparandi et Condiendi Omnia Cibaria (13th-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 – first and second part (15th century)
Recipes
Pork and Onion Soup
Tuscan Radish Soup
The Diet of the Franks – Endive and Pork Jowl
Tuscan Fried Meatballs
The Diet of the Franks – Chicken Stew
Castagnazzi
Renaissance Stuffed Cucumbers
Pork Roast with Cherry Sauce
Renaissance Fried Tomatoes
Herbolata
The Diet of the Franks – Beef Stew
Fried Chicken Soup
Beef Roast with Garlic Sauce
Bread Soup
Salted Meat and Peas
Baghdadi Rice Cream
Chicken with White-Pepper Sauce – Piperatum Album
Indian Chickpeas and Meat
The Diet of the Franks – Pork Stew
Chestnut and Mushrooms
Lentils with Oregano and Watermint
Egyptian Bread with Pistachios and Almonds
Veal with Fennel-Flower Sauce
Pork Roast with Green Sauce
Eggs Poached in Wine
Brodium Theutonicum
Crispellae – Pancakes with Saffron and Honey
Brodium Sarracenium – Chicken Stew
Fava Beans and Pork
Erbe Minute – Meatballs with Herbs
Lettuce and Pork Soup
Zanzarelli – Egg and Cheese Soup
Turnip and Beef Soup for Servants
Cheese Pasta – Vivanda Bona
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 