Dinner at the time of Rubens
Savouring the past: dinner at the time of Peter Paul Rubens
(1577-1640)Appetizer
Fried oysters
Raw oysters, rolled in a mixture of flour and pepper, fried in oil. Served with a citrus sauce.
(From: Magirus, Koocboec oft familieren keukenboec, Leuven 1612)First course
Salad of parsnips
Slices of parsnips, rolled in flour and fried in butter or oil. Served on a bed of greens and garnished with coriander seed.
(From: Gheeraert Vorselman, Eenen nyeuwen coock boeck, Antwerpen 1560)Main course
Salmon fish pie
Small round pie, filled with fresh salmon, pear, currants, ginger, saffron, butter and egg.
(From: Carolus Battus, Cocboeck, Dordrecht 1593)Braised spinach
Large leaf spinach, braised with apple, wine, vinegar, sugar, ginger and butter.
(From: Carolus Battus, Cocboeck, Dordrecht 1593)Dessert
Pear in hippocras
Whole pear, studded with cloves, cooked in red wine with mace, cinnamon and sugar.
(From: Carolus Battus, Cocboeck, Dordrecht 1593)Hippocras
Hippocras was a richly spiced wine. So called because it was originally strained through an Hippocras bag, named after the Greek physician Hippocrates.
(From: Carolus Battus, Medecyn Boec, Dordrecht 1593)
The sequence and the composition of the dishes are adapted to the contemporary taste
and to American weights and measures.
Recipes edited by the Dutch food historian:
Marleen Willebrands
http://www.kookhistorie.nlMany thanks to Albert Sleutjes for revising the English text.
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