(no subject)

[sue_n_julia]

I've been asked post my lentil recipe from this weekend. I'll try, but I blended the spices based on smell rather than measurements.
The base of this recipe is Soldier's Couscous from La Cocina del Andalus (I think I got the book title right), which is a collection of recipes from 13th century Andalusian Spain. I originally redacted it for a Crusader event in the Barony Marche of the Debatable Lands.

The recipe calls for vegetables, without naming them. I did some additional research to see what was likely, but don't have it to hand right now (the timestamp should tell you I'm home feeling like a Mack truck ran me over, backed up over me, and ran me over again). The original recipe calls for chicken, but I made mine a vegetarian version because I knew we had some vegetarians at the event (both the original event I did this for and this weekend).

Soldier's Couscous
2 acorn squash

We know that hard gourd-like squashes were eaten in period, including in Andalusia. I've seen illuminations of dark green squashes with a yellow flesh that are shaped like acorn squashes, so I used these.

1 large onion
10-12 crimini mushrooms

We know mushrooms were eaten at various times in period. Mostly they were wild-harvested. I don't know when the crimini was developed, but I like its earthy flavor

2 cups lentils
4-5 cups of vegetable broth

I made my broth from the stems of the mushrooms (plus a few woody ones that I didn't think would be a good texture for my dish), the skin and outer layer of the onion, a little of the acorn squash (I would have used the peel, but it had been waxed and the wax didn't wash off well). Basically, I made a garbage broth.
2-3 heaping teaspoons of minced garlic
3 cups of couscous
2 T olive oil
1 tsp Ginger
1/4 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Coriander
1/4 tsp Tumeric
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 to 1 tsp salt

These are very rough estimates of the spices. I kept adding different spices until I got the smell I wanted. Sorry.

Bring a LARGE pot of water to a boil. Put the acorn squash in one at a time and blanch for 5-10 minutes. The acorn squash should just be starting to soften under the skin. Pull out and peel. Blanching makes the squash a lot easier to peel. Remove seeds and strings. Cut into bite-size pieces.

Chop the onion into reasonable size pieces. Slice or chunk the mushrooms.

Sautee the onions in the olive oil until they start to turn translucent. This step can be skipped, but I wanted to make sure the onions were cooked through when everything else was.

Put the lentils, 1/2 the salt, and the broth into a 5-quart pot. Let them simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add the squash and onions and let simmer for another 15-20 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients (except couscous) and simmer till done.

The recipe actually calls for cooking the couscous in the same pot, but I prefer a separate pot and letting people decide what proportions they want the couscous and sauce in.
S