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Goutte Housekeeping
a column on medieval cookery

Torta from Red Chickpeas

Wulfric of Creigull

Yet another vegetarian Jingles dish. I'm not a vegetarian myself, but I like having lots of vegetarian dishes at feasts. For one thing, it's easier on the budget. And vegetarians will like you and spread the word that you do good feasts and come back the next time.

This dish tastes more like almonds than chickpeas (garbanzos). I usually decorate the top with raisins and figs to make it look more festive.

Torta from Red Chickpeas

Grind up red chickpeas that have been well cooked with their own juice and with a little rosewater. When they have been ground, pass them through a strainer into a bowl. Add a pound of almonds so ground up that it is not a chore to pass them through a strainer, two ounces of raisins, three or four figs ground up at the same time. And besides this, add an ounce of pine kernels coarsely ground, and as much sugar and rosewater as you need, and just so much cinnamon and ginger; and blend. Put the mixture into a well greased pan with the pastry crust on the bottom. There are those who add starch or pike eggs, so that this torta is more firm; when it is cooked, put it almost above the fire to make it more colored. It should be thin and sprinkled with sugar and rosewater. (Platina, book 8.)

Grind almonds finely. Chop pine nuts. Grind chickpeas with liquid from the can; grind raisins and figs. Stir these with the sugar, rosewater, water, and spices. Roll out pie crust and fill with mixture. Sprinkle sugar/rosewater mixture on top. Bake 40 minutes at 375º.

The pie crust is made from white and wheat flours to more closely approximate period flour, which tended to be coarser. I lowered the amount of almonds and increased the raisins and figs; otherwise the torta tends to be a bit dry.

Sources

Friedman, David, and Cook, Elizabeth. A Miscellany. 1992.

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