The feast for May Crown is a 16th century Italian style feast. It contains four courses and follows the common Italian format: opening and closing courses are served cold as "credenza" courses, largely prepared ahead, the central two courses are hot courses from the main kitchen ("cucina" in Italian).
For those with dietary needs, please look for the following:
- DF = Dairy Free
- GF = Gluten Free
- V = Vegetarian-friendly
All specific allergies mentioned have been catered to as well as possible, but as always, please do read the menu carefully if you have non-standard dietary requirements. If you would like extra detail on proportions, I suggest you look at the ingredients lists and preparation instructions, which can be found here.
Please find below the finalised menu for the feast for May Crown 2015.
First Credenza Course
DF V Bread Rolls (on the table)
DF GF Maiden’s jelly – using a recipe from Messisbugo, pigs’ trotters cooked in vinegar and wine, seasoned with salt, cinnamon, pepper, and sugar.
DF GF V Rice fritters – following Rosselli’s recipe, cooked rice mixed with almond milk, rice flour, and sugar, made into fritters and fried lightly in finest quality olive oil.
DF GF Sliced beef tongue – taken from Scappi, beef tongue lightly boiled then fried in suet with spring onions, pepper, and orange juice, served dressed with those things over.
DF GF Fried prosciutto – referencing Romoli, lightly fried with oil, flavoured with sage leaves, cinnamon and pepper, and dressed with must (red grape juice) and vinegar.
DF GF V Lettuce salad – made to Castelvetro’s instruction, “salt the salad quite a lot, then generous oil put in the pot, and vinegar, but just a jot”.
DF V Gingerbread – made with sugar, rose water and finest flour, spiced with cinnamon, ginger, pepper, cloves, and nutmeg, again following Romoli.
DF V Marzipan tortellini – from Scappi, marzipan made from almonds, pinenuts, and sugar, ground together with rosewater, wrapped into tortellini of egg pasta (finest flour, egg, oil, water, salt), fried in oil and served dusted with sugar.
First Kitchen Course
GF V Stuffed eggs – utilising Romoli’s recipe, boiled eggs stuffed with a delicate mixture of their yolks, butter, parmesan cheese, ricotta, and freshly beaten eggs, spiced with sugar, cinnamon, pepper, and cloves, fried in butter and dressed with melted mozzarella and a sprinkling of cinnamon over.
GF White dish – after a recipe from Rosselli, chicken breast gently cooked in goat’s milk thickened with rice flour, served with rose water mixed through and dusted with sugar.
DF GF Sliced goat – again from Romoli, sliced goat meat boiled then fried in suet, mixed with toasted ground almonds, GF bread crumbs, egg yolk, goat broth, and verjuice, spiced with pepper, cinnamon, cloves, and saffron and served with sugar and cinnamon over.
DF GF V Cabbage soup – taking Scappi’s recipe, Savoy cabbage boiled in water with salt and oil, served dressed with garlic-infused oil, cabbage broth, orange juice, and pepper.
DF GF V Fried peas – a simple recipe from Rosselli. Peas lightly cooked in water, then fried in oil and dressed with verjuice and sugar.
Second and Final Kitchen Course
DF GF Catalan chicken with cherry sauce – using Romoli’s recipe for the chicken, and Scappi’s for the sauce. Chicken cooked whole, then boned and stewed with lemon slices, rose water, salt, sugar, and cinnamon, and served with these over; dressed with sauce made from cherries and finest quality sugar.
DF GF V Rice soup – a very thick soup made following Scappi’s instructions; boiled in water with oil, salt and saffron, with sautéed spring onions added to serve.
GF V Onions with green sauce – from two of Scappi’s recipes. Onions lightly boiled in salted water then baked in butter, served with green sauce drizzled over. Green sauce made with a selection of parsley, spinach, sorrel, salad burnet, rocket and mint pending seasonal availability, blended with GF bread crumbs and ground almonds, seasoned with pepper and salt, and moistened with vinegar.
DF GF V Broadbeans – after Martino, broadbeans fried in oil together with onions, apples, and figs, flavoured with sage, marjoram, parsley, and mint, and served dusted with cinnamon and sugar.
Second and Final Credenza Course
DF V Apple dumplings – apples stewed to a purée in sugar, wine, and rose water, wrapped in egg pasta (finest flour, egg, oil, water, salt), and lightly fried in oil, based on Scappi’s recipes.
DF GF V Zuccarini – again from Scappi, delicate rings made of egg white, rose water, and powdered sugar, baked then lightly brushed with beeswax.
DF GF V Stuffed figs – using Rosselli’s recipe, figs filled with a stuffing of almonds, pine nuts, figs, raisins, and rose water, spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Fried in oil and served dusted with powdered sugar.
DF V Wafers – following Scappi’s recipe, wafers made of breadcrumbs, fine flour, water, rose water, sugar, egg yolks, and wine, cooked on wafer irons.
DF GF V Quince jelly – jelly made from quinces and sugar, using Nostradamus’ recipe.
GF V Whipped cream – based on the instructions of Messisbugo.
DF GF V Fresh pears – a seasonal selection.
GF Parmesan cheese – sliced fresh Parmesan cheese.
A selection of candies of the quantity and variety typically found in the finest feasts of 16th century Italy:
DF GF V Candied Seeds – cardamom, fennel, caraway, coriander
DF GF V Candied Nuts – Pistachios, almonds
DF GF V Candied Cucumber
DF GF V Candied Ginger
DF GF V Candied Peel
DF GF V Candied Cherries
DF GF V Candied Peaches
DF GF V Fresh Fennel
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