Recipe: Pork Stewed with Apples and Pears

Period: Basic medieval European
Sources: Adarhysenthe, (research later)

Pork rub:
3 Tbls brown sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 Tbls salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp dill weed

Main:
3 lb. pork loin
2 cups thinly sliced apples
2 cups pear halves (or 2 cans of pears canned in juice)
1 can chicken broth (what size can?)

Sauce:
Pear juice (from canned pears) or like 1 cup apple juice? if using fresh pears?
2 heaping spoonfuls of apple jelly
1/4 cup heavy cream or some semola flour

Preheat oven to 400 F and grease a roasting pan.

Mix the pork rub in a small bowl. Massage the pork loin with the rub, then place the pork loin into the roasting pan. Place sliced apples and pears around pork. Pour chicken broth and half the pear juice over the fruit, save the rest of the pear juice for the sauce later.

Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hr 10 min or until meat is 145 degrees internally.

Remove the roast from oven, place the pork on carving board and place the fruit in a separate bowl using a slotted spoon.

Pour remaining pan juices into sauce pan, add rest of the pear juice and apple jelly. Bring to a boil. Boil for 4 minutes. Thicken the sauce using either cream or semola.

Recipe: Basbousa

Period:
Sources:
(need to do research)

Cake batter:
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup raw sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups fine semola
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup plain yogurt
12-15 almonds – blanched and split


Syrup topping:
2 cups raw sugar
1 1/2 cups water
2 tsp rose essence (or desired extract flavoring)
1/2 tsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 300 F. Grease a large cake pan.

In a large bowl, mix the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and beat well.

Mix the semola, baking powder and baking soda in another bowl. Add this slowly into the butter mixture alternately with yogurt.

Spread batter into the cake pan. Put the almonds on top of the cake at equal distances so that when you cut into pieces later, each piece has an almond topping in the center.

Bake for 30-35 minutes.

For the syrup, dissolve sugar in water over medium heat, add the lemon juice and the rose essence and bring to a boil. Let it boil for 5-7 minutes, then set it in a container filled with cold water to cool the syrup.

When the cake is done, slowly pour the cooled syrup over the hot cake. This works best to keep it in the pan so the syrup can be soaked into the cake. Serve the cake once it is completely cool.

Recipe: Orange Almond Cake

Period: Medieval in Spain, Italy, Middle East

Sources: (I need to do research)

2 large bitter oranges, left whole (or a mix of citrus fruits such as sweet oranges, grapefruit, and lemon)
6 eggs
2 cups almond meal
1 cup raw sugar
1 tsp baking powder

Place the oranges (I used 1 small sweet orange, 3 tiny lemons, and a grapefruit) in a saucepan and barely cover them with water. Bring to a boil, lower the water to a simmer and leave on low heat, covered, for 1 hour. (I saw a recipe that said they can be microwaved in a covered container for 8 minutes instead of boiling, but I haven't tried it.) When done, remove the oranges from the pan and leave to cool.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Butter and flour, with semolina flour, a 10-inch springform tin. 

Chop the fruit into chunks, removing seeds. Puree them in a blender. Make sure they are completely pureed and there are no chunks of peel. Measure 3 cups of fruit puree and discard any extra. Then thoroughly blend the eggs with the 3 cups of fruit.

In a large bowl, mix the almond meal, sugar and baking powder, then stir in the egg-orange mixture, just until it is mixed. 

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-60 minutes. The cake is done when it turns a deep golden brown, has come away slightly from the sides of the tin, and a tester comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely in the tin before turning it out gently on the serving plate. It is good served plain, or with cream or syrup.  It can be stored in the refrigerator.