Tartara della Senese

The Neapolitan Recipe Collection: Cuoco Napoletano: Professor Terence Scully has translated the 15th century "Cuoco napolitano" into contemporary English; this edition includes the original receipts in medieval Italian, the English translations, and comments on the recipes. In the fifteenth century, wealthy courts in the Italian peninsula led all of Europe in gastronomical achievement. The professional cooks in palaces such as those of the Este, Medici, and Borgia families were the most advanced masters of their craft, and some of them bequeathed a record of their practice in manuscript collections of recipes. Outstanding among these early cookbooks is the one written by an anonymous master cook in Naples toward the end of the century. The book contains 219 recipes.

This is a recipe for a type of cheese custard spiced with cinnamon. Interestingly, there is a popular Italian cheesecake made in Italian bakeries in America that has a thin sprinkling of cinnamon on top.

Cuoco Napoletano ( New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, MS Bühler 19)

Tartara della Senese Piglia vinti amandole e falle ben bianchi he pistale quanto se po. Da poi habi meza libra de zucaro, XII ova he una fogletta di latte he doi quatani de canella he sale asufficienta he mezo quarto de probatura fresca tanto pistata che piu non bisogna pistarla. Dapoi inbrata una tiela de butiro he poi infarinala he desopra gli ponerai le dita compositione. Et pone la tiella sive padella lontano dal foco, coperta, cum foco moderato. Et nota che in la predita compositione ci potrai ponere uno ramaiolo de lasagne cote in bono brodo. He como sia cotto pone desopra zucaro he aqua rosata.

Tart of Siena Take twenty almonds make them very white and grind them as much as you can. And then have half a pound of sugar, 12 eggs and a fogletta of milk and two quatani of cinnamon and enough salt and half a quart of fresh probatura that has been pounded so you cannot pound it any more. Then smear a pan with butter and then flour it, and over it put the said mixture. And put the pan or padella far away from the fire, covered, with moderate heat. And note that in the foresaid mixture there may be put a ladleful of lasagne cooked in good broth. And as it is cooked put over it sugar and rosewater.

From http://www.sca.org.au/collegium/notes/Desserts%20class.pdf

Probatura was a fresh buffalo curd cheese, very similar to mozzarella. You can still find it under the modern name Provatura. You could use a cream cheese, or actual provatura or mozzarella, but use the very soft, fresh stuff which is more like bocconcini than pizza cheese.

Some of the measurements in this recipe are not very clear. For instance, fogletta is translated as cup or pint in two different sources, and a quatani may be a measure or a small coin (ie the writer may be saying the equivalent of tuppence worth of cinnamon). Hence there may be a great deal of liberty in redacting this recipe, despite the specification of quantities. I have made it mainly two ways, which come out quite differently, and I give both recipes here.

12-15 almonds
100gms cream cheese
½ cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs
½ cup milk

Grind the almonds in a mortar and pestle, adding a little of the sugar. Add the rest of the sugar and cinnamon and grind until a fine powder. Mix into the cream cheese. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then add the milk. Bake at 160°C for about 45mins, then switch off the oven and leave to cool in there. This will rise a great deal and then sink a great deal (although leaving it in the oven may help). The result is almost more like custard than cheesecake.

200gms ground almonds
200gms cream cheese
1 cup caster sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
6 eggs
½ cup milk

Beat the cheese until it is soft then beat in the sugar, ground almonds and cinnamon until well combined. Beat in the eggs, one at a time and then the milk. Bake at 160°C for about 45mins, then switch off the oven and leave to cool in there. This will rise a little, but not sink, and has a more substantial, cakier texture than the previous version.