124 recetas de la cocina medieval Española

124 recetas de la cocina medieval Española. Back then, 90% of the population was poor, or very poor. A large part of that society was full of lackeys, "pobres vergonzantes" (the shame-faced poor), beggars, scroungers, students, pilgrims, rogues, vagabonds, fake cripples, freeloading gentlemen, "sopistas" and a multitude of the generally undernourished, right down to the lowest rung with the slaves and captives, who were fed on practically nothing but bread and water.

A good part of the inhabitants of the big cities depended on "la sopa boba" (charity soup).

That side of sustenance was a very bleak one. With a bit of luck they gained access to the "pulmentum", a pottage or pot of pulses, vegetables, garlic and onions. On some occasions it included cereals with a little meat or bones, cheese and eggs. There was, of course, always bread to dip, even if it was black bread.

In the poor man's house, dessert was the last mouthful and "la gallina" (the hen).

What was the after-dinner hen?

Once the meal was over and the few trappings and tableware of the "feast" had been cleared away, without the diners moving from around the table, they would put the tip of the index finger in their mouth to moisten it. Then they would look for any crumb or scrap of food left on top of the board. These scraps stuck to the saliva-moistened fingertip and were brought to the mouth. This was done at great speed and by all the diners at once, as if it were a flock of hens. There was no need to clean the table.

The other small percentage of the inhabitants of the time was made up of the nobility, the clergy and the wealthy merchants, who held the excessive banquets, something similar to the tales and legends typical of the Middle Ages. In these households they could afford to have creative cooks, thanks to "don dinero" (Sir Money) and plenty of imagination, forging recipes that form the pillars of the "Architecture of Aromas and Flavours", pure "Alchemy of the Stove".

"A journey of no return for the sense of smell and the palate"