Now we've all heard the phrase to eat like a king but today I've decided to up the stakes and feast like a pope on "Torta d'herbe communi", or common herb pie.
Bartolomeo Scappi, personal chef to the papacy and pioneer of Italian Renaissance cuisine leaves us this recipe which is so rich that I might have to sell some indulgences just to pay for it.
This time on Tasting History.
Today's recipe comes from Bartolomeo Scappi's seminal work the "Opera dellarte del Cucinare" of 1570.
"Per fare torta d'herbe communi" To prepare common herb pie, and it's the herbs that are common not the pie.
Get tender chard greens, spinach tops, mint and marjoram, cut them up small, wash them and let them drain by themselves.
Then get two pounds of fresh ricotta, a pound and a half of grated Parmesan cheese, six ounces of fat cheese, six ounces of fresh butter, half an ounce of pepper, three quarters of an ounce of cinnamon, a quarter ounce of cloves, six fresh eggs beaten and 6 ounces of sugar, with all those things make up a filling.
Have a tort pan ready, lined with a sheet of royal dough and with its flaky-pastry twist around it.
Put the filling into it and cover it with a rippled sheet of pastry.
Bake it in an oven or braise it.
