Renaissance Masters and Food
Italy boasts some of the longest living citizens in the world. A crucial reason is the Italian diet with its roots in the past. Much like today, food was the cultural center of life in Renaissance Italy. It played an important role in religious holidays and family celebrations and relied heavily on the use of seasonal ingredients. The Italians had some of the best chefs and cooks in Europe at the time.
This week’s menu is an interpretation using ingredients that Italians most certainly enjoyed in the early 16th century, including many fresh aromatics.
Menu
Mixed field greens, watercress, and mint, with chopped figs, EVOO and Saba
Artisanal extruded mint-infused pasta with braised wild mushrooms
Orange scented rice pudding with honey, pistachios & Piedmont sugar cookies
Chef's Travel Notes
Italy boasts some of the longest living citizens in the world. A crucial reason is the Italian diet with its roots in the past. Much like today, food was the cultural center of life in Renaissance Italy. It played an important role in religious holidays and family celebrations and relied heavily on the use of seasonal ingredients. The Italians had some of the best chefs and cooks in Europe at the time.
“As is painting, so is cooking” wisely said art historian, John Varriano. Over the course of the Renaissance, humble cooks and indentured painters became celebrity chefs and artisans for well-heeled patrons. And so is the story of Raffaello d’Urbino – a young, poor student from the region of Le Marche who became one of the most sought-after painters and architects of his time – idealized as the epitome of perfection – inspiring generations of artists. (Interesting fact – Raffaello died unexpectedly at the early age of 37 after suffering from a ravaging high fever – possibly from an unknown virus! – making a connection to COVID-19 even more poignant.)
Not much is directly known about the Italian masters’ relationship to food, though their diets most certainly changed depending on the moment in their careers. As young unknowns they probably ate more like average peasants with black bread (white bread being too expensive) and mush-like soups with vegetables, foraged green, eggs and herbs. They ate little meat, as salt was needed to preserve it and salt was very expensive. Later, as they were hired by Popes and wealthy nobles to complete the artistic works of cathedrals, portraits, tombs and stately mansions, their diets were elevated. The wealthy often indulged in grand banquets and huge feasts highlighted by large roasts and dishes prepared with exotic spices and sugar.
Renaissance Italian cookbook authors and chefs started to overturn the Medieval perception that vegetables were for the poor and meats were for the rich. Vegetables began to be promoted for their health benefits. “They allowed diners to keep their minds free without taxing the stomach.” We do know that Michelangelo kept picture diaries of his shopping lists with copious notes making it easier to surmise what he might have eaten. He ate frugally and saw food as sustenance – in other words he ate to live and did not live to eat, though he did own a vineyard south of Florence, a cheese cave, and an orchard. Interesting fact..."The Three Pietas of Michelangelo - No One Thinks How Much Blood it Costs" is an exhibit just opened in Florence highlighting the artist's depictions of the Virgin Mary supporting the body of the dead Christ executed at different times of his life. This retrospective was conceived among pandemic grief, could relate to European war. The huddled figures call to mind families sheltering in bombed-out basements and mothers holding their young slain soldier-sons.
Leonardo da Vinci, on the other hand, as a true Renaissance man, was also a budding nutritionist, intrigued by food and its importance. He hosted lavish banquets in Florence also utilizing some of his ingenious contraptions, including a mechanical refrigerator to keep foods cold. He loved wine and even was paid with a vineyard in Milano as compensation for painting one of his most famous works, The Last Supper. (Using Da Vinci’s maps and drawings, they were able to locate the vineyard, destroyed in WWII and recreate a limited supply of wine similar to what the master would have produced.)
During this time, it is interesting to note the absence of what we might consider ‘typical’ Italian ingredients. Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, corn, chocolate, chestnuts, coffee, etc., were unknown to early Renaissance cooks. They were products of the “New World” just being brought back by Christopher Columbus! It would take years before the Italians would adopt these new ingredients.
This week’s menu is an interpretation using ingredients that Italians most certainly enjoyed in the early 16th century, including many fresh aromatics. Florentine noblewoman, Caterina de Medici, might be considered the first foodie as she understood the importance of food and was influential in supporting cooks and their imaginations. It is said that upon marrying the French king, Henry II, she brought refined cuisine AND the fork to that country, who’s citizens at the time used their hands to eat! Insalata Caterina de Medici, her namesake salad has mixed lettuces and watercress embellished with chopped dried figs (Da Vinci’s favorite fruit), parmesan cheese and dressed with olive oil and saba, an ancient condiment of reduced grape must.
Macaroni alla Menta con Funghi Trifolati is our pasta infused with fresh mint, then extruded into the shape of twisted "gemelli” or twins. Mushrooms foraged in the woods were popular and easily accessible and so frequently found in the dishes of the time.
Fish was widely used also because of the abundance of fasting days imposed by the Church when congregants were forbidden to eat meat. Trota alla Mandorle con Carciofi Fritti is freshwater trout prepared with sliced almonds, white wine, and fresh herbs with the addition of fried artichokes (Caterina de Medici’s favorite vegetable).
Sweet rice pudding was popular, dating back to the Romans. Budino di Riso al’Arancio e Miele con Krumiri, is a creamy rice pudding flavored with orange and honey, topped with roasted pistachios. Here, we depart a bit from our theme by including cornmeal butter cookies created in 1878, the year of King Vittorio Emanuele II’s death. Their curved shape is a playful tribute to his handlebar mustache.
Frascati wine has been produced and consumed by Romans since the time of the Renaissance. Our Italian Masters undoubtedly drank Frascati. The Poggio le Volpi vineyard is nestled in the foothills outside of Rome, resting on well-drained, mineral-rich volcanic soil. It should pair beautifully with our menu.
It is intriguing to note that Italian cuisine has not changed all that much over time. Many of the same ingredients that were used in the Renaissance are still popular today. Even some of the rules of proper table etiquette have been handed down and are still most appropriate. According to Giovanni Della Casa’s Galateo (1558) “It is not polite, while at the table, to scratch your head or somewhere else.” “Nor should one gnaw or chew such that you hear the sound or noises, since there is a difference between the eating of men and pigs.”
Happy feasting!
Christianne