Book of Days Tales

Today is the birthday (1126) of ʾAbū l-Walīd Muḥammad Ibn ʾAḥmad Ibn Rushd‎ (أبو الوليد محمد ابن احمد ابن رشد‎), commonly known as Ibn Rushd  (ابن رشد‎‎) or by his Latinized name Averroës, an Al-Andalus Muslim polymath, a master of Aristotelian philosophy, Islamic philosophy, Islamic theology, Maliki law and jurisprudence, logic, psychology, politics, Andalusian classical music theory, and the sciences of medicine, astronomy, geography, mathematics, physics, and celestial mechanics. Averroës was born in Córdoba, Al Andalus, present-day Spain, and died in Marrakesh, present-day Morocco. He was interred in his family tomb at Córdoba.

The grand cuisine of Medieval al-Andalus is little known these days.  Want to try this royal recipe taken from a 13th century cookbook?

One takes a fat young sheep, skinned and cleaned. It is opened between the two muscles and till that is in its stomach is carefully removed, In its interior one puts a stuffed goose and in the goose’s belly a stuffed hen, and in the hen’s belly a stuffed young pigeon, and in the pigeon’s belly a stuffed thrush and in the thrush s belly another stuffed or fried bird, all of this stuffed and sprinkled with the sauce described for stuffed dishes. The opening is sewn together, the sheep is put in the hot clay oven, or tannur, and it is left until done and crisp on the outside. It is sprinkled with more sauce, and then put in the cavity of a calf which has already been prepared and cleaned. The calf is then stitched together and put in the hot tannur, and left till it is done and crisp on the outside. Then it is taken out and presented.

Here is a 13th century recipe for buraniya from al-Andalus:

The preparation of buraniya, attributed to Buran, wife of the Abbasid caliph al-Ma’mun, of whom it is said that she was the first to invent this dish.

One takes a fat young sheep and puts it in the pot with salt, pepper, dried coriander, a little bit of cumin, saffron and oil. The pot is set on a moderately hot fire; a tablespoonful of soaked almori and two of vinegar are added. It is cooked till half done, then taken off and grilled eggplant is added. One adds a layer of meat, and another of grilled eggplant. Then prepared meatballs are added, and chopped almonds; all is done with a lot of saffron. Then it is thickened with whipped eggs, with lavender or cinnamon or saffron, and crowned with egg yolks. Then it is put in the oven and left till the sauce has dried and it is blended and the fat is left. It is then taken out and put on embers and left a while. Then it is served.

Almori was a very common ingredient. It consisted of salt, honey, raisins, pine nuts, almonds, hazel nuts, and possibly some flour, all pounded into a paste which was then allowed to harden in the sun. As needed, pieces were broken off, soaked, and added to the ingredients of a dish.

Here is a modern version of Buraniya, still popular in the Middle East.

Ingredients

3 onions, peeled and chopped
vegetable oil
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 ¼ lbs of lamb shoulder, cut into cubes
5 tomatoes, skinned and quartered
salt and pepper
juice of 1 lemon
1 ½ tsps cinnamon
¾ tsp allspice
4-5 medium eggplants
4-5 red bell peppers
5 tbsps chopped flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

Sauté the onions in about 2 tablespoons of oil until soft and golden. Add the garlic and the meat and brown it well.

Add the tomatoes and salt, pepper, lemon juice, cinnamon, and allspice. Cover with water, stir well, and bring to a boil.

Simmer gently, covered, for about 1 ½ hours, until the meat is very tender, adding water to keep the meat covered.

Cut the eggplants and red bell peppers into ½ inch thick slices and brush generously with oil.

Cook under the broiler or (best) over charcoal, turning several times until lightly colored. Add to the stew.

Simmer, covered, for ½ hour, adding parsley towards the end.

Serve with rice and flatbread.  To be fully traditional you should serve everything on common platters and eat with the fingers of the right hand only.