A non-American recipe that I will never attempt, no matter how much Malfoy tempts me

[ellid]

Yes, this is an authentic medieval recipe. I believe it's from Spain:


Roast Cat as You Wish to Eat It.

You will take a cat that is fat, and decapitate it. And after it is dead, cut off the head and throw it away because it is not for eating, for they say that eating the brains will cause him who eats them to lose his senses and judgment.

Then flay it very cleanly, and open it and clean it well, and then wrap it in a cloth of clean linen. And bury it beneath the ground where it must be for a day and a night; and then take it out of there and set it to roast on a spit.

And roast it over the fire. And when beginning to roast it, grease it with good garlic and oil. And when you finish greasing it, whip it well with a green twig , and this must be done before it is well-roasted, greasing it and whipping it.

And when it is roasted, cut it as if it were a rabbit or a kid and put it on a big plate; and take garlic and oil blended with good broth in such a manner that it is well-thinned. And cast it over the cat. And you may eat of it because it is very good food.

Comments

[tx-cronopio.livejournal.com]

Hee! Just proves that enough garlic makes almost anything palatable :)

[ellid.livejournal.com]

Yep!

[shalmestere.livejournal.com]

Ahhh, Menjar del Gat Rostit--one of my favorite Catalan recipes :->

[ellid.livejournal.com]

I wonder if the Things would enjoy it?

[shalmestere.livejournal.com]

Well, they're almost always willing to eat People Food, but they might prefer Neko Sashimi--especially if they could harvest it themselves :-D

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

I'll bet you get gamey garlic flavored roast beast. And not a lot of it.

Why would you have to "whip" the cat, I wonder?

[ellid.livejournal.com]

I've seen speculation that beating the meat with fresh rosemary was an early way of infusing the flavor into the meat....

[shalmestere.livejournal.com]

I'd heard that, too....

[gmonkey42.livejournal.com]

Why on earth would you bury it for 24 hours first? That part really baffles me.

[tree_and_leaf]

Ah, roof rabbit, how little the idea tempts me. Though it's probably better with garlic than with tulip bulbs, but nonetheless, not something to be tried until you really are starving....

[xrian.livejournal.com]

What I found most interesting was, "for they say that eating the brains will cause him who eats them to lose his senses and judgment."

While this is probably based on some theory about humours and so forth, I can't help wondering if it was prompted by the personality changes supposedly due to toxoplasmosis? An even more icky thought...