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All text and pictures of dishes are the intellectual property of
Coquinaria and may not be reproduced without permission and acknowledgement..
recipe march/april 2004
Cotteletten-toert (Lamb chops pie).
A Dutch recipe from the eighteenth century.
Dutch version
of this recipe
To serve lamb on Easter Sunday is an
ancient custom. Although this recipe is not specifically intended for an Easter
meal, this pie will be a great succes when served on the occasion. With a salad
or mixed spring vegetables this is an excellent festive course.
The recipe is taken from a cook book
dating from the late eighteenth century, the Nieuwe Vaderlandsche
Kookkunst (New National Art of Cooking, title
description). According to the prologue this cook book is not just meant to
"flatter and gratify the delicate tongue" ("de kiesche tong
te behaagen en te streelen"), but it also serves to "help those who
serve in the kitchen, and nothwithstanding have not acquired any high degree of
expertise in the main cause, and enable them to carry the approval of all whom
they are obliged to serve food to" ("die geenen welke zig aan de
dienstbaarheid van de Keuken verbonden, en desniettegenstaande geen hoogen graad
van ervarenis in de hoofdzaak [...] hebben verkreegen, te gemoet te komen, en in
staat te stellen om de goedkeuring van allen voor welken zy verpligt zijn
aanterechten, weg te draagen").
The cook book has been written by "two housekeepers who are very
experienced in this profession" ("twee
in dit vak zeer ervarene huishoudsters"). The book is divided in 23
chapters, on soup, meat, game, poultry, the curing and salting of meat and
the production of sausages and black pudding, pasties, stewed fruits and
vegetables, sallads, farinacious foods like porridge and noodles, fresh and salt
water fish, sweet and savoury pastries, and the conserving of fruits.
In this recipe the pie is being
baked in a pan which was placed over the fire or in an oven. When the pan was
placed over the fire it would have been covered with a lid with upstanding sides
on which embers could be placed to ensure heat coming from above as well as
below. In Dutch this kind of pan is called "taartenpan", in English it
is called a "Dutch oven".(Witteveen
pp.19/20).
The crust of the pasty is made of
dough. The writers of the Nieuwe Vaderlandsche
Kookkunst do not provide a recipe for the dough, other than that it
was made of flour and boiling water. The crust was not meant to be eaten, it was
nothing more than the container of the stuffing. But, because nowadays we like a
crunchy crust, you can use any pastry you fancy. On this
page you find several recipes for dough.
COTTELETTEN-TOERT
Cotteletten-toert.
Hiertoe neemt men lams-cotteletten, klopt dezelven, even als men doet wanneer
menze opden rooster wil braaden; wenteltze voords in meel, vermengd met gestoten
beschuit en zout, baktze alsdan in boter bruin, laatze koud worden, rolt het
deeg uit, en legt het in een pan, doe 'er een forse
in gelyk bij den DUIVEN-TOERT (Bladz.113) is geleerd te maaken; leg vervolgends
de cotteleten daarop, met een weinig moreljes; doe
weder ook van het deeg daar overheen, maak het digt toe, en laatze gaar bakken:
maak voords een saus van meel, jeu, fyn gehakte
chalotten, kruidnagelen, peper, zout, en citroensap naar den smaak, laat dit
alles zamen kooken, tot het gebonden is; snyd het deksel van de pasty weder los,
doe de jeu voornoemd daarin, en recht aan.
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Lamb chops pie.
For this one takes lamb chops, beat them lightly just as when one wants to
roast them on the grid; then roll them through flour, mixed with ground
rusk and salt. Then fry them brown in butter, let them cool, roll out the
dough, and lay it in a pan. Put a stuffing in it as has been instructed at
the making of the pigeon pie (page 113). Then put the chops there on with
some morels. Again put the dough over this, close [the pie], and let it
bake. Then make a sauce with flour, gravy, finely chopped shallots,
cloves, pepper, salt, and lemon juice to taste. Let all this boil together
until it has thickened. Cut the cover of the pasty loose, put in the afore
mentioned gravy (the sauce), and serve it forth. |
For
the stuffing I cite the relevant part
of the recipe for "pigeon pie":
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[...] neem dan anderhalf pond kalfsgehakt, doorkneed met gestoten beschuit,
nooten-muscaat, peper, zout, gehakte pietercelie, en drie eiëren; doe dit op
het deeg in de pan, leg daarop het gestoofde, en doe 'er het deeg overheen; maak
vervolgends de toert digt toe, en laat haar in een pan of oven gaar bakken
[...]. |
[...] then take one
and a half pound minced veal, kneaded with ground rusk, nutmeg, pepper,
salt, chopped parsley, and three eggs. Lay this on the dough in the pan,
lay the simmered [meat] on this, and lay the dough there on. Then close
the pie, and bake it in a pan or oven [...]. |
For
the doug I cite the first recipe from
the tenth chapter, on pies, puddings, and accompanying sauces
(p.104, PASTY VAN RUNDVLEESCH):
| [...] neem voords tarwemeel en brand het af met kokend water, maak er vervolgends
uw pasty van [...]. |
[...] then take
wheat flour and add boiling water, and then make your pasty with this
[...] |
The modern recipe: Lamb chop pie.
ingredients:
900 gram (2 pounds) puff pastry
12 lamb chops, the protruding rib chopped off
butter
10 gram (about 1/3 cup) dried morels, soaked in hot water
stuffing:
400 gram (14 ounces) minced veal
2 eggs
pepper, salt, nutmeg to taste
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
toasted breadcrumbs or crushed rusk |
breading:
equal quantities of flour and rusk or toasted breadcrumbs
salt
sauce:
30 gram (4 Tbsp.) flour
30 gram (2 Tbsp.) dripping of the lamb chops, or butter
3 deciliter (1 1/4 cup) broth, or the soaking liquid of the morels (strained)
2 shallots, finely chopped
pepper, salt, powdered cloves, lemon juice to taste |
Preparation in advance:
Form a neat pastry shell: Cut a round sheet of
dough that fits exactly on the bottom of a springform. Then cut a strip of
dough, as wide as the sides of the springform are high. Butter the springform,
line it with the sheets of pastry dough. Save some dough for the cover and
decorations.
Make the stuffing by mixing everything well together. The stuffing should be
slightly creamy/moist.
Strain the soaking liquid of the mushrooms through a coffee filter. (Before
soaking the morels, rinse them thoroughly. Then soak them first for five minutes
in hot water, throw this water away, take fresh hot water to let them soak for
at least an hour. This second soaking water will be used for the sauce). Pat the
morels thoroughly dry after soaking.
When using a large springform you can leave the ribs on, but when you use a
smaller one, it is best to chop off the ribs from the lamb chops. Flatten
the lamb chops with the flat side of a heavy cleaver.
Mix the ingredients for the breading. Coat the lamb chops with the breading, and
fry them in butter until they are a golden brown. Let the chops cool and drain
on kitchen paper.
Make the sauce: Fry the shallots in butter or the drippings of the lamb chops.
Prepare a roux using butter or dripping and flour, and meat broth or the
strained soaking liquid of the mushrooms. Finish it off with spices and lemon
juice to taste.
Preparation:
Prehaet the oven to 190 degr.Celsius.
Lay the stuffing on the bottom of the pastry shell. Press the lamb chops
slightly in the stuffing, sprinkel the morels on top.
Cover the pie with a round sheet of dough. Make sure the sides of cover and
sides are pressed well together. If you want to you can decorate the cover with
the remaining dough. If you want to, you can make a hole in the centre of the
cover (a chimney), to allow steam to escape.
Place the pie in the oven, the second rack from the bottom (below the middle of
the oven). Bake during 50 minutes. When the pie is done, take it out of the
oven, and let it rest for at least five minutes before removing it from the
baking form.
To serve:
The cover of the pie was cut loose from the shell. This indicates how such pies
were being eaten: the stuffing is scooped out of the shell, just as if it were a
serving dish. If you want to, you can always eat the shell afterwards. The cover
was cut in wedges. The wedges were stuck along the shell, to form a decorative
crown. When the cover is not hard enough because of the meat juices, just put it
back in the oven after cutting it loose for another ten minutes, to let it dry
before cutting in wedges.
Reheat the sauce. According to the original recipe, it should be poured over the
stuffing in the pie. You can serve it like that, but you can also serve it in a
sauce boat, to allow every one to take or leave the sauce.
Per portion you take one or two lamb chops and some of the stuffing. Then pour
some of the sauce over.
Bibliography
The editions below are in my
possession. Links refer to available editions.
All books mentioned on this site
Nieuwe
vaderlandsche kookkunst, Bevattende een volledig en grondig
onderricht, om, naar den hedendaagschen smaak, toetebereiden allerleie soorten
van spyzen [...], door twee in dit vak zeer ervarene huishoudsters. Johannes
Allart, Amsterdam, 1797. Facsimile editie uitg. C. de Vries-Brouwers,
Amsterdam/Antwerpen, 1976, p.104, 114+117/118.
Joop Witteveen,
"Kookboeken over kookgerei. Het kookgerei van de middeleeuwen tot de
twintigste eeuw". In: Quintessens. Wetenswaardigheden over acht eeuwen
kookgerei. Rotterdam, 1992, pp. 14/32..
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This page was last updated on
23-07-09.
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All text and
pictures of dishes are the intellectual property of Coquinaria and may not be
reproduced without permission and acknowledgement.
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