Pasta was very popular in the Middle Ages, among all social classes. We find plenty of examples in the cookbooks and literary texts, such as the 14th-century works by Giovanni Boccaccio (who mentions pappardelle in the Corbaccio and then, in the Decameron, maccheroni and ravioli cooked in capon broth, all served with Parmigiano), followed at the end of the same century by Franco Sacchetti, who mentions maccheroni in his Trecentonovelle, specifying in a passage that they are eaten with forks.
Pasta, however, as we have seen in the past, is not originally medieval, since we find some recipes in ancient Roman and Greek sources.
There were several kinds of pasta in the Middle Ages: prepared in simple ways such as lasagna or vermicelli, stuffed as ravioli, or kneaded with other ingredients, for example cheese or eggs, as gnocchi or the one we are presenting today, which does not have a precise name: the author calls it vivanda bona, good dish, made in the same way as graffi, a term whose meaning is unclear in this context. We find this recipe in Anonimo Veneziano‘s manuscript, a beautiful cookbook written about the end of the 14th century which shows the complexity of the medieval courtly cooking in its magnificence.
The author writes nothing about the kinds of cheese and spices we have to use for this recipe. We used pecorino, one of the most popular kinds of cheese, but you can choose Parmigiano that, as we have seen above, is mentioned by Giovanni Boccaccio as a quite common kind of cheese used to finish the plates, in the same way as we still do today.
Among the spices used by Anonimo Veneziano, we chose grains of paradise (meleghette in this source), black pepper, and cinnamon, but you can also use others, for example ginger, white or long pepper, cloves, or nutmeg, all very common in the Middle Ages.
If you want to know more about historical pasta, read our book Early Italian Recipes. Cereals, bread, pasta, and pies, where you will find historical information about cereals and their preparations from the Antiquity to the end of the Renaissance, with 114 recipes for pasta, bread, pizza, pies, and more, newly translated and explained.
If you are interested in late-medieval cuisine, we recommend Libro de la Cocina. Medieval Tuscan Recipes and Registrum Coquine. A medieval cookbook. To learn about the transition between ancient and medieval cooking, check out De Observatione Ciborum, written by the physician Anthimus to the king of the Franks Theuderic. If you are interested in recipes for vegetables from the Antiquity to the beginning of the Modern Era in Early Italian Recipes. Vegetables, fruit, herbs, and flowers available in English and Italian.
For information about ancient cuisine, read Ancient Roman Cooking. Ingredients, Recipes, Sources. Moreover, full translations of historical sources and articles on ancient and medieval cooking are available on Patreon.
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Ingredients (for two servings)
130 gr flour
120 gr aged pecorino
2 eggs
spices (black pepper, cinnamon, grains of paradise)
broth
Method
Grind the spices. Grate about 120 grams of aged pecorino and knead it with the flour, eggs, and spices. Do not exaggerate with the quantity of spices in the dough, since you will add them again before serving the dish.
Shape with your hands one-finger-long threads of dough and cook them in broth or salted water for about 15-20 minutes.
Drain the pasta and plate sprinkling with grated cheese and ground spices.
Original text
Vivanda bona. Toi farina, ove, formaço e gratalo: toi spesie e pista in mortaro: poi fa con le mano a modo de graffi longi un dito: poi li chusi lesi: e sopra le scutelle polvereça de spetie e de caso: e dale chalde.
Translation
Good dish. Take flour, eggs, cheese and grate it. Take spices and pound them in the mortar, then form [the pasta] with your hands in the shape of one-finger-long graffi. Simmer them and serve in plates with spices and cheese. Serve them hot.
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Books
Early Italian Recipes. Cereals, bread, pasta, and pies
Libro de la Cocina by Anonimo Toscano. Medieval Tuscan Recipes
Early Italian Recipes. Vegetables, fruit, herbs, and flowers
De Observatione Ciborum by Anthimus. Early-medieval recipes at the court of the Franks.
Registrum Coquine by Johannes Bockenheim. A medieval cookbook
Ancient Roman Cooking. Ingredients, Sources, Recipes
Translations of Historical Sources
De Agri Cultura by Cato – first part (2nd century BCE)
De Re Coquinaria by Apicius (Ancient Rome)
Apicii Excerpta by Vinidarius (5th or 6th century)
De Observatione Ciborum by Anthimus (6th century)
Appendicula de Condituris Variis by Johannes Damascenus (8th or 9th century)
De Flore Dietarum (11th century)
Tractatus de Modo Preparandi et Condiendi Omnia Cibaria (13th or 14th century)
Liber de Coquina – first part (14th century)
Enseignemenz (14th century)
Opusculum de Saporibus by Mainus de Maineris (14th century)
Libro de la Cocina by Anonimo Toscano (14th century)
Anonimo Veneziano (14th century)
Registrum Coquine by Johannes von Bockenheim (15th century)
Libro de Arte Coquinaria by Maestro Martino – parts 1-4 (15th century)
Recipes
Tuscan Chicken Soup with Unripe Grapes
Early-medieval Kohlrabi Stew
Tuscan Fried Leek Rings
Pork Ribs
Tuscan Pancakes with Wild Flowers
Hop Shoots
Shrimp – Savore de Gambari
Orange Frittata – Fritata de Pomerantiis
Tuscan Soup with Hen and Florence Fennel
The diet of the Franks – Celery Root and Beef Stew
Tuscan Fish Cakes – Salciccie di Pescio
Tuscan Stew with Pork Belly and Rutabaga
Pork and Onion Soup
Tuscan Radish Soup
The Diet of the Franks – Endive and Pork Jowl
Tuscan Fried Meatballs
The Diet of the Franks – Chicken Stew
Castagnazzi
Renaissance Stuffed Cucumbers
Pork Roast with Cherry Sauce
Renaissance Fried Tomatoes
Herbolata
The Diet of the Franks – Beef Stew
Fried Chicken Soup
Beef Roast with Garlic Sauce
Bread Soup
Salted Meat and Peas
Baghdadi Rice Cream
Chicken with White-Pepper Sauce – Piperatum Album
Indian Chickpeas and Meat
The Diet of the Franks – Pork Stew
Chestnut and Mushrooms
Lentils with Oregano and Watermint
Egyptian Bread with Pistachios and Almonds
Veal with Fennel-Flower Sauce
Pork Roast with Green Sauce
Eggs Poached in Wine
Brodium Theutonicum
Crispellae – Pancakes with Saffron and Honey
Brodium Sarracenium – Chicken Stew
Fava Beans and Pork
Erbe Minute – Meatballs with Herbs
Lettuce and Pork Soup
Zanzarelli – Egg and Cheese Soup
Turnip and Beef Soup for Servants
Cheese Pasta – Vivanda Bona
Gratonata – Chicken Stew
Chickpea Soup with Poached Eggs
Apple Fritters
Hippocras and Claretum – Mulled Wine
Pastero – Pork Pie
10th-century Goat Roast – A Langobard at the Court of the Byzantine Emperor
Romania – A Recipe Between Arabic and Italian Tradition – Medieval Chicken with Pomegranates
Emperor’s Fritters
Medieval Pizza – The Origin of Pizza
Roast Chicken with Salsa Camellina
Sweet Rice
Afrutum or Spumeum – 6th-century Byzantine recipe
A Medieval Breakfast – Wine, Carbonata, and Millet Bread
Salviata – Eggs and Sage
Tria di Vermicelli
Cabbage Soup
Frittelle Ubaldine – Pancakes with Flowers and Herbs
Saffron Cheesecake
Drunken Pork – Early Medieval Pork Stew
Medieval Monk’s Stuffed-Egg Soup
Apple Pie
Onion Soup
Gnocchi
Lentils and Mustard Greens
Chicken soup – Brodo Granato
Turnip Soup
Beans and Bacon – Black-Eyed Peas
Prawn Pie – Pastello de Gambari
Foxtail Millet Polenta and Spit-Roasted Goose
Beef Stew
Blancmange
Leek Soup
Quail Stew with Coconut
Chicken Pie
Ravioli
Almond Cream
Red Mullet Soup
Spit Roast Beef with Arugula Seeds
Walnut Bread
Lasagna
Tripe
Fried Fish
Roast Lamb with Green Sauce
Clams
Sweet and Sour Sardines
Trouts with Green Sauce
Lamb Stew
Quails with Sumac
Chicken with Fennel Flowers
Sea Bream
Historical Italian Cooking 