HOW TO FRY A DISH OF CHEESE

Posted on January 22, 2009 by | 2 Comments

By Mercy Asakura

With February slowly approaching, thoughts of romance abound.  Shakespeare was quite the man with the golden tongue and had a way with words.

The book “Dining with William Shakespeare” by Madge Lorwin has 13 complete Shakespearean feast menus, essays, many recipes and comments about Elizabethan England.  I decided to look through this book and pick something from it that was sort of a mixture of Shakespeare’s romance and something that could be a “romantical” food.

Cheese is one of those foods, at least in my mind, that pairs well with romance.  Wine and cheese.  It could be a textile food, eaten with the hands.  And well, most people love cheese.  So, well, that’s at least my logic when I can across this simple, yet delicious recipe.

HOW TO FRY A DISH OF CHEESE

Take a quarter of a pound of a good Cheese, or Parmysant, and grate it and put to it a little grated bread, a few Caraway seeds beaten, the yokes of as many eggs as will make it into a stiff batter, so it will not run, fry it brown in Butter, and pour on drawn Butter with claret wine when they are dished.

William Rabisha, The whole Body of Cookery Dissected

Page 330 of Dining with William Shakespeare

The Redaction:

¼ Pound of Grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup Bread Crumbs
9 egg yokes
Pinch of Caraway seeds (slightly crushed)
2 tablespoons Ghee or Clarified Butter

Take Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, and caraway seeds and put them into a bowl, mixing them together.  Once ingredients are combined, add egg yokes until total mixture is moist.

Take frying pan and use ghee as the fat.  Form little pancakes and brown each side of your cheese-bread cake.  Take off flame and drain on paper towels.

We didn’t make the “sauce” mentioned, as the cheesy goodness called to us, but we did try using cheddar cheese, which worked fine as well.

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2 responses to “HOW TO FRY A DISH OF CHEESE”

  1. briankettering | January 23, 2009 at 1:50 am |

    I think the perfect accompaniment to the fried cheese would be a fine English beer like a bitter or a mild, though a pale ale or a brown ale like Bass would work just as well. – Brian K / Donal

  2. mercyasakura | January 23, 2009 at 1:57 am |

    One of the options this had in period per Madge Lorwin’s writing, was using Beer instead of the wine, to make a sauce. After browning the little cakes, you’d pour in either 1 cup of claret (or ale was used as part of the liquid) and some of the bread crumbs (and throw in any remaining butter). You’d mix that and cook that down (deglaze the pan, basically) until it thickens. You’d pour that over the cakes, but I prefer eating them plain.

    I agree with you on the beer. Beer and cheese are natural partners.

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