These stuffed eggs were served at the feast at Autumn Crown 2022, and Marcella has provided the recipe for the Baelfyr by popular demand.

Translation of Libro di cucina / Libro per cuoco (14 th /15 th C.) (Anonimo Veneziano). Translated 2002 CE by Helewyse de Birkestad (MKA Louise Smithson) from the transcription of Ludovico Frati (ed.): Libro di cucina del secolo XIV. Livorno 1899 prepared and made available online by Thomas Gloning.

XLVII. Ove Plene Se tu voy fare ove implite, toy le ove e mitili a bolire e fay che siano ben duri e quando sono cocti traili fuora e mitili in aqua freda e schovrali e tagliali per mezo e trane fuora lo rosso e toy caxo magro al piú che tu poy che sia ben dolze e herbe bone che tu ay ben monde e ben lavate e pestali in lo mortaro. Quando sono bene menate, toy lo rosso de l’ova, el chasso e le specie e mecti in el mortaro con le herbe bone insieme e pesta bene e fay pastume, e distempera con ove crude e fay che non sea bono, e miti in la padella sopra el focho, e toy li elapi del ova che tu ay e impleli de questo pastume e fay choxere. Quando sono cocti trali fuora e polveriza di sopra del zucharo e dali caldi a tavola. E se tu voy fare savore, toli, etc.

XLVII. Stuffed Eggs If you want to make stuffed eggs, take the eggs and put to boil and make that they are good hard and when they are cooked take them out and put in cold water and peel and cut in half and pull out the yolks and take cheese fat the most that you can that is good and sweet and good herbs that you have well peeled and well washed and beat (to a paste) in a the mortar. When they are well mashed, take the egg yolks and cheese and the spices and put in the mortar with the good herbs together and make a paste and temper with raw eggs and make that it is good and put a frying pan over the fire, and take the halves of eggs that you have and stuff with this paste and put to cook. When they are cooked pull off and powder with sugar and put them hot to the table and if you want to make relish, take etc.

Stuffed Eggs

Marcella di Cavallino (Turi Henderson-Palmer)
2003

Serves 6

  • 6 hard-boiled eggs
  • ¼ C Ricotta Cheese
  • 1 tsp Fine Spices*
  • 1 ½ tsp each Fresh Basil, Rosemary, Oregano
  • ¼ tsp Salt
  • 2 tbsp White Wine Vinegar

Hard-boil eggs, cool, peel, slice in half lengthwise, and carefully remove the yolk. Combine egg yolks with the remaining ingredients in a food processor, and blend until smooth. Spoon or pipe mixture back into egg white halves. Dust with sugar or Fine Spices and serve.

*Fine Spices were a pre-made mixture based on Scappi’s recipe, and includes cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, grains of paradise, and brown sugar.

Adaptations

There are about as many variants of this dish as there are cooks in history, so I used a recipe from a 15 th c. cookbook, rather than a 16 th c. one, because I’d done it before and knew it would be good. The deviations from the original recipe are that I used a pre-made dried Italian seasoning mixture, included white wine vinegar to add some tartness and a bit of liquid to replace the raw egg, and didn’t do the second round of frying after stuffing as it makes the eggs weird and rubbery in ways that can be deeply unappetising.