Boiled asparagus is laid out on a platter and salt, oil and vinegar are added. There are those who sprinkle it with herbs. Eaten as a first course, they combat flatulence in the stomach, they help clear the eyesight and gently soften the bowels. They are good for pains in the chest and spine and for intestinal complaints. There are those who cook them in wine and they are even more effective in this way.
Platina, 1542; Andrews, De Honesta Voluptate; A Boke of Gode Cookery
Since I was working so fast, I didn't take the time to chop the asparagus. The sauce was a nice light brown color, and was absolutely amazing with the asparagus. Much easier than hollandaise!
I served it with a recipe from "Renaissance Cooking"; that one with the pomegranate on the cover and the nice pictures inside. The recipe I did is supposedly from Scappi; pot-roasted capon stuffed with breadcrumbs, egg, cheese, nuts and herbs, then braised in water, wine, verjuice, and dried fruit. I used figs and raisins, and oh by der yumpin Yiminy dot dere vas goot. Anybody know what the actual recipe is?
Si vols aperellar esparech ab salsa, se ffa axi: Prin lo tendre dels esparechs, e cou-los be'. E quant seran cuyts, prem-los de aquella aygua, e capole-us be': e puys soffrig-los en una casola ab molt holi. E talle-y hom ceba manut tallada e escaldade. E quant son prop de soffits ab les sebes una pessa, a hom arop o mel, met-n'i hom un poc.
E ffa hom salsa axi': Prin om pa torrat mullat en vinagre e de bones salces, e trempa hom ab un poc d'ayguo calda ho brou. E quant los esparechs son soffrits, a hom la salsa, axi com demunt es dit; e va ab ells, e axi cou-se. E no.n deu hom pertir la ma entro' que an perdut lo bolir e son levats del ffoch.
If you wish to prepare asparagus in sauce, it is done this way; take the (tenderest?) of the asparagus, and cook them well. And when they are cooked, take them out of the water, and chop them well; and you can sweat them in a pan with much (holi? oil?). And add finely chopped and blanched onion. And when they are properly sweated (ab les sebes una pessa? Unsure.), add a little sugar syrup or honey.
And make the sauce this way: take toasted bread moistened with vinegar and some fine spices, and temper them with a little hot water or broth. And when the asparagus are sweated, add the sauce to them, as is said above; and it goes with them, and so cook it. And you should not remove yur hand from it until it has lost its boil and you remove it from the fire.
Libre de Sent Sovi (Receptari de Cuina); edited by Rudolf Grewe; Stefan's Florilegium
Togli li sparaci, e falli bollire; quando sieno bulliti, ponili a cocere con oglio, cipolle, sale e zaffarano, e spezie trite, o senza.
Nimm Spargel und koche sie; wenn sie gekocht sind, koche sie mit Öl, Zwiebel, Salz und Safran, und mit zerdrückten Gewürzen oder ohne.
Il Libro della Cucina 8; Lady Morwenna, SCA