. a taste for excellence . dinners with a theme from art or history . the flavours of XVIII century Venice . music and shows . special occasions: historic banquets . entertainments to accompany banquets . music for banquets . the food . some possible recipes . a wedding feast at the malatestas’ court

ROYAL FLAN A’ LA LOMBARD
It was a savoury flan of genoese pastry or puff pastry, probably defined ‘royal’ by renaissance cookery books because it was destined for important houses. The pastry is made with flour, rose water, sugar, butter and egg yolks and the filling with wild herbs, parmmesan, ricotta, cloves, nutmeg, pepper, cinnamon and eggs.

SPICED ZANZARELLI WITH HERBS
Little dumplings no bigger than a broad bean. They are made by dropping into boiling broth teaspoonfuls of a mixture made of eggs, spices, cheese and grated bread. They can be left plain or coloured with herbs or saffron.

FRESHWATER CRAYFISH WITH SEVILLE ORANGE SAUCE
The fish was to be cooked so as to heat it and dry it and the sauce had to take this into consideration and be prepared so as to heat and dry the crayfish. The freshwater crayfish are sautéed in a frying-pan and flambéed. The sauce is made with the juice of the Seville orange, used nowadays in Italy mostly to prepare candied peel and soft drinks.

FISH A’ CAPPUCCIOLO
Local trout fillets baked with walnuts, toasted pine kernels, raisins and braised fennel.

LUMONIA DI CAPPONE IN SALSA CAMELLINA
The name of the dish refers to the citrus fruit it contains; “lumie” are a fruit closer to the lemon than the orange. The capons were boiled, then when they were cooked they were fried with quartered lemons, spices, dates, plums and diluted saffron.

For the camellina sauce the ingredients were a generous quantity of raisins ground up with almonds and toasted bread in a mortar and then put to soak in red wine.
This mixture was mixed with aromatic vinegar then strained and flavoured with plenty of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.
(the camel colour which gives the recipe its name comes from the toasted bread and nutmeg).

PORK IN CAUL COOKED IN ITS COLOUR
Boned loin of pork wrapped in caul, well-spiced and flavoured with every flavouring the earth offers: wild fennel, garlic, sea anemones, cinnamon, freshly ground pepper, sprigs of rosemary, then roasted in its own gravy.

OFFELLE
An old Lombbard name for biscuits and pastries.

TORTA BIANCA
A ring-shaped cake of ricotta, rose-water and candiied peel.

a wedding feast at the malatestas’ court >