A Fruit or Nut Pie

Translation of a 16th century Italian Recipe.

From Christoforo di Messisbugo, Banchetti composizioni di vivande e apparecchio generale (Lucio Spineda, Venice, 1610)

p64v/r Torte di Nespile, o persiche, o pere, o pome, o castagne, o ghiande, o trigoli, o codogne, o d'altro. (Tart of Medlars, or peaches, or pears, or apples, or chestnuts, or acorns, or cardoons, or quinces, or others.)

Take ripe medlars, and make them cook in a fatty broth, then pass them through the strainer, and put [them] in a vessel with a pound of grated hard cheese, and nine ounces of sugar, and one ounce of ground Cinnamon, and a quarter [ounce] of pepper, and half a pound of butter, and three eggs, and mix all these things together well, and take your sheets [of pastry], and make the Pie, and then put over four ounces of fresh butter, and put [it] to cook, when it will be cooked put over it three quarters of an ounce of fine sugar. And this same can be made with peaches, or pears^[1], or apples, but with chestnuts, or acorns^[2], or cardoons, when these have cooked, grind them in a Mortar, and moisten with broth, and pass them through the strainer adding to it the ingredients as you would for the other, except with the butter put another half pound this time putting in one pound, and after putting over half a pound, and let it be marked that the Acorns should be fresh, and not dried, and to have it on a day that is not a meat day, cook it in water with butter instead of broth.

But the medlars, pears, apples, peached, or chestnuts, will be better cooked in sweet wine, or cooked wine^[3], or ________^[4], moreover under the coals, I have determined for you, to better impart the flavour to you.

[1] I think this is a typo in the Italian text, which reads "pece"

[2] The Italian here is "Glande", which is likely to be kernels, but based on context I have translated as acorns.

[3] The term is "Sabba"

[4] I have no idea what this should be, but the Italian is "possono".