Cassiopea's Metinar

Hello everyone ! I hope you enjoy cooking since today we will discover a new recipe as I told you in a previous post. I was looking in the manuscripts for a recipe that would be good to make in early spring.

Still alongside Cassiopeia, owner of a restaurant in Atlana we will have a glimpse of dishes for the people of Atlana. Cassiopeia wrote about how knowledge of recipes was passed on to her. We were able to learn that writing down information was very rare. Not because the writing was not developed in Atlana but because the chiefs carefully kept their secrets so that their profession would not perish :

I work by hearing memory. Any palm (note : this corresponds in our current measures to one ounce) should be retained. That’s why I have to have fairly attentive apprentices who know what to expect in advance. I usually keep away those who like to talk about anything to anyone. (Letter 6, Cassiopea)

It may seem intriguing that Cassiopeia gave us her secrets. But when she nested recipes into her letters, they were her creations. Instead of passing them on to someone else, Cassiopea decided to share them as many as possible. She explains why :

I had no one to leave the restaurant to. My sister was getting too old, my employees all wanted to stay in their jobs without moving up, and I didn’t want to look for anyone else. I wanted everything to end the way it started and to take everything with me. I don’t seek to live after others through my children or my restaurant, it’s not interesting. On the other hand, I was interested in delivering my recipes as troubadours deliver their songs. So, no more secrets to take to the grave. I want to be known that way. (letter 101, Cassiopeia)

So we will meet her expectations. Cassiopea made cakes, although she specializes in making hot dishes. The cake we’re about to discover is a kind of flan, which she called "Metinar". Since we don’t know how to bake the cake, we suggest you use your oven. In the making of the dishes, we know that a few minutes before starting, the cooks and therefore, Cassiopea, were praying to their gods (Zazie will be able to describe more fully the religious functioning of Atlana). So, you’ll find just below the recipe, hoping you’ll have fun :

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to comment. Have a good day and see you later!

March 30, 2023,

Sabrina C.